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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - suspension upgrade

I need to replace all of my suspension bushings and since my springs are tired I was thinking that I should upgrade them at the same time.

My original plan was to lower my stock 73 1 inch and put in stiffer springs. For stiffer 1 inch lower ride Moss has one choice. 1inch lowered stiffer semi elipticals for the rear and 1 inch lower (what is the stock spring height?) 400 spring rate or the front. I have a 3/4 inch anti-sway bar also.

I realize that this would give a pretty stiff ride. This car is supposed to be a race car not a street car but it will be kept street legal so it has to be high enough to drive on the street and comfortable enough for it to be tolerable (but ok if it feels like a go-cart).

The catalog says that there is a 6 week lead time for the front springs. That delay would ruin some of my plans for this summer.

Are there any other sources of 1 inch lower springs in the USA? Do people think that I have made the correct choice?

Moss also sells rear shock kit, one of which includes a lower mounting point (for lowered car). It sounds like you have to install this at the same time that you install the springs (or is it easy enough for me to change my mind later and install it).

Thanks for your comments.
Rebecca
R Harvey

Rebecca, you can check with Winner's Circle, I think at: www.spridget.com. I haven't dealt with them, but think they specialize in competition parts. Their website isn't very good though.
Jack
Jack Orkin

I just called Moss and although the catalog says 6-8 weeks for delivery (custom made to order) they actually have some in stock so I lucked out.

By the way, I am not going to change my shocks in this first round of modifications. It would be easier for me to change them to tube shocks at the same time but I want to wait to see how the car feels with stock shocks. I hope that I am not making a mistake (extra work).

Rebecca
R Harvey

Rebecca, just for reference:

stock '73 front spring would have been 9.85" free height, 7" installed height, and 271 lbs/inch spring rate.


rears would have been 375 lbs working load (but I am not sure how to measure that since the installed height was never given, only the free camber).
Norm Kerr

I ended up getting the moss "lowered springs" not the 400 spring rate "competition springs" because it turns out that the competition springs will not lower my car because they assume that you have a later model car that is higher. For my 1973 if I want my front lower I can't use those. Even though the spring rate is not as high it is still a significant increase and is a better choice this time around.

Rebecca
R Harvey

This thread was discussed between 13/07/2010 and 14/07/2010

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

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