Organised a min-run today, in the MX5, in company with another MX5 and an MG-F of similar vintage.
An afternoon out, really. About 20 miles through the lanes for a pub lunch at the Crown in Little Missenden, a nice sandwich and a couple of hours in the garden, and back again at a modest trundle. Hoods down of course.
Promised ourselves we'll do it more often. Sywell Aerodrome has been pencilled in. They have a museum, and a nice caff. And I'll be able to call at gb's wholefood shop too.
Purely recreational motoring. Marvellous.
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I followed what seemed to be a Morgan 3 wheeler up the M40 this afternoon. Not sure if it was for real, 62 plate?
Later on the same stretch I passed two blonde ladies in an Audi A4 with their top down ( pfnarr pfnarr ) Was quite funny though as both their barnets were symetrically vertical above their also identical oversized sunglasses. That was nearer the Birmingham end so I suspected it was less a case of Thelma and Louise and more one of Madison and Chardonnay.
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Yeah that's it, or more or less identical anyway. Quite expensive then.
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>> This 'yun?
>>
>> www.allonwhite.co.uk/Morgan-Three-wheeler/
>>
According to a group of friends in my Harley club who've toured the factory, they're not quite what they might seem.
If you're expecting the traditional ash-framed, individually-crafted bodies, be prepared to be disappointed; these little beggars are GRP.
It's not only the engine that's borrowed from Harley-Davidson (well, S&S actually) as I'm sure they've hired the MoCo's scriptwriters for their sales spiel as well;
"The future of road transport in the 21st century has two big issues, the conservation of precious resources and the protection of our beautiful natural environment. Downsizing and a philosophy of simplicity are ways of dealing with these problems. The Morgan Three-wheeler is a proven answer to these problems. In 2011 the Morgan Motor Company is to expand its range and go back to its roots."
That sort of BS would put me off if I had the money to buy one.
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>> >> This 'yun?
>> >>
>> >> www.allonwhite.co.uk/Morgan-Three-wheeler/
>> >>
>>
>> According to a group of friends in my Harley club who've toured the factory, they're
>> not quite what they might seem.
Watched them being built as well. Its a tubular space frame, with GRP as you say. Apart from the engine and gearbox however, it is all made in the factory.
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A little while ago, I took a group of students to visit Morgan.
I don't think there can be anywhere else who make cars in that way, and as such it was a real treat to see.
While on one hand they showed us the wooden jigs used to bend and form the glued sections of the wooden chassis, there were also modern construction methods being used - albeit construction methods tailored for small volume production.
While personally, their products are of no interest to me, the fact that they are building such a small number of cars using a mixture of craft techniques and modern technology in the UK, in 2013, is remarkable.
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>> I followed what seemed to be a Morgan 3 wheeler up the M40 this afternoon.
>> Not sure if it was for real, 62 plate?
They certainly are. Saw a couple at the Silverstone Classic last year, or was it 2011? Decided I'd have one. Then discovered they were £25,000+.
EDIT - just read Z's link - seems like I have the gearbox!
Last edited by: Manatee on Thu 2 May 13 at 21:08
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you need gauntlets, a sheepskin coat, and a flying helmet.
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>> you need gauntlets, a sheepskin coat, and a flying helmet.
Yup. I think the Mazda is more practical. Or less impractical anyway. I'll need a boot bag or rack if I go touring with the boss as it is. I think she's building the Imelda Marcos memorial shoe collection. Humph would be proud of her.
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For a few years BK ( Before Kids ) we used to take the Westfield on "Great European Adventures" We'd go away for 3 weeks sometimes with everything we needed in a holdall bungeed on top of the spare wheel. Even did our honeymoon like that. Stayed in loads of posh "shatuxes" etc. "She" had one posh frock with her and I relied on a stiff brush.
It wasn't too unusual to go to a fancy restaurant having picked dead flies off my shirt in the car park !
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>>"shatuxes"<<
Is that what the Scots call ''cassells''?
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Wee French cassells yeah.
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>> you need gauntlets, a sheepskin coat, and a flying helmet.
>>
Last time I saw that done in anger was at the dead of night heading south on the M1 in Yorkshire in the driving rain. That's driving rain as in "wipers on double speed". I was rather surprised to se an enormous and high mounted pair of headlights approaching rapidly from behind and dropped in a lane to let whatever it was pass.
Truck? No, not at that speed and the lights, while vast and high, were too close together. Close though, according to Ettore Bugatti at least.
Answer turned out to be a blower Bentley with two blokes dressed as described (you forgot the goggles though) crouched behind the aero screens, going hammer and tongs in lane three to keep the worst of the weather going over the top of the beast.
Hmm, I thought. Several tons, crossply tyres, drum brakes, wet motorway with standing water at intervals and all of 90mph by my speedo. Their stopping distance must be measured in miles.......
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While the speed probably was silly, the drums are large and won't suffer from brake fade doing one stop and the pressure on the tyre contact area is large, so won't aquaplane or skid as easily as a modern car on its wide low profiles.
So I'd expect the stopping distance while much greater than a modern, not to be as badly affected in percentage terms as you might think.
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>> I followed what seemed to be a Morgan 3 wheeler up the M40 this afternoon.
>> Not sure if it was for real, 62 plate?
>>
One of our accontants lives near Cheltenham and occasionally comes in to the office (Solihull) in his . . .
Not sure I'sd drive it up the motorway.
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Sounds like a good day.
Remember the sensibly priced coffee shop at Daily Bread shuts at 3pm if you want an extra brew...and i recommend the lemon sponge for serious dieters...;)
Its been lovely to get all the windows and sunroof open on the old girl, often take to the lanes going home on such a glorious afternnon as this.
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I think an early start, then morning coffee might be OK gb. Then the musey room at Sywell, lunch and return, all via suitable roads of course, we shall have nothing to say to the M1.
It's the place the other side of the roundabout from Brackmills?
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>> It's the place the other side of the roundabout from Brackmills?
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Yes as you come off that huge roundabout there are three lanes going into N'pton centre that narrow to two just after you turn, be in the right hand lane as you'll be turning off about 400yds from the roundabout, reasonably well signed up.
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Manatee,
I have a set of genuine Mazda MX5 alloys in the garage. They are in my way. Do you want them?
I live in south Gloucestershire.
MJM
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I am very interested, yes MJM, thanks. It's wearing some scruffy 15" Fox wheels at the moment, and one has a noticeably bent rim too.
I'll add an email address to my profile.
Last edited by: Manatee on Fri 3 May 13 at 22:34
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Manatee,
Email sent, let me know if it doesn't arrive.
MJM
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>> Yes as you come off that huge roundabout there are three lanes going into N'pton
>> centre that narrow to two just after you turn, be in the right hand lane
>> as you'll be turning off about 400yds from the roundabout, reasonably well signed up.
The roundabout is signed as Barnes Meadow interchange. If you follow signs/markings for the Hospital you'll roll off in correct lane for Daily Bread.
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Another bit of thread revival.
Down at Wyatt's Covert CAMC site last weekend. First time out in the 'van since its accident although it had an abortive run before the 'lingo let us down at Xmas.
Three glorious days of sunshine.
We planned it as a wraparound to part of my Xmas present to Mrs B which was to see a thing called Moonwalkers at the Lightroom a new(ish) facility as part of the Kings Cross redevelopment.
Narrated by Tom Hanks it looks at the Apollo missions and the activities of the Astronauts who got to walk on the moon. The Lightbox itself is a sort of surround cinema with equipment to show images on all four walls. The show was fantastic, for anybody who was around in 69 and onwards it's an absolute must.
lightroom.uk/whats-on/the-moonwalkers/
Mrs B has a long standing fascination with that era. Her Father was very much into it and he had her and her siblings up in the small hours to see Armstrong step out of the LEM.
We had a really good walk in London, starting from Marylebone and around bits of the West End and past the British Museum to my old stomping ground around 'Legal London' all in bright sun.
Topped off with a meal at the Spaghetti House in Sicilian Avenue which was as good as ever.
Kew the day before, also in wall to wall sunshine was good too.
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A Grand Day Out - Runfer D'Hills
