Morgan 4/4 TC - one of the rare ones....

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fabio
Posts: 2
Joined: January 18th, 2009, 7:14 pm

Morgan 4/4 TC - one of the rare ones....

Post by fabio »

Hi everyone,

I`ve been planning to post an introduction to my Fiat TC engined Morgan for the best part of a year, and finally, finally, I`ve got round to doing it! The car is a 1984 Morgan 4/4 TC 4 seater with a 1585cc twin cam (132D 000), one of just over 90 factory built 4/4 TC`s produced between 1981 and 1985. A lot of these cars apparently were LHD for European markets and so is a rare car in the UK...or anywhere else for that matter! I believe the Fiat engined Morgans were viewed with some suspicion by Morgan fans at the time - perhaps many of them not realising the quality of the engines & gearboxes but knowing a lot about Fiat/Lancia rust problems. Maybe they also thought a foreign engined Morgan was not British enough....blithely ignoring the fact that the first Morgan built in 1909 was powered by ......Peugeot.
001 (1024 x 768) Morgan 4-4TC.jpg
001 (1024 x 768) Morgan 4-4TC.jpg (293.05 KiB) Viewed 7045 times
My car has covered just 34,000 miles, many Morgans are sparingly used, mine does about 4,000 miles a year as a surprisingly practical second car, but one previous owner only did 1-200 miles a year between MOT`s. Thankfully, the last owner a Parisian, added 9,000 french miles in just under 18 months. However, I fear that this mixed pattern of use and the car`s age has stated to catch up with oil seals and gaskets. Currently, the Marelli alternator has developed a nasty whining howl after water ingress following a `deep puddle' incident last week. The rear crank oil seal is also leaking, but I have sorted the externally leaking head gasket - the head came off last spring - the photos tell the story - sorry for the less than perfect working conditions Guy. GC supplied various parts including head bolts, but no funds were available for any improvements at this time.
PICT0017 (2) (1024 x 768) Morgan under bonnet.jpg
PICT0017 (2) (1024 x 768) Morgan under bonnet.jpg (222.67 KiB) Viewed 7045 times
PICT0050 (1024 x 768) Head off for the first time.jpg
PICT0050 (1024 x 768) Head off for the first time.jpg (230.52 KiB) Viewed 7045 times
PICT0051 (1024 x 768) Yes of course it rained.jpg
PICT0051 (1024 x 768) Yes of course it rained.jpg (230.59 KiB) Viewed 7045 times
PICT0052 (1024 x 768) 30,000 miles in 28 years - no bore wear.jpg
PICT0052 (1024 x 768) 30,000 miles in 28 years - no bore wear.jpg (234.47 KiB) Viewed 7045 times
PICT0053 (768 x 1024) On the bench.jpg
PICT0053 (768 x 1024) On the bench.jpg (276.53 KiB) Viewed 7045 times
PICT0054 (768 x 1024) Shims installed.jpg
PICT0054 (768 x 1024) Shims installed.jpg (261.69 KiB) Viewed 7045 times
PICT0055 (768 x 1024) Original leaky gasket.jpg
PICT0055 (768 x 1024) Original leaky gasket.jpg (243.5 KiB) Viewed 7045 times
PICT0058 (1024 x 768) Head back on - new GC head bolts.jpg
PICT0058 (1024 x 768) Head back on - new GC head bolts.jpg (247.02 KiB) Viewed 7045 times
PICT0059 (768 x 1024) New cambelt & tensioner to follow.jpg
PICT0059 (768 x 1024) New cambelt & tensioner to follow.jpg (250.49 KiB) Viewed 7045 times
The car is largely original, but a rebuild will be needed before too long. the paint is faded and some rot may have started in the ash wood body frame. It`s done well, especially considering the poor standard of build of early 1980`s Morgans - painting was done over entire cars leading to wing bead paint cracking & flaking, and the ash frame was untreated. Needless to say, modern Morgans are assembled with much more care as a tour around the factory reveals. When rebuild time comes, a GC fast road engine would be ideal, along with some modern Morgan upgrades to suspension and brakes. In the meantime, I`ll keep reading the posts on this excellent forum to keep me up to date with engine options, but a seasoned spanner wielder I am, a serious engine builder I`m not, so some topics go over my head somewhat, but you should never stop learning or at least trying to.

Hope this has been of interest - any comments or queries welcome of course. The Fiat engined Morgans always intrigued me, and I`m delighted to own one.

Happy Christmas

GAR
Guy Croft
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Joined: June 18th, 2006, 9:31 am
Location: Bedford, UK
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Re: Morgan 4/4 TC - one of the rare ones....

Post by Guy Croft »

MODEL POST!

Nicely illustrated and described, with some good old-fashioned DIY on show!

Thanks Graeme - for the post and your kind email - Jolly good to see a TC Morgan here at last!

G
Guy Croft, owner
andy wright
Posts: 38
Joined: September 6th, 2010, 4:43 pm
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Re: Morgan 4/4 TC - one of the rare ones....

Post by andy wright »

Greta photographs. I have to confess that I did not know that Morgan ever used the F/L twin cam engine. I am biased but, if you are thinking about a GC fast road engine may I humbly suggest that you stop thinking and go ahead ! Guy recently completed an engine for me which I cannot wait to install. Like you I am a spanner weilder but no engine builder.
Andy
GC_20
fabio
Posts: 2
Joined: January 18th, 2009, 7:14 pm

Re: Morgan 4/4 TC - one of the rare ones....

Post by fabio »

Thanks Andy,

As I rely so much on the Morgan as a second car (and live out in the Suffolk sticks) I`m sort of planning to uprate the car at the same time as a body rebuild - which also may mean a new chassis. So the car will be off the road for several months (hopefully not years!). I haven`t got into serious discussions with GC regarding an engine, but my current thoughts are to get as close as possible to the power/acceleration of a current Morgan 4/4 which uses Fords 1.6 Sigma unit; but without sacrifcing too much m.p.g. (I currently achieve 35-40) and staying with a carb. set up. Big improvements to in gear acceleration is what I`m looking for - top speed is of no interest, Morgans not being very aerodynamic.

The history of Morgan`s use of the Fiat twin cam has passed into Morgan lore. Basically, when Peter Morgan heard that Ford`s replacement for the 1600 crossflow was to be a transverse fitment, he quietly looked for an alternative and being keen on italian engine design (he owned Ferraris) he brought in the 1585cc twin cam with 5 speed box. A Fiat powered 4/4 was displayed at the 1981 Motor Show where it was spotted by a Ford executive who had already ordered a 4/4 expecting it to have a Ford engine. Apparently he set the wheels in motion for the new Ford CVH engine to be made available to Morgan with a RWD box. Morgan then sold both versions of the 4/4 along side each other, the Fiat car being more expensive but the Ford initially only having a 4 speed box. The Fiat engined 4/4 called the TC, was never as far as I know magazine road tested and quietly continued in limited production but being outsold by the Ford version by over 20:1. But the story was not over, in 1985 Morgan dropped the car, but re-introduced their +4 model which had ceased production after Triumph`s TR5 2 litre engine which it used had died a death. The new +4 used a 2 litre Fiat twin cam with electronic ignition & fuel injection and was tested and reported on extensively by the motoring press. Bizarrely a few early versions were supplied with twin Webers and were badged 4/4`s - don`t know why! These Fiat +4`s continued for just of couple of years - about 90 being made- until Fiat too could no longer supply RWD gearboxes; Morgan then moved on to Rover engines & boxes for the +4. End of lecture.

GAR
andy wright
Posts: 38
Joined: September 6th, 2010, 4:43 pm
Contact:

Re: Morgan 4/4 TC - one of the rare ones....

Post by andy wright »

Evening,
Thank you for all this really interesting information. I am amazed that the CVH engined Morgan outsold the twin cam, particularly as the former was not one of Ford's best engines. Given the design philosophy of the Morgan, I would have thought that a thoroughbred twin Cam on carbs was a match made in heaven. Clearly not, which is a shame. It seems, therefore that you have a really rare 4/4. I suspect that if you tell Guy what you want from your engine, he will deliver. What I can promise is that you will not be disappointed.
Andy
GC_20
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