What a deal: ’80 Morgan Plus 8
You learn a new thing everyday. Today we learned that Rover or British Leyland made an attempt to buy Morgan from Peter Morgan. Peter knew he had to do something big to keep people interested so he took the opportunity to turn the tables on BL and ask them about supplying the new Rover V8 to Morgan. The Morgan Plus 8 was born. The existing platform required much work to accommodate the V8. The chassis was made wider and the wings (fenders) made wider to hold larger wheels/tires. They maintained the gearbox and added limited slip. That changed with later models. The result was one hell of hot rod. It was a success and quickly became a cult sensation.
The US was without a Morgan because the new V8 didn’t meet emissions standards and the bumpers needed modifications. Bill Fink from Isis Imports stepped in and cleverly sidestepped the rules through a propane conversion. It was an clever fix and could be unconverted with ease. Today’s Morgan is a 3-owner car with 43,000 miles. It is in excellent condition outside and a sufficient amount of leather patina inside to be believable. It has a killer cool set of rims and a neat luggage rack too. We think the only downside to a Plus 8 might be the countless uneducated admirers who’ll ask you if it is a kit car. Mostly because of the Federalized bumpers. Goodman Reed is the representing dealer and they are well-known for their fine inventory. They just took possession of the Morgan and have yet to set a price. Click here for the listing.