At 07:44 AM 2/25/98 -0700, you wrote:
>Greetings, Ladies and Gentlemen.
>
>I've seen mention of "pre-68" and "post-68" in discussions of Morgans.
>What is the significance of this point in time?
>
>Curiously,
>J.D. Welch
>(Still Morgan-less but not giving up hope!)
>
>
I recollect a favorite T-shirt I saw at the vintage races at Road America
some few years back: "Sure, they made corvettes after 1967, but who the
hell cares?"
The 1968 model year was a watershed for all cars sold in the US with the
imposition of a number of new safety features and emissions requirements.
I cannot speak for Morgan, but for many other british manufacturers, such
as MG, Jag, response to these mandates effectively muffled some of the
'pure' nature of the cars, with ugly rubber dashboards, reduced horse
power, and multiple side marker lights that spoiled the car's appearance.
I'll allow that this is partly subjective. For my money, the rubber dashed
MGs are not at all as desireable as the metal dashed ones, and the series
II e-type is not as desireable as the series I. Again, I don't know
details of things wrt the Morgan, but *everyone* had to adapt to these
mandates and some didn't do such a good job of it. Hence, in the old car
hobby, 1968 seems to be a significant 'bend in the road' for many marques.
Cheers,
Will Zehring
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