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MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG MGA - Steering column bushes

I have my steering column apart and intend to replace the felt bushes. In the archives, I came upon several threads from a few years ago where someone named Todd C in Indianna was making replacement bushes out of nyloil, delrin, or something similar. I tried to email Todd, but the email addresses I found in the old threads (3 of them) are no longer valid.

Does anyone know if these bushes are still available or how how I could contact Todd? Faiing that, have folks now gone back to using the felt bushes or is there a more modern replacement available?
Andy Bounsall

Andy,

Are you thinking of Todd Clark from Clark Spares in Pennsylvania?

Here is his web site:

http://www.clarkespares.com/

He manufactures alot of parts for MGA

If he does not have it he will know where you can get them.

Good Luck,

David.....
David Honness

Thanks David, but it definitely was not Todd Clarke. This fellows by-line said "Todd C.,IN,USA". According to the old threads, he said he worked in a plastics machine shop.
Andy Bounsall

Andy if you will e-mail me I will send you his address & email I have from Jun 2005
Cliff
Jones

Hi Guys
My felt bush has "failed" after one trip - admittingly 21500km around Australia - but I would have hoped it would have lasted longer than that! Is there a better seal availible now?
Thanks in advance, Dave
David Godwin

Hi Andy
If you obtain some good quality felt about 6mm thick and cut it using the old bush as a template then soak it in oil it will last as long as the original ones have.I have done this a couple of times and expect they will last longer than I will
Good luck Jim.
jim mckenzie


Andy,

I got some of the Plastic bushings from Todd (not Todd Clarke) a couple years ago. He made a production run then and sold them through this forum. The work much better than the felt bushings and I am removed the newly installed felt busings and replaced them with the plastic/o-ring bushings. I am much happier with them.
Image is attached.

Jim

Jim Ferguson

I installed new felt steering column bushings (with oil) with my (first) restoration in 1986. After 125.000 or so I began noticing the top one was a little loose, but it didn't affect driving to notice. I finally replaced them both again (with oil) in 2003 (after 184,000 miles), put another 30,000 miles on it since and they are still snug.

Sometimes old tech is not so bad. I'm not sure nylon bushings would last 17 years without getting brittle from age and breaking. I suppose it's worth a try, as the parts are cheap enough either way and easy to replace, just not sure it's worth the bother to fix something that's "not broke".
Barney Gaylord

I decided to go with felt since (a) I already had the parts and, (b) as Barney suggested, the old technology has a proven track record. I bought the adjustable column felt bushes last year from LBCarCo (i.e. Moss) and I'm pleased to report that they fit perfectly. After pre-soaking the felts in oil, installation and reassembly of the steering column was a breeze.
Andy Bounsall

I received one of the first sets of the plastic bushes from Todd C. and can report that after lots of hard driving, they are durable and a big improvement over the felt ones. I had to modify a bit to fit, and afterwards he changed the design to the one photographed below, and added a third bush. If he's still making them, I'd recommend the mod instead of the felt.
dominic clancy

Andy,
I made mine from Delrin. It is easy to machine, self lubricating and should last forever. I made mine to fit each car individually as there are slight differences in OD's and ID's. My bushings were: top-1.31" OD x 1.095" ID x 1.77" long, bottom-1.160" OD x .815" ID x 1.3" long. As the bottom of the outer tube is crimped slightly, you have to split the bushing length wise to install it. Any machine shop should be able to make some for you fairly reasonably. Hope this helps and have a good day!

John
John Progess

This thread was discussed between 29/12/2007 and 01/01/2008

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