Morgan Motor Company Factory Tour

[Matt2000]

I know @Der Stig put some photos on Telegram, you know I still prefer to put things on here so here's my pic dump from the tour we did.

Star of the tour, Rover with a raw tube exhaust


Frames stored outside, this triggered me slightly but they're not going to be harmed really. Simple construction but lots of bits.


Rolling chassis and Super 3 bathtub bodies in the background.


Morgan gives you wings.


First stop had a nice display of models with some bigger models on display, including a funny looking 4-seater.


Mechanical assembly, with just some bits lying around. Weirdly out of order with the actual assembly of the body.



They assemble one engine and gearbox at a time, I guess the cars take so long to be ready it's completely fine.


Metalwork next, lots of formed aluminumium parts and jigs. Strong smell of adhesive.


Finger-squasher fly presses are brilliant old bits of kit. Used by eye apparently.


Super 3 jigs and parts, along with tools.



In the wood shop, even the scrap bin has personality. There's a part being formed that we couldn't be told about, but it will become relevant. Some samples of the veneer finishes they offer now, with materials beneath. Strong smell of wood. While in here, I got wood. I will provide pictures later.


Trim and fitting, strong smell of leather. Glue dispenser seems to be from 1909. It's funny seeing the wooden door frames with speakers and actuators. While in here, I got leathered.


Paint and Super 3 assembly. Strong smell of paint. I made it through the entire tour without stealing their Makita tools.



Finally the archive room, with this lethal recreation of an early machine. It apparently does 50mph, with tiller steering! Strong smell of old.


Jeff* the stuffed owl, who until recently sat on a beam and maybe kept pigeons away but definitely scared burglars away. *May not be called Jeff


Rover V8 racer with BL switches galore, it also leaks.


Who's this twat looking smug in a Super 3 that he parked badly? This is an amazing machine.

 

[Der Stig]

I beat @Matt2000 to Malvern because of how powerful and fantastic the Panda is, of course.

Since I had a decent amount of time before the tour started, I poked around the showroom, shop, and cafe. The facilities here are really nice, like way nicer than I would have expected. I found the design and layout of the newer facilities to be very pleasant. Nice natural light in the cafe, lots of wood (obviously), and it blended in well with the factory surrounding it.

Prepare your eyes to water...

The LeMans edition car is also lovely. But quite dear!

This white over green one is a nice spec and a bit cheaper, but still a pretty penny!

Have I mentioned that there's a lot of wood here?

Some of the color and wood grain samples:

Can you spot the owl (Jeff) on the side of this Super Three? This is their little nod to their history and every preproduction prototype has a little owl on it somewhere supposedly. All Super 3s have bespoke Avon tires given their funky size.

Large campus:

Mmmm Plus 8...it even matches the Panda (they do have 40,000 paint colors to choose from). This is parked in the cafe area.

Better shot of the ceiling and natural lighting. Also more wood.

The menu at their cafe

Some content from their shop:

Adorable

 

[Der Stig]

And continued!

That Plus Six in the showroom, oh dear!

The Plus 8 would be a top pick for sure. This one is part of their heritage collection, so not for sale!

A man called Julian brought us out of the nice warm reception area and into the cold to start our tour. Note the two best cars in the carpark.

WOOD

My picture does not do this Plus 4's paint job justice. Or the smell of paint fumes wheeeee.

Neat to see the cars taking shape

@Matt2000 and I inspecting the wood. And enjoying the fumes.

We got wood!

Back outside, closer still to the paint fumes wheeeee... The Super 3s are driven through this gap with 1 cm worth of space on the side of each wheel lol.

Inside the trim shop, cars are in the last stages before road testing.

A piece of leather! I'm 0.003% of the way to Johnny Cashing my Morgan.

Every Morgan gets driven on a test of city and country lanes, 40 miles for the Plus 4 and Plus 6, 29 miles for the Super 3.

This one has an identical copy waiting for it in Jakarta that finished last week. Two going to the same family.

One of my favorites (the Morgan shop had DVDs on the Aero 8 from 1999 or so for £1 so I snapped up a copy), the Aero 8. This is from the last run, being a 2018 car. Another heritage car. Pictured here with Super 3s ready for delivery. This Aero 8 features the optional sports package with red calipers and side exhausts. Brilliant.

This is a Series 5 car, so it features Mini headlights instead of the earlier series 1-2 cars with New Beetle units. Still a bit cross eyed, but I can't help but love this car's design. The windscreen is part of the cab/tub so there are no gaps. Nice touch.

Inside their little museum with some famous Morgan cars.

Rover V8 leak lol.

AeroMax!

 

[Der Stig]

Okay, my pic dump is over after this!

My favorite part of the AeroMax, the rear and windows.

Drawing room. The sheets of paper were Morgans people attempted to draw. They were horrendous. I couldn't have drawn a better car though, to be fair.

And what started it all, an order from Harrod's for the original three wheelers over one hundred years ago.

This concluded the tour and I went and had lunch while Matt hooned about in the Super 3. The Plus 8 was good company.

I was impressed that they produced 869 cars last year. Julian stated that they are happy with where they are at producing under 1000 cars a year. This should also help them continue to sell petrol powered cars into the future. EVs aren't out of the question for them, allegedly they're even working on something with a battery that they are producing in house.

All in all, it was an excellent tour, well worth the drive! I definitely left with an interest in trying some of their cars and have been learning more about them since.

 

[Matt2000]

Great photos, that salmon looks nice. I didn't really have a chance to stop and look at the menu. I did go back and buy a T-shirt though, then they emailed me today with a discount code for the online shop.

As promised, here's what I returned home with after getting wood and getting leathered*.



It's nice leather, I wouldn't personally pick leather seats for a Morgan so I'm saving this for a Range Rover that needs its ivory seats retrimming.

One guy in the group said he was putting the bit of wood in the house he's restoring, thought that was cute.

*British slang for drunk.