MG-Cars.net

Welcome to our resource for MG Car Information.

Recommendations

Parts

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 Midget and Sprite Technical - Has anyone fitted new Moss leaf springs recently?

Following on to my other post about my broken right rear spring, have any of you had recent experience with Moss replacements? I've read the horror stories, but thought I'd ask anyway, in case there have been improvements. One can dream...

As mentioned, I have a donor pair from an earlier model, and am considering using the upper leaves from those - but if I can avoid the knuckle-busting, I'd rather just throw in a pair of new ones. I'm up to here with home improvement projects, and would rather just get the Midge back on the road and enjoy the weather before it gets too hot.

Cheers, and thanks,

-:G:-

PS - Note to Don Gatheman, if you're reading this; thanks again for the donor springs! I'm not rejecting them, just weighing alternatives. If I wasn't in the middle of a front porch refurb, and trying to fit that into evenings and weekends, I wouldn't think twice about digging into the spring rebuild - which I may yet. G
Gryf Ketcherside

I'll be able to say something on the subject shortly. I hope. As usual, it's taking me forever to get the job done.
Kim Tonry

Excellent, Kim! Thanks for looking into this issue.

-:G:-
Gryf Ketcherside

Hey gryf,

Did you get a chance to contact eaton spring company... id love to know what there price tag is ... im sure its not cheap with the rep they have

If you cant devulge the price tag, thats cool... i dont want to be intrusive.

Prop
Prop

No, hadn't checked with Eaton yet. I'd like to keep the cost reasonable, hence my looking at the usual suppliers first (Moss and VB), who are charging about $120 apiece.

If it turns out that their springs are still of poor quality, I'll rebuild mine using spares as described earlier.

-:G:-
Gryf Ketcherside

Prop - quick update:

I just e-mailed Eaton Springs and described my situation. I'll let you know what I find out.

Thanks again for the recommendation! We'll see what happens.

-:G:-
Gryf Ketcherside

Cool.... thanks gryf,

im looking forward to what they say... its looking obvious that ill need to get new springs or have mine re-arched... starting to sit down lower just sitting in the shop.

Prop

Finally. I have the new Moss springs in the car as of this afternoon. So far so good. The ride height looks pretty much like it always has. I didn't take the car out on the road yet so I can't comment on the handling/feel. I'll post some photographs tomorrow.

When the right side spring broke last fall (the night before the 32nd anniversary of the day my midget rolled off the line at Abingdon) I was concerned about the current replacement springs on the market. We have another local club member who replaced his springs a few years ago and the back of that car is now way higher than original. Moss U.S. had recently made a change in their spring listing so I thought they may have made a change in supplier. Checking with a contact at Moss confirmed that a change had been made. He did not have any specific feedback on the new Midget springs, but said they had sold quite a number of MGB springs from the new source and complaints had dropped to almost nothing.

To my eye, it looks like it's sitting a half inch or so higher than a few old photographs I looked up. Not bad at all. I'll be watching to see if it settles further.
Kim Tonry

My '79 Midget with newly installed current Moss U.S. rear springs.


Kim Tonry

The other side of my '79 Midget with newly installed current Moss U.S. rear springs.


Kim Tonry

The old spring removed from the left side of the car (not the one right one which had three broken leaves and prompted the spring replacement) and the new current Moss U.S. spring that replaced it.


Kim Tonry

Hi, Kim - thanks for the info!

>>> Checking with a contact at Moss confirmed that a change had been made. He did not have any specific feedback on the new Midget springs, but said they had sold quite a number of MGB springs from the new source and complaints had dropped to almost nothing. <<<

That's very encouraging, and I'm now a bit more inclined to order from Moss. Speaking of inclined, however, I've lowered my front by 1", and I suspect the slightly higher clearance provided by the new springs would introduce a noticeable "rake". We'll see... Father's Day is coming up, and I may be able to talk the offspring and Mrs. into a set of springs for the occasion.

Who was your contact at Moss, BTW? Would I be able to drop them a note asking about Midget springs specifically? If so, do you have an e-mail address for him/her?

Cheers,

-:G:-
Gryf Ketcherside

Prop,
What you are seeing is simply the standard Spridget way of expressing depression at lack of miles.

Kim,
Whatever happened to your boot lid???

Gryf,
Get (or make) a set of lowering blocks.
David "bout time they did something about spring quality. A while back my regular supplier simply refused to sell me any springs because none of them were any good" Lieb
David Lieb

>>> Get (or make) a set of lowering blocks. <<<

Funny you'd mention that, David, I was just thinking about it.

Thanks,

-:G:-
Gryf Ketcherside

Gryf - I talked to Kelvin Dodd at Moss Goleta.

David - Still have the Union Flag boot lid down in the basement. I try to put the regular one back on the car for stretches to avoid a two-tone effect from having less sun exposure and fading from the rest of the car. The flag lid has the luggage rack on it for longer trips.
Kim Tonry

Kim,
Figured it was a different lid, but not that you went so far as to try to maintain even weathering ;-)
David "just got humbled by my inability to implement 1342 again; 1324 just doesn't have the same zing" Lieb
David Lieb

gryf...

Did you hear back from eaton springs yet... they must not have been to encouraging

David ... the gravity of depression can be vary heavy, hahaha
Prop

Hiya, Prop.

I e-mailed the big cheese at Eaton, and he responded with a nice note. They have a form on their website that you can download and fill in the blanks with any and all measurements pertaining to your springs. Given said info, they then make them to order. He did imply that they'd cost more than the resellers, but that they would be good springs, which I don't doubt.

And in the meantime, my parents' computer died. That bears on this little story because we took this opportunity to buy my wife a new system so we could pass her old PC off to the folks. And even with a nice bundled deal from Dell, the Mrs. will give me the darkest of looks if I suggest that we spring for springs, so to speak.

SO - the story has slewed back to Plan A, in which I rebuild the things with 1275 main leaves.

After I get finished setting up two computers, that is...

-:G:-
Gryf Ketcherside

A further comment - For most of the time I have had the Growler, 30 years as of last month, there has always been noticeable torque steer. Snugging up the u-bolt nuts never helped. At one point in the early 80's I thought maybe the u-bolts had stretched, so I replaced them (with Unipart items from a dealer parts department) which didn't help. I noticed driving the car today, the torque steer is gone. It stays straight whether hammering the accelerator or the brakes. I did note that the new u-bolts I put in are threaded about 1/16" further up the bolt than the ones taken out of the car.
Kim Tonry

Good observation, Kim, and I thought of the very same topic while messing with my broken spring. The way my spring broke allowed the axle to slide back on the right side, most likely under braking, meaning that I had to steer to the right to correct. I assume that it would slide forward again and correct the steering error if I were to accelerate.

SO - while the U-bolts have been blamed for such power-on/off steering in the past, I wonder if the springs are the actual culprits?

-:G:-
Gryf Ketcherside

This thread was discussed between 31/05/2011 and 10/06/2011

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG Midget and Sprite Technical BBS is active now.