Time to acknowledge that I need professional help…

No, I am not talking about my potential mental issues. I am talking about the Morgan of course.

After setting the ignition timing on the Morgan this weekend I couldn’t really do a test drive due to the rainy weather. Today the clouds started to vanish in the late afternoon. Obviously, I was quite excited to test it out today after work. At exactly 6pm I rolled out C6622 and the engine started on the first turn of the key. Perfect!? Well, I was able to drive around the neighbourhood for 4km but I noticed that the idle speed was steadily increasing. I assume another “false air” issue with the Weber carb. As I sanded the base of the carb and used a bit of heat resistant silicon on the gaskets – I fear that it could be caused by the throttle shaft bearings. But I am not sure…

On top of this the gearbox sound – not really a noise but strange nonetheless – is awful. The rattling sound is more or less gone after a few uses of the clutch. Nevertheless, I lack the experience to say if this sounds OK or not. On the positive side the brakes work great, the suspension feels good (as far as the short drive allows me to judge it) and the power assisted steering is almost too easy.

Right after switching off the engine I noticed that coolant was leaking out – a reminder of what happened almost exactly a year ago when the Morgan arrived in Bonn. Fortunately, this time it was just coming out of the overflow – a bit of a relief.

When trying to start the engine for another time, the motor would not fire up again. It was this moment I decided to throw the towel. As mentioned before, I don’t want to get the final paint on the car before I am certain that it is running alright. I tried all I can over the last couple weeks. The “technical inspection” in Solingen was a disappointment.

The few local garages I contacted around seem to have retired all “pre-ODB2 capable” staff. Even the Ford dealer I contacted and asked if they have someone that knows Escort XR3 engines told me that they only service models up to 20 years old.. WTF???? Therefore I have decided to call André Koopmann tomorrow and ask if and when I can get an appointment.  I rather trailer the Morgan to Sulingen to somebody that understands (see picture) before I mess it up any further..