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MG MG Y Type - YA Front shock absorbers ??

Hi Everyone
The photos show the front and back view of a pair of brackets that were fitted to the front suspension of my 1950 YA. They were on the car when i bought it in 1969 and bolt to the same holes as the front jacks but use longer bolts. Their purpose is to mount telescopic front shock absorbers in parallel with the lever arch originals.At first i thought they were to operate in parallel with the originals to compensate for their being no anti roll bar on the YA. I had the originals rufurbished during the rebuild and found the pistons had been drilled.So thats not the reason .
They appear to be a factory mod and not a diy job, probably about 9" long and formed from about 3/8 thick steel.
Anybody come across these before? Are they a rally addition ? or were they for the export market or was someone experimenting at the factory. I would be curious to hear your thoughts .
Cheers All
John B Y4424





J K Bowman

Mine has them too. I assumed they were an upgrade, like on later models with lever arm front shocks, such as MGB and Midgets.

Jim
JRB Moyes

Very interesting, Sloop John. I would look at adding front telescopics if I could source a pair of those brackets, but over here I probably have no hope. Otherwise, have something similar made up of course. I'll follow with interest - including of course what size and specs of shockers are found best. I remember reading about possibly Escort units can work.
John
J P Hall

Very Interesting.
John, did these brackets fit over the top of the Jackall cylinder or was the inbuild jack removed?

Can you provide a picture of where the bottom end of the telescopic shock absorber attached, I assume to the lower suspension arm. How was that end attached and where?

Regards,
Rob
R Ades

Rob , the jacks were left in place and working . These brackets were attached outside the jacks using the same holes and longer bolts.
The lower mounting for the telescopic shock was a bolt welded into the side of the spring pan ,about a third of the way from the chassis, with a stiffening piece welded inside the edge of the spring pan. I'll get a photo the next time I am round at the garage. John B
J K Bowman

This is my own design telescopic shock conversions using Escort Mk1 or Mk2 rear telescopic units on the front and rear of my Y-Types.

I selected these shocks as they are available in many countries around the world as the Ford Escort was a "world car" model, and the bump and rebound rates work very well on a Y-Type.

And no, I do not have a dimensioned drawing - this drawing was to check the shock travel was suitable. I am not a mechanical engineer, so will not supply dimensions or materials used for reasons of liability.

Safety Fast

Tony
The Classic Workshop
Black Mountain QLD
Australia


A L SLATTERY

Thanks Tony & John,

It's useful to see what others have done, noting that any non-standard engineering is a personal choice and endeavour. Fortunately I am an engineer. I've being toying with something like this as a future project for some time.

FYI, my original Girling lever arm shockers are rebuilt and serviced, operating as designed. Nonetheless, our deteriorating national roads (so many more bumps and potholes these days) makes constant concentration at highway speed a necessity. We've been suddenly spat across lanes by poor surfaces, despite having wider rims and radial tyres. Each time I think adding telescopic shock absorbers might be safer than solely relying on my reflexes.

Regards,
Rob
R Ades

Rob and Tony
Interesting drawing for the rear Tony . As I said mine were done when i bought it in 1969, I didnt mention that the rear was also done when i bought it . The bracket used at the rear was very similar to Tony's drawing ,perhaps a little more of a triangle ,mounted in the same way and made from 3/8" or maybe 1/2" flat steel plate. Now judging by the number of attempts someone had taken to get the holes correctly spaced I am guessing these were diy parts. However given the shortage of the originals I have refitted them with new shocks . I made drawings of the old shocks ,particularly length of travel and sent them to a shock absorber specialist I met at the Restoration show here in UK . He had some in stock . Cant remember what cars they were specified for but i do have the drawings somewhere if anyone wants them .
I believe when fitting telescopics to the front it is necessary to de-activate the lever arm original and just have it as an upper link. I found this out after I had the originals reconditioned.
John B
J K Bowman

Rob
This is the lower mounting. You can see the spacer where the lower eye butts up to . That is welded onto the bar that runs along the edge of the lower arm and is bolted on using the spring pan bolts.
John

J K Bowman

Hi Rob et al, I fitted telescopic shocks to the rear of my YT using shocks from a Hyundai i20 and brackets per drawings available on this site. You are welcome to have a look at the forthcoming Canberra MG Rally. I chose to recondition the original front shocks rather than a telescopic conversion. Notwithstanding, the conversion in this thread looks to be one of the better versions that I have seen. Maybe when the reconditioned front shocks get tired again ... which may not take that long on our local roads!





E.J. Ward

Thanks all, very useful.
I'll start my design works after the Canberra rally. Looks like I'll be crawling under a few cars!
R Ades

Robert, You should be aware that the Canberra Club has a workshop with a hoist, so you are welcome to photograph and measure up my front and rear telescopic brackets design in Dunkin if we can organise a time together on the hoist.

Cheers

Tony
A L SLATTERY

Rob and Tony - as an aside, enjoy the Canberra rally! A bit far away for me. John.
J P Hall

Tony, thanks, if time permits that'd be great.
Let's see when we get there.
R Ades

This thread was discussed between 07/09/2023 and 22/09/2023

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