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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 Midget and Sprite Technical - Spridget Dampers

I know this has been done a million times - sorry!

I've had my dampers rebuilt by Stevson and they are now leaking, so I'm reluctantly coming to conclusion that I either go NOS Imports or convert to more modern technology.

So firstly, is there anybody in the UK who resells Peter Caldwells dampers (at a reasonable price) ?

Failing that I'll convert to telescopics, but I want the ride to stay as soft as standard - any suggestions on that front ?

I've no interest in going the Line Front way as I have heard too many things.

Cheers,

Malc
Malc Gilliver

Malc
It seems the situation re shockers is bad. Trying to get replacements either new or reconditioned is the thing of nightmares.
I went Peter Caldwell for my Frogeye and then the Sebring rep but the second pair leaked and had to be replaced.
Mamba Motorsport do a conversion plate enabling the fitment of MGB shocks. A60 shocks have been suggested as another conversion or you look toward telescopics.
Alan
www.masckent.org
Alan Anstead

Hi there,
Just a comment following this & previous suggestion regarding fitting MGB shockers- having recent experience of fitting MGB front shockers to an MGB I can tell you that in my experience they are just as bad as the midget ones. I paid a premium for an MGOC 'Q' spec pair, about £60 each, I had to return one, I'm still not entirely happy with them (still a little up and down play despite ages working them up and down). I note they no longer list 'Q' spec as in stock.
Regards
Chris
C Armitage

Malc, Im not here to promote or not promote Frontline but their front shockers are one of the best mods ive done on my car.
Im very pleased with the kit.

When it comes to easy fitting... you can be lucky it will fit easy but remember its not German made but like most English made "bold-on" mods keep your grinder ready...

Its just such a pain to get proper parts nowadays, because of the sh*tty wheelbearings available I opted a hub replacement which uses taperbearings.
It was the only way to get the car reliable after having to have replaced 3 bearings in a very short time.

You may not always want a modification but because the modifications are better made then the available "original" parts you sometimes have to.
Arie

I have had Frontline damper conversions fore and aft on my 1500 for over 10 years, without issue.
JB Anderson

I've wrecked my frontline kit in 8 years.
Going back to leverarms, top link kit an negative trunions.

The kit has some serious design flaws since they went for the plastic bearing.
If you get one fit it with grease nipples and hope for the best
Onno K

Onno,

Is it not worth trying to repair the FL arms or are they too far gone. IIRC the bearings and aluminium spindle are from IGUS . I can check later in the week as I'm likely visiting the company that still make them for FL to check on some other work.
David Billington

The pivot bolts are stuk in the arm an since the threaded piece was now the pivot it started to wear out the hole in the mounting plate.
When trying to remove the bolt it sheared off just below the head.
And the top trunions and lock bolts are frozen to.

All fixable but i'd want to re engineer it with something like the mini top arm pivot and bearings.
Then you have a real pivot and not a bolt acting as one and bearings to grease which I trust more than "maintenance free" solutions.

I had the negative trunions around so I figured just add the top link and be sorted for now.
Plenty of pre-war M.G. work to do first!
Onno K

I did get a pair from Moss, whilst they were cheap they seem fine so far (circa 8 months old or so).

Judging by comments from other kent masc members, maybe I was lucky!
R Williams

Onno,

Having had a think about this I suspect rust has crept in along the arm bearing housing closing the bearing down and also possibly water has gotten in around the pivot bolt and aluminium spindle leading to dissimilar metal corrosion and expanding the spindle. I suspect one or both of these problems has resulted in the aluminium spindle locking in the bearings and the easiest route was for the pivot bolt to rotate in the body bracket, not a great result. Likely the use of grease during assembly would have largely prevented the problem but too late now. I had seals on my original units to keep oil in, dirt out, but these seem to have been dropped likely to cut cost, increase profit. I have looked at the mini upper link service kit and much could be used on my original design as the needle rollers were the same size as the oilites but I think the later IGUS bearing FL units may be using metric bearings although maybe equivalent drawn cup needle rollers are available, I haven't looked.
David Billington

When I have the time I'll press out the rusted remains of the bolt and bush and see what I can do.
But now I need the midget running for Rachels wedding using wedding cars tonbridge and my pre war finished for racing so don't hold your breath ;)

As for greasing the pivot.
I explicitly asked FL at the time but they said it was not needed.
Onno K

Onno,

Would be good to see the remains when you get around to dismantling it. Regarding FLs comment about not needing greasing I suppose that is correct from a lubrication point of view but not from the point of view of keeping water out of places where it would cause long term problems such as corrosion. IIRC the FL body bracket doesn't have drain holes in the front to back stiffener inboard of the arm as mine does and I wonder how the partially open bottom on the arm may act as a dirt trap and cause corrosion from inside the arm, mine was a totally enclosed box section so no place to trap dirt.
David Billington

Peter Caldwell is the go-to guy for shock absorbers. I am told he even offer a lifetime guarantee. I have a set of his shocks on my MGA and am really happy with them after having repeated failures from other suppliers "repaint" recons.
dominic clancy

This guys products are worth (extra money for shipping). You will be more than happy if your looking for a trouble free shock! I've had them in my MGA for years and they are perfect.


http://www.nosimport.com/
S

Was it not a feature of the front shocks that a tiny bit of oil was designed to leak from the pivot in order to keep it lubricated?

Malcolm
Malcolm Le Chevalier

This thread was discussed between 30/05/2016 and 03/06/2016

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

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