>To: mgs@autox.tem.net
>From: vortex@worldaccess.nl (Bert Palte)
>Subject: Curious suspension answer?
>Cc:
>Bcc:
>X-Attachments:
>
>J. Michael Roach wrote:
>
>>As a newbie to the MG world, I was surprised to find that my '75 Midget
seems a >bit sloshy. What kind of "ride" should I expect from the car? What
can be done?
>
>Had the same questions when I bought my 1970 B. That was in '89.
>Have done the following:
>
>- New leaf springs on the rear of the car = disappointment, no big difference.
>
>- New anti-roll-bar support rubbers up front = very slight improvement.
>
>- Ordered new coil springs and inner wishbone rubbers (at M&G International,
> Birkenhead, Great Britain) for the front suspension. (this was abt. 1990).
> Only after dismantling (which took about 20 hrs, inclusive of the time
needed
> to make special tools, e.g. spring compressors) I found out that the new
spring
> coils were not of the correct specification (see Workshop manual).
> Checked the specs of the old springs, found them suitable, painted them
> and reassembled the front suspension again.
>
> Result: no big difference, very disappointing.
>
> (Incidentally, a year later the inner wishbone rubbers had perished again,
> I had to take everything apart again! I really *hate* that!
> Obviously they were imitation parts of poor rubber quality.
> Have then ordered their V8-style inner wishbone rubbers but these did not
fit !!
>
> Fortunately, I then was able to order the original rubbers from the local
> Rover car dealership [this took about 10 days, that's acceptable for me],
> have fitted them, and they still work fine, now 4 years later).
>
>- New shock absorbers on the rear = *big* difference but still not totally
> satisfactorily.
>
>- New shock absorbers up front = drives like a sportscar again!
>
>
>So, in this particular case at least, the shocks made all the difference.
>
>A few additional remarks:
>
>= Do NOT be tempted to order 'reconditioned' shocks.
> I tried this and got recon shocks with badly worn upper fulcrum bolt
eyelets -
> unsafe and not worth having. You' re only substituting one problem for
> the next problem.
>
>= I have changed (on a friend's MGB, not my own car) the rear Armstrong-lever
> type original arm shocks for a set of telescopics.
> This was a conversion set, made by Spax in Britain.
> (I understand Koni makes them too, now).
> This gave a noticeable improvement over the original setup
> (though, to be honest, not dramatic).
> However, the quality of fit was a bit poor (the brackets needed some
> adjustment in order to be able to fit them).
>
>= I found it almost impossible to judge the condition of the shocks when
you are
> not actually driving.
> Either when they are on the car or when they are off, on the workbench.
> Only when you have a worn one and a new one both on the workbench,
> you can feel the difference - but what a vast difference on the road !
>
>= The front shocks are bolted down with 4 bolts (5/16"UNF ? I don't remember).
> These should be VERY tight! I used a torque wrench (as stated in the
> Workshop Manual) and found that the required torque is almost equivalent
> to "one quarter turn before stripping the thread", at least in my
perception!
>
>I must admit I learned the hard way that, in this case, the shocks made all
the difference.
>In hindsight, it would have been much wiser to have someone who
>has more experience with MGBs drive my car and comment on it.
>
>
>I am not too familiar with the Midget, nor its differences with the MGB but
>I hope that this may be of some interest to you anyway.
>
>
>Bert Palte
>Holland, Europe.
>
>1970 MGB, Roadster, No GHN5 - 205838G.
>
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