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Reply to "Hello and Thanks! Newbie in the making?"

Perry - I have been fortunate enough to drive both a Morgan (+8 owned by a friend's family since new) and a Speedster replica (my '06 Beck) back-to-back, so I think I can offer a reasonably accurate comparison.

  • Comfort: The Beck wins.  Its ride is smoother and it is considerably roomier, although some of that is due to the tube frame.  A Chesil, on a VW pan, will be a bit less roomy, but should still be more spacious than the Morgan.
  • Practicality: Ok, I must be crazy to even bring this up as neither are practical.  Both leak when it rains and neither has much luggage space.
  • Handling: Tough to say, as neither drives like a modern car.  Steering was lighter in the Speedster, but a bit more precise in the Morgan.  Handling was different between the two, but in the short drive I had in the Morgan I can't really offer much of an opinion here.  You'll have to ask yourself whether you prefer front or rear engine characteristics.  The Speedster can be a bit tail-happy if one doesn't remember the adage "Don't lift!"
  • Power: The Morgan, hands down, despite the 120-ish bhp in my Beck.  It's not a valid comparison to your car, though, as my friend's car was originally the more powerful +8.  I say "originally" because after fighting overheating problems in the South Carolina summers he finally gave up and had it converted to a Pontiac Solstice DOHC 4-cyl/5-speed configuration a number of years ago by Isis Motors on the west coast.  The Pontiac engine has more power and gets much better mileage than the original Rover V8, and the 5-speed helps immensely.  My Beck was pretty quick in its own right, but the Morgan wins this one.
  • Reliability: The Morgan has been pretty much bullet proof since the engine swap.  My Beck was generally reliable as well, with the exception of the Weber carbs, which can be finicky.  Still, I had little hesitation to take trips >1000 miles in it.

In reviewing what I have written I would imagine that none of this is particularly helpful, but maybe it will offer some food for thought.  Either will provide a lot of fun, along with the vintage experience.

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