Last nite we brought our Morgan home after spending a couple of weeks in
the paint shop. We ended up taking off all four wings and completely
re-doing them with acrylic enamel. We did find rust on all of them to
one small degree or another - and that is clearly factory
procedure/ineptitude in that this car was put together with bare metal
not having been either primed or painted properly.
The color "Signal Red", after being computer analyzed, came back to PPG
"Pepsi-Cola Red". We used it and it is an exact match! So much for
originality there!
In having the windshield replaced the glazier actually broke three
replacement windshields before identifying the stress points that were
creating the original problem. He was not a happy camper! It is not a
very straightforeward fit - probably due to the '30's design as well as
the handbuilt characteristics of the body itself - and the looser
tolerances that appear to be a part of it.
We also ended up completely re-welding the entire bracket assembly that
holds the front bumper in place. This was done originally by a jobber
in the employ of Cantab Motors of Virginia. In this case the original
welding job was poorly done at the points where the brackets were fitted
to the front frame of the car. It is now easier to understand why my
bumper fell off in Yuma and why the fixes were vibrating loose.
Amazing!
I replaced all the original bolts with stainless steel ones and have now
replaced the plastic plinths with stainless ones. Quite a number of
additional bolts were also added here and there to replace original ones
that had apparently shaken out. For example, the gasoline tank was down
to two (2) bolts holding it in place - with none left on the left side.
All this sort of brings a slightly different perspective to the concept
of "servicing" a car on a routine basis. Obviously one has to spend
more time in tightening the bolts than in changing the oil.
The guys that put the car back together don't even want to talk about
the wiring - other than to say they don't quite understand why certain
lites function as they do. I have had some trouble with lighting ever
since I acquired the car and I have the sense that we haven't solved it
yet.
All this may be "old hat" to you more experienced Morganistas! On the
other hand, if you have a newer model Morgan and haven't had any reason
to take it apart yet - or if some of all this is starting to sound just
a little bit familiar, well....
Later, Arlo Levisen, Revillo, SD 1987 Plus 8
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