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gardens to be confronted by all the rhododendrons, begonias and hydrangeas complimenting the Plus 4’s and Plus 8’s. Oh the colours, the shapes the smells! And I am just talking about the cars now. The All British Field Meet at Van Dusen Botanical Gardens is a celebration of the best that nature and engineering have to offer. Flower Power by Dave Doroghy I went to the Van Dusen Gardens one night this last Christmas season to look at all the nice lights they had on display. Although it was cold and crowded, all in all it was a fairly pleasant and festive evening. As I strolled around the flickering display I thought to myself that the botanical park really shines and only realizes its full and perfect potential during the All British Field Meet. As far as I’m concerned, Van Dusen Gardens was custom designed for a giant car show. Don’t get me wrong; it’s not that I don’t like flowers. They’re OK, and I even visited the gardens in the early 80’s once before the car show debuted to look at the flowers. However it’s only when you place 550 old British cars in the middle of all that colourful foliage and sprawling grass that Van Dusen Gardens really finds its raison d’etre. I have been to car shows all around the world from shows on the lawn of Leeds Castle in England to shows in a Wal-Mart Parking lot in Memphis, Tennessee. And make no mistake about it – the surroundings and environment where a show is staged is the number one factor in the shows success. Granted you need great cars too, but it’s the combination of great cars in a super natural setting that sets great car shows apart from amazingly spectacular ones. It’s like the cars are the masterpiece paintings on a canvas and the setting where the car show is held is the matching frame. Van Dusen Gardens has it all and is just so perfect for a car show. The undulating grounds with their gentle slopes and small hills accentuate the cars. The tranquil lakes and dramatic rock-works provide an interesting backdrop. Trees provide shade, contrast and reference points. Oh and did I mention the flowers? Van Dusen’s collection includes more than 7,300 plant families and 225,000 individual plants from around the world. The Gardens size of 55 acres is ideal too. If it were any smaller you couldn’t fit all the cars in there, and if it was any bigger it wouldn’t feel as cozy and intimate. Heck, I fell in love with Morgans for the first time at the All British Field Meet. I still can remember that day so vividly. Was it the faint distant scent of the flowers, the light spring breeze, the subdued shadow of a fir tree, or the subtlety curved British racing green fenders that so deeply stirred my emotions? Who cares - the show is an orgy of the senses. The ABFM at Van Dusen stirs the heart unlike any other event in the city. One of the reasons I bought my Morgan was so I could display it at the show. A rose is a rose is a rose. And a Morgan is a Morgan is a Morgan. Let’s get together again next Victoria Day long-weekend at Van Dusen Gardens and marvel at their co-existence. All of my Dorg’s Morg stories can be accessed at www.dorg.ca. Everyone knows that first impressions are the most important and lasting ones. That’s why the car show organizers decided to display all the Morgans at the beginning of the pathway as you first enter the gardens. It must be nothing short of overwhelming to a first time car show attendee on a bright sunny Spring morning as he or she walks into the NW-Mogazine Volume 33, Number 3 <strong>May</strong> & June 2013 16
Putting a Morgan Back on the Road Pat Leask The saga of Pat’s 1967 Morgan Plus 4 Body Issues All (except the very fortunate) Morgans of this age will have body issues. This particular car, when I got it, I'd say was very good and solid. I received the Heritage certificate, which, of course, told me what most of them do: what came with the car stock when it left the factory. However, there was more to it than what the certificate said, according to Penny, who I bought the car from. I wrote back about the information I had, asking if it could be clarified. Here is what I received from the very helpful certificate people: “Remove corroded & rusty panels from body, renew rotted body frame wood parts incld. sill boards, door rockers, heel board, bottom sections elbow rail & hinge pillars, fit new bonnet, set new panels, repair & replace wings, retrim, fit new side screens, attend to wiring, check brakes, fit new calipers, brake discs, pads & hoses etc. Fit new chrome luggage carrier, new front & rear bumpers, inner steering column etc., prepare, undercoat & paint. Mileage 17,775.” I had to replace just a little bit of wood, do a little tweaking to get the doors to fit better, and fix some dreadful woodwork on the tub, as this page will show. The panels of the tub that the factory replaced are aluminium (interesting; why aluminium?). Thankfully, though, I do not have alot to write about in this area. Read on to follow some of the body issues I've experienced with this car. Driver Rocker So, why does my driver'sside door not close flush with the 'B' post? And why is the bottom of the driver's-side rear quarter panel (forward of the wheel) a bit wonky? I had to take the windshield cowl off anyways, so I though, "may as well" take the rear quarter panel off to see what's up. I quickly found out that the outside of the rocker is about 3/8" proud of where the rocker and the 'B' post meet; Yikes, that explains a lot! To top it off, the top of the rocker was very badly cut. Not only was it not flat to the floor boards (a drop of up to 3/8" from the outside to the inside), but it was also not even close to parallel to the bottom of the door. The first problem, the outside of the rocker standing proud of the 'B' post, was fixed easily enough with a hand plane and sander. Now my door fits relatively flush to the 'B' post. The second problem required a couple of beers and some time looking at it. In the end, what I did was take off whatever wood I had to in order to make the top of the rocker flat. I then got some ash and cut it to mate with the rocker (thicker than was needed, to allow me to cut it down later) and tacked it in place. I then mounted the door and scribed a line on the filler piece of wood. I subtracted about 3/8" to allow for the leather, finishing strips, etc., and cut it out on the band saw. I refitted it, tested the door, made any changes required, and then glued it in place and sanded it with feathering out the front and back of the filler piece. It turned out fairly well. The kicker to all this… in the late '70s, the Morgan factory themselves replaced most of the wood on the driver's side. I sure hope this was again done by someone other than the factory, as it was a really badlydone job. Driver Inner Fender The lack of wood rot in my tub is enough to make any Morgan owner giddy with joy when embarking on a full restoration. So, what do I do when only 5% of the driver's-side rear inner fender is rotten? Replace the whole thing for a matter of 5-6 inches of rot? I really had only three choices: do nothing (considering the amount of rot, a possibility with today's wonder glues/fillers), replace the entire fender (overkill), or simply replace the rotten part (which is not good). As you can see I went for the latter… My first attempt was to steam some 1/4" thick ash and bend/clamp it more than was needed (to allow for springback). I left it for a full day so it was well and truly steamed. I bent and clamped it for several days, and when unclamped it was so far from what I needed that into the fire place it went! My other option was to do what you see in the photos. I took some thick stock and cut one piece to mate with the two inner two layers, then glued and sanded. Then I cut the forwardmost piece and did the same to sandwich the middle one. I think it turned out really well. (photos continued at top of the following page) Pat at the Island Pod Christmas Party Note the new wood on top of arrows. NW-Mogazine Volume 33, Number 3 <strong>May</strong> & June 2013 17
Page 1 and 2: MORGAN OWNERS GROUP NORTHWEST MAY &
Page 3 and 4: West of Northwest Morgan season has
Page 5 and 6: Northern Pod St. Patrick's & Early
Page 7 and 8: 2013 Vancouver ABFM “The Greatest
Page 9 and 10: Party Photos MacDonald Photo MacDon
Page 11 and 12: Chapman: 1965 Plus 4 Doroghy: 1966
Page 13 and 14: Barnes: 1993 Plus 4 3rd Plus 4 Clas
Page 15: WHERE DO WE LIVE? by Steve Hutchens
Page 19 and 20: BUTTON'S TRIP TO NORTHERN EUROPE PA
Page 21 and 22: ME AND MY MORGAN From Canada Track
Page 23 and 24: Morgan, Icon of the World By Harry

May - MogNW

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