The Pub

Hi all,
So, a good friend of mine just inherited a 1978 +8. It is an Isis import propane car that was well cared for but... has been in storage for 20+years. She wants to get it back on the road and I'm all about helping her do just that but, erm, it runs on freakin propane! Im going to do a deep dive into forums/threads here to try to get up to speed with the propaneness of this thing. However, should any of you guys/gals care to share your thoughts on how to properly (yes, im hinting strongly at safely) wake this lovely car up i am all ears.
The cave man in me is screeming convert to gas while the preservationist in me... I think you can feel our dilema.
Regards,
Ed Valle.

The fact that it has a propane fueling setup should make it a little bit easier to get it back on the road. There will be no need to flush the fuel system, of course. I would change the oil and see if you can get it started (have a look at the spark plugs first, but I suspect they'll be in good condition). That may be the easiest job out of all those necessary to get it back on the road. Conversion to gasoline fuel can come later. Most importantly, from a safety standpoint, the hydraulics will need attention.

Plan to bleed all of the old fluid out of the brakes and clutch hydraulics but be prepared for there to be corrosion damage in all of the parts touched by hydraulic fluid. You can either replace things like the brake and clutch master cylinders and wheel cylinders or rebuild them -- sending them to Apple hydraulics or White Post for re-sleeving means they will last for the life of the car. The calipers can likely be rebuilt with new seals, but if the pistons were originally chromed, that plating may be flaking off. You can likely find stainless steel pistons. Expect to clean up the brake rotors and drums -- depending on how it was stored those may have a pretty thick layer of surface rust on them.

The clutch may be stuck to the flywheel. If you can't shift into gear while the engine is running, that may be the case. Get back to us if that happens and we can suggest a few ways to break the clutch loose without doing any real damage.

Check the fluid level in the steering box, transmission and rear axle. Grease the kingpins in the front suspension (you should see the Zerk fittings on the sliding axle assemblies) and all the tie rod ends, also checking them for wear-induced play. If the rear axle has Zerk fittings just inboard of the rear brake backing plate, give those a squirt of grease (but go easy -- if the rear oil seals are worn you may end up inadvertently greasing the brake shoes).

The damper blades in the front suspension may need adjustment to prevent steering wobble. You'll see a horizontal flat metal strip on each side of the front suspension, about 3" wide and 12-14" long. Grab it near the chassis and see if it can be pushed fore and aft. If there's any play there, loosen the fasteners that attach the hold-down plate to the chassis and knock the triangular spacers up against the damper blade before re--tightening the fasteners. Grease that end of the blade while you're in there. When you're done the blades should be free to move inboard and outboard at the chassis end but not fore and aft.

You may as well check for wear in the kingpin and bushings. With the wheels on the ground, grab each front wheel at 9 and 3 o'clock and twist the front wheel back and forth (as though the steering wheel was being moved). That will give you some idea of how much play is in the bearings. Then grab the wheel at 12 o'clock and push in and out. If there is more play in that axis than in the previous one, there may be some wear in the bushings or the kingpins themselves. Lastly, raise the front wheels off the ground and repeat the process, but this time also grab the wheel at 6 o'clock. By doing this with the wheels off the ground, the bushings are pushing against a portion of the kingpins that are likely less worn, so you can gauge the wear in the bronze bushings alone.

Lastly, expect to replace the spark plug wires after that many years. You'll want to change out the coolant, too, so while you're doing that, check if cooling hoses are mushy or otherwise deformed. Replacing those would be a good idea.

Duncan

Duncan's suggestions are right on. These things first.

Then should you be inclined to swap fuels, I have converted three +8s and a 4/4 from Propane to Gasoline. It is doable and I might be able to help. However, don't be too hasty, propane is viable and a good fuel, if you can get it. I probably have clocked over 100K miles in my Morgans running on the stuff.

Cheers,

Mark

i would convert to gasoline. If you are worried about it being properly preserved and "original", well... It was gasoline when it left the factory, and was converted to meet California and 50 state emissions regulations. Besides the propane conversion, there were other modifications to satisfy DOT regulations, which can also be removed.
The preservationist in me says to take all that junk off and make it as it was when it rolled out of assembly.
A good bit of my work is converting a specific make back to factory original spec and performance. When it came to my Morgan, I got one that didn't have any modifications at all to meet US DOT/EPA requirements.

This could be a very rewarding project. Have fun!

Duncan. Thank you!

Almost as soon as I posted my question did I realized just what a big ask it really was. Border line unfair/unreasonable in it's scope, really. Despite that, man, you knocked it out of the park! I am humbled that you took the time to so clearly spell out the things I should focus on to get this Morgan going again.

Regards,
Ed.

Hi Mark,

Thanks for responding to my plea for help! 100k on propane? Food for thought...

Regards,
Ed.

Hi Jan,

Thank you for the encouragement and perspective.

Regards,
Ed.

I'm pleased to help out someone that wants to do the work to get a Morgan back on the road.
Duncan