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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - rusted out front bump stop

Hi All,
Found out a while back that the bump stop mount on one side on the front is rusted out (the one on the cross member).
So need to sort it out, any thoughts?
Have got a spare front spring mount (which has a similar dome shape in the middle). and have cut it so that the dome fits over the whats left of the bump stop mount. Only trouble is that it shifts the bump stop down by 1/2 inch (which is bad I guess!). one thought I have is to reduce the length of the rubber bump stop on that side by the correct amount?
Any other thoughts would be great!
Tim
T Dafforn

Tim, your rusted-out bump stop is only the second I've seen: my own was the first!

I considered several different ways to repair it, but the restricted access limited the options. I finally found a large steel washer and welded it into the bump stop mount.

I first ground out the damaged area, and made sure there was plenty of good metal. I then chucked the washer up in my lathe and opened the center hole up to match the original hole for the bump stop rubber, and cleaned up the areas that would be welded. Holding the washer in position was problematic, but I eventually used a welding magnet to hold it in place while I tacked it.

see photo.


Bill Gavin

After the washer was tacked in place, I removed the magnet and welded the washer all the way around.


Bill Gavin

After I ground down the welds, it was hard to see the repair. I think the bump stop mount may have lost 1/16" or so in height, but I don't think that is significant.

Good luck with your car.




Bill Gavin

I had that same problem on my car, so that makes at least 3 of them Bill! And I repaired it in the same way that Bill describes, with a large thick steel washer. That was about 15 years ago and it still seems fine. At first it seems really alarming that a part of the front suspension has rusted out but then in reality its positioning and height isn't crucial to your suspension geometry. So as long as your welding repair is strong, there is little to worry about. Once repaired, inject lots of waxoyl or similar inside it.

Guy
Guy

Nice repair Bill.
Not heard from you in a while have you been away???
Robert (Bob) Midget Turbo

I have in my garage an ex California shell with exactly the same problem, only on one side, so that makes four of them.

I imagine there are other cars out there with the same problem that havn't been spotted yet, as its not an area you get a good view of.
Ian
Ian Webb '73 GAN5

Hi
Good th know I am not alone.
Mine is on one side only.
It has rusted out qute neatly in a circle.
I wonder whether it happens if the bump stop rubber forms a seal and the mount fills with water?
Tim
T Dafforn

Hi Bob

Thanks, that fix turned out pretty well. I had thought to cut out the damaged mount, and replace it entirely with one cut out of a spare cross member, but the close quarters made that difficult. The washer did the trick.

I've been lurking here as my car projects are mostly on hold. I found that I missed racing, but didn't want to spend the time and money to run a Sprite, so I picked up a Thistle class sailboat to race. It's been a lot of fun.

I'm surprised that there are so many mounts rusted out, but four among the hundreds of cars we all own isn't too bad. It's interesting that only one side seems to be affected. My spare cross member came out of a VERY severely rusted midget, but both bump stops seem to be good. My Frogeye has relatively little rust, but its RHS bump stop rusted out. Hard to figure.

Tim, I think you have it, once water gets in, it can't get out. I still wonder how it gets in, the damper mounting bolts are the only obvious way, but they should be effectively sealed by the bolts. I would expect both sides to be equally affected, but perhaps the heat from the exhaust helps protect the LHS. I thought of drilling a couple of drain holes, but decided that the original lasted 40 years, so left it alone.

- Bill


Bill Gavin

Bill, interesting thought about heat de the exhaust. Maybe just enough to combat condensation in the mount. My rusted one was also on the right hand side.(1275).
Nice sailboat!
Guy

Make that five, and I did a similar repair to Bill. Except I was able to turn the car upside down to make it easier :)
Mike Allen

Yes, nice boat Bill.

Not unlike this one except it's made of wood.

Is that the sea or is it inland water?

Dave


D MATTHEWS

Nice, Dave

The Thistle is actually a development of the International 14. Sandy Douglass, the designer of the Thistle, was a good friend of Uffa Fox: they raced against each other in the 1930s before WW2. Sandy was too old for military service, so he spent the war years dreaming up a fast, one-design boat for post war day sailing and racing. The original boats were molded plywood, using technology developed for the Mosquito bomber, but the class switched to GRP in the 1960s. My boat dates from 1978 and is glass.

The photo was taken at Hingham Harbor in Massachusetts. I grew up in Hingham in the 50s and 60s, and at that time the Thistle was just about the hottest thing on the water. Hingham harbor is salt water, but quite protected, so it's ideal for small sailboats.

The local racing fleet is based in Winthrop MA, just off the chart above the "Boston Harbor" notation, just East of Logan airport using airport transfers tonbridge - the downwash from 747s is just part of the fun :-)

- Bill


Bill Gavin

This thread was discussed between 29/01/2011 and 01/02/2011

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