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MG MGB Technical - Using the wrong front springs question

The front springs on my 68 GT are totally clapped out, and the shocks leak almost as fast as I can pump the oil in.

I recently bought a 77 rubber bumper roadster parts car. The parts car has dry shocks, so I think they are good, (or have been bad so long that their surface dried out). I intend to put the shocks in my GT, and I am contemplating putting the springs in as well.

I looked at the spring info on Paul Hunt’s web site. From that, it seems that the 77 roadster springs are longer but softer, and the 68 GT springs are shorter but harder.

Given that difference, it seems that the GT may have had more front weight than a roadster, and so had harder springs? Given that the 77 roadster springs longer and softer, maybe the GT would settle down to not much more ride height than standard, and the ride might be a bit softer?

I could stand a bit more ride height because I would like to fit 185/70/14 tires to the GT, and as it sits, the 165 tires rub on full steering lock.

So, does anybody have some opinions about sticking used 77 rubber bumper roadster front springs into a 68 GT?

I suppose I should add that, because I can’t afford to throw money at all of my machines at the same time, I will probably do the swap unless someone comes up with a really persuasive reason not to try it.

Nevertheless, I would like to hear the opinions.

Thanks,
Cheap Charley
C R Huff

Charley - If you need to get the shocks repaired, send them to Peter Caldwell at World Wide Parts at: http://www.nosimport.com/ You can't go wrong with Peter taking care of you shocks. Cheers - Dave
David DuBois

Charley,


On the MGA board, recently there was a thread related to front springs. An array gave the right spring references and associated data for either MGA or MGB. Hope that could be great for you!
Regards.
Renou

"So, does anybody have some opinions about sticking used 77 rubber bumper roadster front springs into a 68 GT?"

I did much the same thing on my 73 roadster - front and rear, in that case to try and get a higher ride-height to stop bottoming and grounding on country lanes when touring fully laden. The front springs resulted in much less dive than before, both front and rear much less roll than usual. However the harder rears contributed to a very poor ride over some surfaces so I went back to conventional rears and extended the shackles instead, with much better results.

Subsequently I replaced the fronts again with the correct type as the RB items seems to have compressed quite a bit, and haven't noticed that much difference in roll and dive since. However the new front springs did have a longer free length than the specs, as is the compressed height now, even after several thousands of miles.

Many people complain about *rear* springs being too hard and/or over-arched such that they cannot get the rear shackles and rebound straps engaged without additional weight, which should not be the case. In my case I've not had any problem with rear springs, but my new front springs do seem to be that way, on both the CB roadster and the RB V8.

If you've got a spare set of RB front springs and your CB items are knackered, then swap them by all means, it's not going to do any harm.

However 165s definitely shouldn't rub, many people use 185s and 195s. What is rubbing? It could be the anti-roll bar having shifted to one side (my uprated one on the V8 did that until I put clamps on the bar either side of the bushes) or maybe the rack isn't centralised.
Paul Hunt

CR,
I stripped a nice 72GT for all the suspension parts to convert into my hopped up MGA. After assembling, the GT springs made the front end sit too high for my tastes. I replaced with early B lowering springs. Mine still rub the sway bar on full lock but it wasn't due to the spring height. So, now I have a nice, clean set of GT springs on the shelf. They had very minimal rust but I still sandblasted, DP40, and sprayed black. Cheap, Any interest? I live in Danville, KY. Where are you?
SJS Steinhauer

I would echo the comments that if 165's are rubbing there is a problem with the front set up. I had RB springs in my 67 BGT and the ride heihgt was shockingly high. They may have been RB GT springs though. Putting the springs from my 70 BGT into the 67 sortted the height so it both looked and handled better.

Of course, changing the springs, if all the bolts are in good nick, does not take long and costs nothing, so try it and see how it looks and handles. After checking everything else to find what is causing the rubbing though!!

Iain
67 BGT
I D Cameron

I ran 225s without any rubbing on the front wheels. Different story with the LH rear though. Barrie E
Barrie Egerton

Thanks for all the replies,

David, I have seen the WWP site about their shock rebuilding, and if I were going to purchase some, that is where I would go. However, I have too many "mouths" to feed right now so, at the moment, new part money is going into the roadster.

Renou, I looked on the MGA thread, but the spring topic must have fallen into the archives and I did not try to track it down in there.

Paul, Iain, & Barrie, I think I know why the small tires are rubbing. There are two reasons. This car has the plastic front fender liners installed. It is this liner that is rubbing, and if removed, the rubbing would probably not happen. Then, the other reason is that the front springs are worn out and are very short. It will bottom out on a rough bump, and the angle between the steering rack and spindles is so severe that bump steer will almost break your wrists.

As I already own the rubber bumper springs, I will probably give them a try, and will let you know the results.

SJS, I'm in Prospect, which is just northeast of Louisville. If the rubber bumper springs don't work out and you have some good cheap correct replacements, then yes, I would be interested.

Charley
C R Huff

This thread was discussed between 14/11/2008 and 15/11/2008

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