The side curtains on most Morgans look like they're still in London. Sitting inside you'd think you were in the dreaded London fog. Yet, it is easy to cure the scratched and blurry plastic pieces that only the completely incapable of us would hesitate to replace them.

The plastic pieces just slip out if they are bent enough and they are made to bend. Then they can make a perfect pattern for the new ones (just as the wind deflectors make a perfect pattern for those that follow.) Front and rear are the same dimensions and the same angles. Exactly.

Buy some Perspex (original material) or Lexan (more flexible) at a hardware store or glass supplier. It will be about $10US for a sheet of 24in x 48in x 1/8in thick. The side curtains are 10" high so cut two 10" strips from the short side giving two pieces of 10in x 24in inches. (Often, the acrylic sheet comes with a protective layer which should be left on until all the cutting and sanding are finished. Now, the old pieces laid on the new acrylic will result in perfect copies without ruler work. If you have the original piece who needs a yardstick?
 

Once the two pieces are four, the only thing left is smoothing the sawn edges and making doubly sure the new pieces are not bigger than the old. These do have to slide, but not too freely because then they won't stay closed. Looking through the new side curtains you will think you are in a sparkling new Morgan.

The windscreens require no bending to fit. However, they are more difficult to cut because of their rounded edges and a jigsaw, an electric sander  or a grinder will help. After the cutting has been done, choose a appropriate bit to make the indentations for the screws as you see in the old deflectors. Installation is simple.

SIDE SCREEN TIPS
by Lorne Goldman (November 5, 2007)

Each channel holding the perspex/lexan is lined in a thin cloth to allow the the panels to slide and yet not rattle. It is quite common for the cloth's glue to crack and then the cloth dislodges, pleats or crushes and blocks the easy movement of the rear panel. (The forward panel is not supposed to move.) It can be can be cured by sorting the cloth liner with new glue and a straight edge.

Alternatively, there is a possibility that the perspex panels were replaced by someone unsure of how to install them. There are panels being sold on ebay.uk at price considerably less than the Morgan trade (15 vs 50). They are ok but come with unfinished edges which require the standard bit of sanding and fitting. I have been contacted by many that did not sand or fit and were JUST able to get the square unsmoothed edged panels in. Of course, they won't move.

If the panels are to removed, make sure they have been in a warm room or heat them mildly with a hair dryer. Then bend carefully until the top edge comes out of the channel.

The rubber molding around the side screens is one piece. If the corners have split, you will need a very special glue to get it to hold. These moldings are easy to refit with new and come with an excess that you can trim.

You do not want to buy new side screens. They are up to 700 pounds for a 4-seater set and 400 for a 2 seater. Additionally, the Factory does not always stock sidescreens for pre-long door cars.

If you do replace your screens, you can consider Lexan, a product that is a bit more brittle than perspex but scratches much less easily. As well, when you put side screens on, hold them inboard as you tightened their posts. That will stop the air and rain from entering the front.

WINDSCREENS UNHEATED (REPLACING)
by John H. Sheally II and Lorne Goldman

If you do not have one of the newer post-1997 heated windscreens, your windscreen is quite simple to replace. The glass fellow (best to go to a non-auto glass place) simply needs shatterproof glass of the same or near-same thickness which should be no problem.

The costs are normally very cheap (I paid the equivalent of 50 US for the last one). I change mine every 2-3 years as a regular maintenance thing as all auto-glass becomes lightly pitted over time.

Go to the glass shop and tell them you would like a new windscreen cut from a piece of "school bus" glass. School bus glass (the side windows) is a standard stock item. The trick is you can have two windscreens cut from the one piece of glass. Here is what happens, you are usually given the one windscreen for a said price and they put the other half of the glass back on the shelf for the next guy but you have paid for the whole piece of glass. Knowing this tell them that you want two. This quite often catches them unaware and they will charge you a additional fee to cut the second piece but you still come out ahead with a spare windscreen for the next time.

You can also have a choice of tinted glass or tinted with a shade at the top. By placement of the pattern for the two cuts you can end up with a tinted windscreen and the shaded piece works in place of sun visors with its shaded top band.
 

WATCHPOINT: The Morgan windscreens are held by 3 screws on each side. The lengths are different  and must get the right length in the right hole or the longer ones will go through the windscreen frame touch and cause the windscreen to crack.

WINDSCREENS HEATED (REPLACING) January, 2011
In 1997, Morgan decided to recess the dash to allow for more tummy room for the newer-type owners. This eliminated the space for the air vents that were used to demist the windscreen. They were replaced by made-for-Morgan heated windscreens. Though these do quick and often superior job in demisting the windscreen, they can only be sourced from two places, both in the UK.  The MORGAN MOTOR COMPANY and SIMMONDS From the MORGAN MOTOR COMPANY, the price will be approximately 1000£ installed..depending on what country you live and they will provide only a frame and windscreen package. (There is a small risk in fitting this glass to its frame and at the cost, a package eliminates this risk). SIMMONDS will ship glass and frame or glass only at your option. The glass/frame cost will vary with the model of frame you have. (500-700£) and they charge 265£ for the heated glass alone.
 

There has been a rash of unexplained cracked windscreens for Classics made in the last months. Owners open their garages in the morning to find their windscreens cracked. Though these claims were settled by the company under warranty when they began, the Factory recently began telling owners and instructing their dealers to make claim against the owners' insurers and they now refuse windscreen claims made upon the company. Irregardless of who pays, there is now a backlog for obtaining heated windscreens from the Factory of three months. Hopefully this will stop shortly as the insurers will normally recoup by raising premiums for the whole class of cars involved.

 

CAR WARRANTY There are three types of car warranties.  A. MANUFACTURER'S WARRANTY  The first is established by Law called and called the Manufacturer's Warranty. It requires the manufacturer to warrant the construction and components of their vehicles for a minimum period. Claims may be made against the manufacturer directly or through any of its agents/dealers. This warranty also covers "latent defects" or defects that were not be apparent at the time of purchase. The terms of this warranty are set by the Legislature and/or international agreements. For the UK see HERE.   Manufacturers' Warranty is not simply established by specific National and International legislation, it is also the part of the civil and case law in every country. The specific law does not limit the extent and duration of buyer protection under these latter provisions. After the time indicated by Law, there remains a libaility that can still be established if sufficient proof of the defect can be made and it violates norms and common usage.  B. DEALER'S WARRANTY This second type warranty is negotiated and established by contract with the Dealer. It covers certain specified items and areas for a designated period agreed to in the signed contract. It will vary from contract to contract and is exigible against the signing dealer only. It can also extend the protection of the Manufacturer's Warranty for an agreed to period. However, in this case only the signatory and not the Manufacturer is liable during that period. C. THIRD PARTY WARRANTY  This warranty is purchased on the open market. It is normally, but not exclusively, engaged as an anciliary to a second hand purchase. It bears all the limitations and risks one has with a Dealer's Warranty, save the fact that it is not with a specific dealer.

WINDSCREENS I (FITTING)
by Phil Macwhirter from the eMOG archives

It might only be a morgan windscreen but it can be pretty difficult to get the screen back into the frame, particularly if your rubber or glass is a bit thicker than it should be. So, what I do with the rubber (which holds the screen into the frame) is throw it away.

The best bet there is to use NEUTRAL cure silicone. Don't use acetic cure as it will eat the lamination in the glass, assuming it is laminated & not toughened.  (As a building contractor I see the results of the wrong silicone all the time, it eats the back off mirrors & taints special metallic coatings as well ). The use of silicone ensures that there is little pressure or stress on the glass/frame assembly.

After removing screen frame from car, pull it all apart, very easy, connections at points where bottom rail joins side / top. & clean all components. Then 50% fill the rebate of the metal frame with silicone.

Fit the glass, & assemble, putting the screws back in to the frame. Then start to wipe off the excess silicone which will ooze out, using turpentine as a solvent. A real messy job, use doctors latex gloves & have plenty of newspaper &  rags on hand. Eventually you will get the whole lot clean and if required can use a razor blade when silicone is dry for final trim up.

BTW, I've heard of many broken windscreens trying to use the rubber sections. The silicone method uses no force or strain on anything ( except you as you get the silicone off everything.) I've done a few screens like this & would not do it any other way.

If you need some more info on this, drop me a line in Melbourne, Australia at pmlm@bigpond.com

WINDSCREENS II (FITTING)
by Fred Sisson from the eMOG archives

For some reason the grit in Georgia eats glass surface and so I have replaced a few windscreen glasses too. Even have used tinted glass.  It is a cheap, easy job.

I like the silicone replacement method but buy the proper tools to remove glued-in glass from the frame next time. I use a combination of home-bent knife blades and old banjo strings to remove the glass. Even then it is not that easy, BUT... easier than removing some of the original glasses. Be careful about bending the frame when removing the glass  I find it easiest to do a simple one-finger cleanup while the silicone is wet..  then I do the final cleanup after it is dry, using razor blades to trim the excess and clean the glass.

MOST IMPORTANT... Just about anyone who has replaced a few windscreens  had broken one at sometime because of the screws holding the screen to the frame or the screws holding the little angle brackets (that hold the frame  together).. contacting the glass. Sometimes they crack a few days later...
MAKE SURE the screws are short enough that they don't contact the edge of the glass!

I also like to shape my own glass for the Brooklands Aeroscreens. I have four different shapes sitting on the shelf at the moment.. Since I am not worried about them being watertight... I only use three inch long squirts of silicone to hold the glass ('cuz I know I am going to get bored with them in a year or so...).

WIPER BLADE REPLACEMENT

For those of us with a difficult access to a Morgan Agent, you will find the the early Volkswagon Beetle wiper blades work fine with a Morgan. By the way, for the purists, there are two sizes of Morgan wiper blades (regular and four-seater windscreen which is a tiny bit longer.

You can also simply replace the rubber only. Use silicone to glue-in new rubber for the wiper blades. Two dollars gets you new refills for modern wipers- long enough to do three-four Mog blades. The new blades let the rubber do the flopping rather than the  whole blade.. and they work a LOT better than original. (keep the new glass clean..).
 

BONNET BELT PLACEMENT
by John Sheally II at the eMOG Pub

The belt goes under the center bonnet bumper bracket that is mounted to the inner wing valance regardless of model of Morgan.

On the Plus-8 you will find the bonnet bumper bracket under the fifth bolt and nut 23 3/4 inches measured from the back of the cowl lined up with the wing to the bolt that holds the bonnet bumper bracket. That is on the right side wing when sitting in the car looking forward. The bumper bracket measurement from back of cowl to bonnet bumper bracket on the left side measures 24". This will vary slightly from car to car. Another measurement is from the front of the brass insert of the bonnet hinge at the cowl measure 19 & 1/2 inches back to the front edge of your bonnet belt.

As you probably are aware the belt was Morgans answer to the secondary tie down of the bonnet required in racing. Most Marques use latches, hood pins etc. but Morgan chose a leather belt and it became a trademark. I tell people if it doesn't have a bonnet belt it's a MG if it does it's a Morgan.

WINDSCREEN RUBBERS
by Lorne Goldman at the eMOG PUB

There are two types of Morgan windscreen rubber and they go different ways. The earlier rubber is made to fold back under and, indeed, was made to accommodate folding windscreens. It is flat and longer.

The later rubber has been used from late 1969 on all cars (but the 4/4s) and from 1977 with the 4/4s as well, until today. ALL Plus 8s, saving the proto-type, had the newer rubber. It is the shorter and mildly
arched and to turn it under is not advisable. If you attempt it, it will take much effort to fold the rubber under and require more than one person (3?) to refit the screen and force it into position.

Of course, if folding windscreens are retro-fitted, the cars switch to the earlier version.

Both types of rubber are available, you must ask for the right one, innie or outie. (smile)

DRILLING THE BODY
by Barney Gowar

If you must drill bodywork (for fog lamps, mirrors and the like), then cover the target with Duck (or Duct) Tape. This holds the bit in place just long enough for it to bite without slipping.