Mike:
I would ask you two questions first:
1. Do you enjoy long term projects? Restoring a Morgan as previously
stated can and most often is a long term project.
2. Are you looking for a Morgan because you want to enjoy driving the car?
Mine is a 67 4/4 Competition. I looked at many project cars and came to the
conclusion that I wanted a runner. (A runner is a car that is together,
runs, but needs work. You can expect to spend $10K to $14K for a runner
depending on area, model and condition.) I joined MOGMOG (that's the
Houston area Morgan Club), subscribed to Hemming's and this news group.
Last November a gentleman in our club that owned a 67 red 4/4 passed away.
He had just finished a multi-year restoration and was able to take her to
one club outing as a restored vehicle under her own power. In January I put
a deposit down on Scarlet. Mine cost and is much more than a runner.
I am very thankful to Frank for all the work, love and care he put into
Scarlet. He has a part in her history. I am sure he enjoyed what he did,
but it goes to show the amount of time that you can spend.
I have said all this to say, it all comes down to: what do you want. A
project which after you have hopefully finished you can say "Look what I
did." or a beautiful sports car you can enjoy today. There is no wrong
answer except maybe, walking away from a car and wishing years later you had
made a different choice.
There are probably as many differing opinions as there are Morgans and the
only opinions on Morgans that count are those made by Morgan owners.
My respects and Merry Christmas to Chuck, Bob and Colin.
Steve Bauserman
67 Morgan 4/4
83 Mercedes 300SD
96 Cherokee Country
-----Original Message-----
From: Charles A Harris <harris_simmons@juno.com>
To: MJBisHere@aol.com <MJBisHere@aol.com>
Cc: morgans@Autox.Team.Net <morgans@Autox.Team.Net>
Date: Saturday, December 20, 1997 1:57 PM
Subject: Re: Fwd: Thinking of buying a 1938 4-4 Morgan
>Mike,
>Only if you love the car, which how can you not, ah-a '38 wonderful. But
>again the wrong question. The question with a Morgan can never be what
>is it worth, but what will she do. No one is going to remember a hundred
>years from now how much you spent on anything or made from its resale.
>Who wants to lay on their deathbed and say that everything they did was
>for economic reasons? Scrooge obviously did not own a Morgan. Is your
>friends offer worth while. Can she(The Hesprius), after all this effort
>to put her back on the road, be a pleasure to you ? I watched as
>Nogueria built the Duchess over what ended up a short period of time in
>Morgan restorations. Now these many years later as he arrives back from
>another road adventure (this year was Alaska) I remember him in the
>middle of a chassis, surrounded by bits of raw wood with C clamps
>everywhere, being pushed down the street to arrive in his Morgan to a
>club event. Any of the problems I have had with Matilda pale in
>comparison to the efforts put out by many of my friends in their dealings
>with rebuilds. Effort might be in fact what determines our values
>concerning our Morgans. I take great pride in knowing about the kind of
>legacy that many of these rough riders establish in the maintaince of
>their machines. Most of them I have noticed through the years do not
>drive Morgans because others will notice them or because the cars have
>become a good investment, but because they just like driving Morgans.
>Besides, bless all our hearts, perhaps our only legacy will be that we
>are remembered only in the line of ownership a particular Morgan 10
>generations from now. Do it. Be a part of history.
>Chuck Harris
>'66 4/4 and a' 60 4/4 that is a fixen to get fixed one of these days
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