A Wooden Chassis: The Unlikely Material Used in Morgan's Cars

The chassis of a Morgan car is typically made from metal, but there is an exception to this rule. In fact, one of the company's earlier models used a wooden chassis. Can you imagine building a car with a wooden frame? It may seem unlikely, but it actually works quite well. The wood provides a solid foundation for the vehicle, and when combined with modern materials like aluminum, it creates a unique and beautiful design.

The Bonding Process

So, how does a wooden chassis become part of a modern car? It all starts with bonding. Morgan's designers create a wooden frame that is then bonded to an aluminum chassis. The result is a strong and lightweight structure that provides the perfect combination of style and performance. This process requires great skill and craftsmanship, as it involves working with wood and metal in tandem.

The Bonded Aluminum Chassis

The bonded aluminum chassis is made using a technique called super forming. This process involves heating the aluminum and then using vacuum to shape it into the desired form. It's a complex process that requires precise control and attention to detail. The end result is a strong and lightweight structure that provides the perfect foundation for the car's body.

Louvering: An Art Form

One of the distinctive features of a Morgan car is its louvers, which are the slats on the bonnet that allow for airflow into the engine. Louvering is an art form that requires great skill and precision. The process involves cutting and shaping the metal to create the perfect louvres, which can be straight or curved depending on the design.

The Final Station: Trimming and Interior

Once the body of the car is complete, it's time to add the finishing touches. This includes trimming the carpets, lining the doors, and creating the dashboard and interior. These tasks require great attention to detail and a keen eye for color and design. The trimmers work tirelessly to ensure that every part of the car is perfect, from the stitching on the seats to the final touches on the dashboard.

The Design Center: Where Decisions are Made

In the Design Center at Morgan, the interior of the car is where the magic happens. The Head of Design, Jonathan, sits down with Jeremy Clarkson and discusses the color scheme for the interior. They present two options: a deep red leather with quilted stitching or a blue leather with horizontal quilting. Jeremy is initially torn between the two options but eventually decides to leave it up to the readers to decide.

The Readers' Choice

Jeremy Clarkson takes the decision out of his hands and asks his viewers to vote on which color scheme they prefer. The article invites readers to click the link below to cast their vote, making them a part of the design process. This interactive element adds a personal touch to the car-building process, allowing readers to get involved in the creation of a Morgan car.

Conclusion

The creation of a Morgan car is a complex and intricate process that involves many different stages. From the wooden chassis to the final touches on the interior, every part of the car requires great skill and attention to detail. Whether it's the bonded aluminum chassis or the louvering process, each stage adds to the overall beauty and uniqueness of the vehicle. The Design Center is where the magic happens, and readers are invited to join in on the decision-making process by voting on their preferred color scheme.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhello you join me at one of my favorite places in the world the Morgan factory here in rainy Marvin and no this isn't a piece of corporate nonsense I'm here because I'm a customer I've ordered a car which I will be paying for fully with my own money it's gone into build and we're gonna see it and more to the point there's a big decision to be made about it that very soon I'm going to ask you to help me with all over to do now is remember which shed are going it could be this one this is the production line chassés under assembly no evidence of robots here just blokes building stuff and Dan not mine not mine although it could be mine it's upside down ha ha ha this one's mine I think it is and this is my mate Zog who I've known a thousand years 1000 thousand years and I've been here I've been looking at this thing it's understand explain Zog is a motoring journalist and in another video I'll explain why he's the reason why I do the job I do this is the new CX platform we've driven a CX platform and I have to say that when I go out the car in front of various Morgan peeps I said this isn't the Morgan because it felt like a car I meant that as a compliment yeah coming from a Morgan fan you're allowed to say that yes because it's a remarkable remarkable platform and more legroom which you obviously need thank you because you have stuff so and then there's this engine so um this is the business centre you're putting it together for me have you've lost any bolts or anything in there yes what stage you are so how long will it be in this stage another half a day and then it doesn't roll on in an automated fashion some blokes wheel it on to the next stage right moving on to the next bit so come on now this remember Ward is significant chassis we've just seen bonded aluminium very modern going forward into the future this goes the other way this this piece of kit every four wheeled Morgan since 1953 has had this shaped in here this is sort of bonded glued together and that forms the shape of the wings and this gives us the chance to clear something up once and for all Morgan's do not have a wooden chassis you just got to imagine that if the chassis was made of wood now on flex it would have it just wouldn't let me snap in half in a minute so you have bonded aluminum chassis wooden frame over that and then the aluminium body over the wooden frame the result of which is well it's beautiful lots of work that goes into that blokes is spoke shades and chisels and it's is wood working on what is still a very modern platform and I hope that's cleared it up once and for you let's no longer hear that right we must move on so we've seen the wood and we've seen the metal and this is where they come together this where yes they they they merge in marriage they do call it the marriage they do they do yes point to make some of the metal is very modern the bonded aluminium chassis actually these wings are made by something called super form where they there's some heat it and use vacuum so it's all very more than the pantry right and what do you do here what's all this okay and now we're gonna show you how to do some louver it the old-fashioned way so the louvers are the lib slots on the bonnet that's a symposium that's the view that the movie driver loves is the long bonnet and the louvers card is scrapped so can we do one of course you can hold you up a bit more yeah I thought I've got it today so yeah go get on with it go again so I louvers straight can you see that now see how straight it is expert job done making it look easy this is the final station on our Whistlestop tour of the factory and by this stage of build you've got pretty much a whole car your body it's painted chassis all you're missing now is the dark art that is trimming and that involves the carpets the lining of the doors of the dashboard and of course the all-important chairs and it involves getting your color right yeah then is remarkable it's done in-house and it is a dark eyes like plastering and wiring are to me two things really two things that you should never do your trimming is the ladies over younger with their little sewing machines it's just all so this is another whole set of craft skills going on here and this is where you are going to come in because very shortly very soon mica will be arriving here at the final station in build tablets interior done and I am stuck I can't decide what color to go with for the interior so for some insane reason I've decided to leave it open to you to make that decision for me we Zog and I are in the Design Center at Morgan with Head of Design Jonathan so that's the car basically specs we come to the big question which is interior at the moment I've got it shown in my first choice which was ready yes we have a deep red mr. sand drug tomorrow I think they called and I love quilted leather with a needle stitch matching stitch color we've gone for a red box we've wool carpet here's where I need your help because I've since then had another idea and I suddenly thought well that's very traditional but do I go with blue so this is the fine grain new blue and sorry easy to launch it no introduction for success bring this horizontally that's what you had in the launch one yeah can we do the horizontal just got a few of pleats yeah what do you think I I prefer the blue to the red I throw the red I think it's a very different car all of a sudden that's much more than keeping because it is with the CX platform underneath this feels like a modern car it's a different creature that is quite something isn't it mmm but then there's the red hmm I'm suddenly preferring how am i right Jeremy choices can I give Drive Trivers is it between two hey you might have to work here then there might be a bigger job to our carbs Wow the system was like one of those shows oh that's with the piping that's quite a bit it's painful it hurts a bit in the transition stages that is quite strong I think that would work if the car was a difficult to chill show me that wild and crazy this is a really caramel tan very European blossoms lady over there it's like a really bad sport back I don't know I think I think the Blues much myself I think what we're gonna do is continue to argue about this here indefinitely and I'm gonna break this down to four choices let's strike that it's three choices Bret it's two choices the red straight up you can decide is it the blue with the horizontal quilting or the red diamond quilting and you can click the link down below to vote or gonna drive tribe and do it there don't just take them Academy with it choose the one you prefer youhello you join me at one of my favorite places in the world the Morgan factory here in rainy Marvin and no this isn't a piece of corporate nonsense I'm here because I'm a customer I've ordered a car which I will be paying for fully with my own money it's gone into build and we're gonna see it and more to the point there's a big decision to be made about it that very soon I'm going to ask you to help me with all over to do now is remember which shed are going it could be this one this is the production line chassés under assembly no evidence of robots here just blokes building stuff and Dan not mine not mine although it could be mine it's upside down ha ha ha this one's mine I think it is and this is my mate Zog who I've known a thousand years 1000 thousand years and I've been here I've been looking at this thing it's understand explain Zog is a motoring journalist and in another video I'll explain why he's the reason why I do the job I do this is the new CX platform we've driven a CX platform and I have to say that when I go out the car in front of various Morgan peeps I said this isn't the Morgan because it felt like a car I meant that as a compliment yeah coming from a Morgan fan you're allowed to say that yes because it's a remarkable remarkable platform and more legroom which you obviously need thank you because you have stuff so and then there's this engine so um this is the business centre you're putting it together for me have you've lost any bolts or anything in there yes what stage you are so how long will it be in this stage another half a day and then it doesn't roll on in an automated fashion some blokes wheel it on to the next stage right moving on to the next bit so come on now this remember Ward is significant chassis we've just seen bonded aluminium very modern going forward into the future this goes the other way this this piece of kit every four wheeled Morgan since 1953 has had this shaped in here this is sort of bonded glued together and that forms the shape of the wings and this gives us the chance to clear something up once and for all Morgan's do not have a wooden chassis you just got to imagine that if the chassis was made of wood now on flex it would have it just wouldn't let me snap in half in a minute so you have bonded aluminum chassis wooden frame over that and then the aluminium body over the wooden frame the result of which is well it's beautiful lots of work that goes into that blokes is spoke shades and chisels and it's is wood working on what is still a very modern platform and I hope that's cleared it up once and for you let's no longer hear that right we must move on so we've seen the wood and we've seen the metal and this is where they come together this where yes they they they merge in marriage they do call it the marriage they do they do yes point to make some of the metal is very modern the bonded aluminium chassis actually these wings are made by something called super form where they there's some heat it and use vacuum so it's all very more than the pantry right and what do you do here what's all this okay and now we're gonna show you how to do some louver it the old-fashioned way so the louvers are the lib slots on the bonnet that's a symposium that's the view that the movie driver loves is the long bonnet and the louvers card is scrapped so can we do one of course you can hold you up a bit more yeah I thought I've got it today so yeah go get on with it go again so I louvers straight can you see that now see how straight it is expert job done making it look easy this is the final station on our Whistlestop tour of the factory and by this stage of build you've got pretty much a whole car your body it's painted chassis all you're missing now is the dark art that is trimming and that involves the carpets the lining of the doors of the dashboard and of course the all-important chairs and it involves getting your color right yeah then is remarkable it's done in-house and it is a dark eyes like plastering and wiring are to me two things really two things that you should never do your trimming is the ladies over younger with their little sewing machines it's just all so this is another whole set of craft skills going on here and this is where you are going to come in because very shortly very soon mica will be arriving here at the final station in build tablets interior done and I am stuck I can't decide what color to go with for the interior so for some insane reason I've decided to leave it open to you to make that decision for me we Zog and I are in the Design Center at Morgan with Head of Design Jonathan so that's the car basically specs we come to the big question which is interior at the moment I've got it shown in my first choice which was ready yes we have a deep red mr. sand drug tomorrow I think they called and I love quilted leather with a needle stitch matching stitch color we've gone for a red box we've wool carpet here's where I need your help because I've since then had another idea and I suddenly thought well that's very traditional but do I go with blue so this is the fine grain new blue and sorry easy to launch it no introduction for success bring this horizontally that's what you had in the launch one yeah can we do the horizontal just got a few of pleats yeah what do you think I I prefer the blue to the red I throw the red I think it's a very different car all of a sudden that's much more than keeping because it is with the CX platform underneath this feels like a modern car it's a different creature that is quite something isn't it mmm but then there's the red hmm I'm suddenly preferring how am i right Jeremy choices can I give Drive Trivers is it between two hey you might have to work here then there might be a bigger job to our carbs Wow the system was like one of those shows oh that's with the piping that's quite a bit it's painful it hurts a bit in the transition stages that is quite strong I think that would work if the car was a difficult to chill show me that wild and crazy this is a really caramel tan very European blossoms lady over there it's like a really bad sport back I don't know I think I think the Blues much myself I think what we're gonna do is continue to argue about this here indefinitely and I'm gonna break this down to four choices let's strike that it's three choices Bret it's two choices the red straight up you can decide is it the blue with the horizontal quilting or the red diamond quilting and you can click the link down below to vote or gonna drive tribe and do it there don't just take them Academy with it choose the one you prefer you\n"