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MG MGA - Anecdote

A while ago I posted something on the forum, asking for people's views on an anti roll bar and what effect it has on the car's handling.
I have been mulling it over as the car felt very wobbly on the road and around corners.
A friend recently happened to drive it and suggested that the steering rack might be the problem. Luckily enough there is an old fashioned engineering works close to me that still reconditions old steering racks and I sent it to them. They said that almost every conceivable part was worn before recommissioning and returning it to me.
On the road, the car is transformed ! it sticks to a line, is great round corners and I don't get that vibration up through the steering wheel that I used to.
I am struggling to imagine how much better the driving experience could be if I also went down the anti-roll bar route as well, as it is driving so well.

Thought I would share the happy story...
Aleks Stojanovic

Hi Aleks,

If you are going to fit an ARB, go for the 3/4" one if you can, it transforms the front end of the car when cornering and makes it an absolute joy to throw it into a corner. The car stays flat through the bends, gives excellent steering turn-in and makes the car feel like a race car..

I'm not sure if you can buy an original design 3/4" bar to fit into the original position above the chassis extension though, so if you want a 3/4" bar you may have to fit it below the chassis extension like I did.

Years ago, I fitted a standard 5/8" ARB in the original position (above the extension), to the 1960 coupe that I owned back then and it did make a slight difference to the handling, but not as much as the 3/4" bar that I have fitted now does.

I remember that I had to change to a front extension with the arb cut-outs (from a later car), to fit the std 5/8" ARB and I remember that it was a real challenge to do. The car was 11 years old at the time and every screw, nut and bolt was rusted solid and so it took me hours to do the job.
The front bumper, and front valance have to come off to remove the extension which is a fair job in its-self, especially if they have been on the car for a long time.

Even when these are removed, the chassis extension is a tight fit and I remember having to re-paint a lot of it to cover all the scratches that I caused with the spanners.

So, if it was me, unIess you plan to dismantle the front end of the car, I would leave the chassis extension be and fit a 3/4" ARB underneath it, it took me about an hour to fit mine and it transforms the car.

You should also consider the aftermarket ADCO 3/4" ARB

I have not noticed any particular increase in understeer with the 3/4" ARB.

Hope that helps

Cheers
Colyn
Colyn Firth

Slightly off thread but I thought the MGA came with an ARB as standard. Was it an optional extra or only in later models?
Graham V

Hi Aleks

That was a good outcome for you. To complete the happy story would you please post contact details for the excellent workshop you found.

Cheers
Dave
Bolney Coupe

Graham, the front ARB was never fitted as standard but from early 1959, the front chassis extension was modified for all models to allow the option of an ARB to be fitted from new.

Like I said earlier, it's a tedious job to retro fit the original arb because there is a lot of work to do to remove and refit the updated chassis extensions.
You have to remove the front bumper, then the front valance. The chassis extensions are not so easy to pull out of position even after the set screws have all been removed. I remember having to do a lot of re-painting after all the scrapes that occured during the removal process.

When I first got my car, it was set up for hillclimb competition with lowered suspension all round, a rear telescopic damper kit and negative camber front wishbones.
This looked great but it made the ride extremely hard and twitchy, but also it had extreme bump steer. The bumpsteer could cause the car to instantly steer a foot or two to one side if you hit a bump mid-corner.

I lived with this for years because I really loved how the car looked until I finally took Bob West's advice and swapped the car back to standard height, standard wishbones and standard lever-arm rear shock absorbers, plusI fitted a 3/4" front ARB at the same time.

The improvement really surprised me, the turn-in and the handling and the ride were all vastly improved and the car is just so much better to drive than it was before.

So, my advice is to keep with standard suspension (making sure that there is no wear and tear), and then simply fit a new 3/4" ARB.

I am constantly amazed at just how well this suspension copes with the 140 bhp engine I have now, considering that the only suspension mods are a 3/4" arb and some uprated Mintex brake pads.

Cheers
Colyn
Colyn Firth

Thanks Colyn. Very interesting
Graham V

Hi Dave,


Steering Rack specialists are:--

https://kileyclinton.com/

Based in Birmingham


Regards




Aleks
Aleks Stojanovic

I fitted my one during lockdown. I got my 3/4inch one from ADCO in Florida and it took only a couple of hours to fit. There service was excellent and quick but you may have to pay UK duty on it. I know a friend had to but I didn’t so…..

Well worth the job. I am not sure about chassis extension issue as I have latter one as will Tim. Can’t check until end of week as away on hols.

Paul
Paul Dean

I have the 1960 1600. What parts are required to fit a 3/4 bar from this listing https://www.ukmgparts.com/catalogue/mga-midcat-9-submga26-anti-roll-bar-fittings-competition-parts
P Draycott

Hi Pete,

have a look at your front chassis extension before you decide to order the arb kit.

If it is the later chassis extension, it will have the indentations in it that allow the anti roll bar to fit through it.
Also, I am not even certain that the 3/4" arb will fit through these indentations because it was designed to fit the thinner original arb, so you need to check this before you order anything.

My 1960 Mk 1 doesn't have the modified extension and this is because it was actually built in 1959 and just not sold until 1960.

It really is far easier to install the MGB type arb that fit beneath the chassis extension.

Once you know what you need, call Moss and they will tell you over the phone which kit you need, they are really excellent for this.
The link to their website that you sent, seems to cover all the choices.
Here is the link to the MGA Guru page that shows the later chassis extension with the arb cut outs.
https://mgaguru.com/mgtech/suspensn/fs103b.htm
See the secon picture.

Aleks, I can also add my own MGA steering anecdote to this thread.

A few years ago we had just completed a long weekend MGA Register Tour of East Anglia and the car had really run well.

But on the way home I noticed that the steering had become a bit vague with lots of free play in the system. It felt more like steering a boat than a sportscar! It also felt as if the steering wheel moved an inch or two before any actual steering took place! and so I assumed that my steering rack had worn out!

When I got home, I jacked up the car and moved the wheels by hand, but nothing seemed to be wrong anywhere.

So, I decided to take the car to my local MGA expert to ask his opinion (James Horner who restored pretty much all of the MGAs that went through Bob West)

When he had a good look at the car he chuckled and asked me to climb under the car with him.
Then he pointed out that "ALL" of the mounting set screws and locknuts were loose on the steering rack,

So, when I turned the steering wheel, the rack moved a half inch or so on the chassis before the slack was taken up and then the steering would actually start to happen!

It didn't seem to be much movement, but the difference tightening up those setscrews made to the steering was amazing, and yes, I do now check them at least once a year to prevent a reoccurence.

Cheers
Colyn



Colyn Firth

My steering rack had an interesting conversion and I still do not know how the engineer did it. He was an old boy I knew from my MGTC days back in the early 90s and since passed away. When I got my LHD MGA in 1996 he asked me to give him the rack for conversion. I drove all the way from Preston to the Reading area to give it to him. Several weeks later I collected it as a RHD. I've always understood that they could not be converted. However, it bolted straight into my chassis and I cannot tell the difference with RHD photographs and diagrams.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Thanks Colyn.
P Draycott

This thread was discussed between 20/06/2024 and 07/09/2024

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