“NOSTALGIA STRAIGHT-UP”—THE MORGAN +8 TURBO

IN R&T’S 1978 “10 BEST CARS FOR A CHANGING WORLD,” the Morgan +8 Turbo garnered the coveted Henry N. Manney III Intransigence Can Be a Virtue Award. The magazine noted, “if the basic design was good enough in the Thirties, it’s surely adequate today.” 

The magazine featured this Mark Stehrenberger montage in the same August 1980 issue.

But, as R&T noted, this was a changing world. Indeed, in the early 1970s Morgan decided its U.S. market, though profitable, was becoming more trouble than it was worth. 

Then Bill Fink and his Isis Imports set out to import and legalize the marque. No mean feat this, as the era was an evolving one with multiple changes in both safety and emissions. Bill was more than a business colleague; he was a good friend. (Alas, he perished four years ago in a home fire.) 

Here are tidbits from R&T’s August 1980 road test of Bill’s Morgan +8 Turbo. Indeed, though published back in the days when R&T road tests were without byline, I can appropriately replace “R&T,” “the magazine,” and other identifiers with the personal pronoun “I.” 

Clever and Artful Engineering.  “Bill handles the fed’s dodgem bumper regs cleverly,” R&T/I wrote, “with hydraulic pistons taken from the Volkswagen Rabbit and attached to steel tubes backing up the stock Morgan bumpers. These and the relocated taillights look considerably less out of place than several factory botch-ups that come to mind.” 

Under the Bonnet. R&T observed, “The Isis/Jaguar Rover Triumph/nee Buick V-8 is now propane-fueled and turbocharged. The first is a standard feature of Bill’s 25-per-year output; the turbo installation is a $2500 option for those desiring added kick to their nostalgia.”

The conversion to propane made good sense: “First,” the magazine explained, “it allows a complete lack of emission controls and the attendant problems with certification, durability testing and the like, what with its running as clean as Joan Claybrook escaping a Detroit steam bath.”

Yes, I’m fond of that line. 

“As an added benefit,” R&T noted, “propane’s 105 octane means the 9.4:1 compression ratio is perfectly compatible with the Rajay turbo’s 6-psi boost.” 

Operational Ceremony. Finding propane was straightforward, albeit non-trivial: “By the way,” R&T said, “our experience indicates that all propane or butane suppliers aren’t necessarily able to refuel a car; this, because of motor-fuel licensing requirements. And there was one guy probably fresh from viewing a Great War dirigible movie who refused to refuel our test Moggie because thunderstorms were forecast.” 

Glorious Performance. But enough of these details,” I wrote. “A twist of the key, and the V-8 throbs to life. Snick the stubby lever into 1st, ease out the clutch, and you’re burbling away, looking down that long louvered bonnet at one of the classic views in motoring.” 

I continued, “Stomp on the throttle (one of those little roller types many of us learned to heel-and-toe with), and gobs of torque at the bottom end turn into raspy turbo power as the revs build past 3000. Redundant though they may seem with all this power, the gear ratios are nicely spaced and it’s a gearbox you enjoy shifting for the sheer pleasure of it all. And if you get downright serious, you can go from 0 to 60 mph in 6.8 seconds and turn the standing quarter mile in 15.1 sec at 93.5 mph.” 

Yahoo Egad!

Superlative (Smooth-Road) Handling. “It enjoyed a tight line through our slalom, for instance,” I said, “with absolutely no lean and little squirts of power between pylons as it posted a commendably quick 61.1 mph. It bobbed its bonnet around our skidpad with a lateral acceleration of 0.791g. Not bad for a Thirties suspension, eh?”

Actually, earlier in the report, I noted that the Morgan’s real suspension was “a steel ladder frame of perhaps less than state-of-the-art rigidity. The tires are the other half of the suspension; think of the springs as merely something to grease occasionally.”

And I grudgingly admitted, “No staff member felt it would be anything but a handful down a less than smooth twisty road at speed, and sure enough it was, exhibiting behavior that one staff member termed ‘St Malvern’s Dance.’ ”

Ha.

Cozy weather protection. “What are side curtains, Grandpa?” 

“And after spending some time with this latest Morgan,” we concluded, “we definitely understand its attraction. Modern machinery is easier to drive, but what’s often traded away is the enjoyment of challenge and accomplishment…. For awhile there, with the louvered bonnet leading the way, the transmission tunnel warming your right leg and the cold wind tousling your hair, you and the Morgan are very good friends indeed.” 

Today I sure respect the benefits of my Miata. But, gee, I also miss my Morgan Plus Four Family Tourer. ds 

© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2024