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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Steering rack x mounting bracket 'packing'

When you separate the steering rack from its mounting brackets, there is a thin "shim" wrapped around the rack to separate it (steel) from the bracket (aluminum). It looks sort of like a strip of lacquer covered paper.

Without it, the brackets are too lose to hold the rack. I need to replace mine, and can not find it for sale in any of the usual catalogs (Moss, VB). I found it in an old print Brown and Gammons catalog, but it is not on their web site. Maybe it is NLA?

The part number used to be: 2A6128

Anyone out there in midget land have any ideas of an ideal replacement for this material?

Norm
Norm Kerr

I assume that your car is 1971 or earlier. The material in mine is a brass shim stock and it is fairly thick. When replacing the rack, be careful not to put in shim material that it too thick. I cracked an aluminum bracket this way once and used ones are extremely difficult to find.
Glenn Mallory

I've used good quality (3M) HD wide vinyl electrical tape. You can adjust it by how many wraps, or part wraps. File a chamfer on the corners where the bracket is split to avoid pulling the tape off and creating a "pile" that prevents the clamp from going together correctly. If you need multiple wraps, put 150 degree segments perpendicular to the split, with a final full wrap overall.

FRM
Fletcher R Millmore

ISTR I cut up an old bicycle inner tube for this.
David Smith

Self annealing rubberised tape sold for electrical work does it well as it will deform and compress to the required thickness whilst still gripping the rack.
Guy Weller

Norm,

I'm fairly sure that my rack was never out of the car before I removed it. The car has been sitting for over 35 years. The packing material that came out of mine is definately some sort of fabric, you can clearly see the woven threads. On top of that there is some sort of tar-like or adhesive coating that has hardened and will flake off if flexed. It could be cloth electrical tape that was called 'friction' tape back in the day.

Here is a link to a discussion about the tape. Interesting thread. One person suggested hockey tape as a good alternative.

http://forums.aaca.org/f120/wanted-old-fashioned-sticky-cloth-electrical-211144.html
Paul Noeth

I found Friction Tape at Lowes Home Center. This appears to be the exactly the same as the original packing material.


Paul Noeth

OK, I just got the part from a BMH supplier and here's what I got for part number 2A6128:

http://www.ghgc.com/materials/n8094.htm

Inter Face N-8094 gasket material

it looks like just the thing, as it is a gasket material (less compressible than friction tape).

I thought that I would pass this information along. Though I bet that friction tape would also work, I like the idea of using something a little bit more substantial than that to hold my rack in position (though, granted, the brackets won't allow hardly any shifting from side to side, by their shape).


Norm
Norm Kerr

This thread was discussed between 07/06/2010 and 25/06/2010

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

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