At 05:18 PM 11/17/96 -0600, Steve Bauserman wrote:
>I have just come from looking at the car.
>
> It is basically all there disassembled. The wood is complete but badly
> worn. Sheet metal is all there. As near as I can tell the car needs wood,
>the two flat pieces of metal over the rear wheels, a wiring harness, door
>skins, turn signals, rear lights, switches, voltage regulator, badges,
>windshield supports, interior, wiper motors and arms, and lots of work.
>
All these parts are readly available from numerous dealers. Check out
the Morgan WEB page at:
http://www.team.net/www/morgan
Then got to restoration articles and look at the list of vendors under the
article: Parts Sources and Cross-references
There are 4 major Morgan parts suppliers and 2 agents in the US.
>Features of the car are five steel disc wheels with an original set of
>Dunlop WW tires with stickers still on them, disc brakes, Brooklands
>steering wheel, rebuilt original motor and transmission and solid chassis.
>The owner has a letter from Peter Morgan stating the motor number, color,
>and agent to whom the car was sold.
>
You don't say weither the instrument cluster is intact and what shape the
guages are in. They to are available and or repairable.
>I am interested in several things. Please understand money is secondary in
>this issue. I have this fatal character flaw which causes me to be drawn
>to old cars needing restoration, British first, then German. I complete a
>project and move on.
>
>First has anyone out there ever built a new would frame or know of someone
>who has done this?
When I restored my car, I replaced all the flat wood and made new door
sill plates. Some of this is described in the articles on the wood work.
Bob Nogueira in TX. has also rebuilt his wood tub. Most of the wood pieces
are streight forward to make. The hardest to make are the rear fender
arches. You can purchase new ones for about $125 each or try to make your
own. I wanted to draw up the plans for all the wood in my car when I
restored it, but that is one thing that I just didn't get around to. So,
if you make you own, please draw up the plans so we can get a set on
file. Although there are difference between the 4/4s, +4, DHC, and 4
seaters.
> Secondly, can you buy just a wood frame?
Yes, you can go to the factory, or purchase it from a couple of sources
in the US.
> How many Saturdays would this project take if I do the work including wood
> and painting?
I have 1741 documentated hours in my car. This excludes time to write the
18+ articles on the Web page, and hunting parts. At 8 hrs / Sat. it would
take about 217 Sat or if you work on it 8 hrs. both Sat. and Sun. about 100
weekends or 2 years. I spent about 3 1/2 years on mine and I'm still
playing with it.
> I would farm out the upholstery.
This will cost in the neighborhood of $1500 for leather. If you do the
floors correctly, they are done in rubber mats, not very expensive. If
you are doing it to keep, many people are doing it like the newer ones and
putting in carpet. This would run much more.
> Is this a project that could be completed and is the end result worth it?
> I mean as far as being a car that could be enjoyed and driven (4/4 and +4
> subjective comments aside).
Most defenately YES!!! If I were going to buy it, I'd start with and offer
of $2,000 and work up. My quess at you investment to restore it is about
$10,000 plus the $4,000, you'd have about $14,000 in the car. If the
restoration is done correctly, the car will be worth between $18,000 and
$25,000 when finished. You won't loose any money only time if you decide
to sell it or trade for a 4 seater.
As for being enjoyed and driven, most defenately YES!!! A restored Morgan
is as good as a new one and ANY Morgan is a ball to drive. The only
difference between a unrestored one and a restored one is the maintenance,
and knowing how it is put together.
G O F O R I T ! ! !
John
John T. Blair WA4OHZ email: jblair@exis.net
Va. Beach, Va Phone: (757) 495-8229
48 TR1800 48 #4 Midget 65 Morgan 4/4 Series V
75 Bricklin SV1 77 Spitfire
The one with the most toys, wins!
|