 A different kind of replicar, because it's a replica of itself BY CHARLES FOX Fink and Miller's Bicentennial Morgan Plus 8 is a screamer: a fat, wide, low, tight screamer. It resembles the basic Morgan, but it drives more like a potent Chain Gang Frazer-Nash or San Remo Maserati. Old Moggies were meant to be caned through corners with much whip and spur and motioning of the elbows. They flexed and creaked like H.M.S. Victory in a hurricane. Not this one. This one zooms. And bounds across whole lanes with single bounce of its solid rear axle. Propane power means instant response and 155 DIN horsepower, undiluted with whips, chains, catalysts and pumps. Pushing only 1876 pounds, it means 100 mph in third gear and 20 seconds, and a quarter-mile in 15 seconds at 90 mph. The engine is the 3.5-liter Buick/Rover V-8, coupled to a Rover four-speed, breathing through a pair of two-inch SU carburetors. Fink and Miller devised a way to feed the propane mixture into the SUs: The propane, kept under pressure in liquid form with a lock-off valve that remains closed unless the ignition is on, is brought forward from an 18-gallon tank to a heat exchanger that vaporizes it. It is then drawn into the cylinders by each piston on the intake stroke. Propane gives approximately five percent less mileage than gasoline (16 to 18 mpg) but is about 10 cents per gallon cheaper. It produces no carbon, so spark plug life is longer. And there is no liquid fuel running down cylinder walls into the oil, so engine wear is reduced. If you don't care for propane, a gas-powered Plus 8 will be available in 1977, after either the TR7 or Rover 3500 appears in the U.S. fitted with the Rover V-8. Fink and Miller will then put this de-toxed engine into the Morgan. As waiting time on Morgan orders is currently four to five months, you could presumably order a gasoline version immediately. Anti-smog equipment will cut power in the gasoline V-8 down to about 135 hp, which is why Fink is pushing propane. He will be importing a propane version of the Morgan 4/4 (four cylinders, four wheels) with 160Occ Ford Cortina. With propane, this engine will develop about 84 DIN hp at 5400 rpm and 92 foot-pounds of torque. But Fink is proposing to turbocharge, which with a modest boost, will increase the horsepower to a 140, and give a good 30 mpg. Both cars will have all-aluminum skins on ash frames set on a ladder chassis with five tubular cross members. The 4/4 comes with pressed steel-rim, four-stud wheels and 165x15 radials. The Plus 8 has cast-aluminum five-stud wheels and 185x15 radials. |
  The Plus 8 has two inches more wheelbase (98 inches) and weighs an extra 250 pounds. Front track is 51 inches (compared to the 4/4's 45 inches) and is three inches wider. Both cars have independent front suspension and semi-elliptic springs at the back. Price of the 4/4 is pegged at $10,500; the Plus 8 costs $14,500. It's a sign of the times. In England, a Plus 8 retails for $8000 and, on the flourishing black market, fetches $10,000; 4/4s go as high as $9000 under the table. Once the cars arrive in San Francisco, Fink and Miller must strip them to install the roll cages, door guards, lights and bumpers. They must then be reassembled and painted. Cost per unit for this work is $3500. Fink and Miller do a good job: a row of toggle switches on the leather-covered dash, real seats (gone are the air doughnuts on plywood), a thick padded wheel, an enormous speedometer and a small tach, full-weather equipment and enough luggage room for a short afternoon at the beach. The advantage of the optional roll cage at the rear and 1.5-inch tube that crosses behind the dash to take the side-impact guards in the doors is immensely improved torsional rigidity. |
