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MG MGA - front sway bar

Hi all,

I want to install a front sway bar on my car.I have a 1600 chassis extension but don't want to disassemble the front so I am looking for sway bar that has to be installad on the underside of the chassis.
Are there any companies on this side of the world(Europ) who are selling a front sway bar kit? Or do I have to go the guru way and buy a MGB front sway bar and shorten the links.
Any advice and experience is welcome.
Thanks,
Herman
H. Jorens

Herman

Bob West supplied me with the MGB kit with the links already sorted. I think his mechanic did the conversion.

Steve
Steve Gyles

I would like to fit the original type (top mount). Does anyone have one for sale?
Art Pearse

Art, I believe Scarborough Faire sell the original type.
Mike
Mike Ellsmore

I have just fitted one to my mk1 its an mgb 3/4 inch bar mounted to the bottom of the front frame, you need to cut the link arms down and reweld them but anyone with a mig will find it easy, my prblem was that i didnt know what lenth to make them but a quick call to bob west soon put me on the right trak, mine i believe are 2 3/4 ince centres, being a mk1 i also had to change the bottom front wishbones but on the whole i would say its a nice weekend project
Vin Rafter

Vin

Yes. Precisely. In fact one of the converted links I got from Bob was not aligned correctly fore and aft. I had to cut and re-weld. If I can do it, anyone can! My welds are still holding good after 10 years. Still got the old wishbone units if anyone wants them.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Im with Vin on this Herman, I have the MGB type anti-roll bar on my MGA, it is really easy to fit and it looks right too.
If you then decide to fit a thicker one you can change it in an hour or so too.
See Barneys website to help you decide which thickness of bar would best suit your driving style.

Cutting the links to fit is not as difficult as you think as the swivel joint that fits into the wishbone allows a lot of leeway.
Remember to cut and re-weld the U section end and not the swivel end to avoid damaging the swivel and seal.

The welding is very important though and you need it to be done by a competent welder.

Years ago I fitted an original equipment MGA roll bar to the coupe I owned then.
It took me hours of work to remove the early front chassis extension and then refit a later design one with the rollbar cut outs in it. I remember having to take off the front bumper and valance to make it easier.
So it is not something I would like to do too often.

Colyn

Vin, what does your car feel like to drive with your new roll bar?
Colyn Firth

I have an Addco 3/4" "aftermarket" style bar and end links that works great - and mounts underneath the front frame extension. Love it.

You should have an Addco reseller in the UK - though I don't see one listed on the US website.

http://02bbfb5.netsolhost.com/aftermarket.htm

JIM in NH
AJ Mail

Hi
Thanks for the info.
I will go for the MGB sway bar.Probably cheaper and more fun to do then a kit.I have the wishbone arms from a mkII, just have to cut and weld the links.
I am driving the A for a few months now and still have to get used to the behaviour of the car.Last weekend I took a roundabout(we drive it anti-clockwise)when my right wheel hit a hole, the front of the car jumped 10 cm(I think) to the right.I hope that the sway bar will prevent this.
Thanks again for the info and regards.

Herman
H. Jorens

Hi Herman, an MGA with a standard front suspension set up doesnt usually bump steer like you mentioned,or at least it isnt too badly unsettled by one wheel hitting a hole or a bump.

I wonder if your car is fitted with negative camber front wishbones?

My car had very severe bump steer and hitting a bump would make it dart to one side very badly.
This was caused by the negative camber front suspension wishbones that had been fitted when the car was a competition car.
The upside was that the car would respond instantly to the slightest steering wheel input and the car would turn in to a corner extremely quickly.
But the downside was a car that was so sensitive in the steering that it was hard to control if it hit a bump and it would dart to one side.

I have just taken the neg camber arms off and fitted standard ones and the car is now superb to drive with all the nervousness gone.

The neg camber arms are 10 to 15mm longer than the standard ones and so you can easily identify them.

Best of luck with the roll bar

Colyn
Colyn Firth

Hi Colyn,

Thank you for the info.
I did not know of the existence of negative camber wishbones.A few years ago I bought one and a half MGA so I had 8 wishbone arms.I used 4 of them.I will have to sheck if there are any differences in length.
I will look at Barney's site if I can find any more information about the negative camber wishbones.
Nevertheless, as far as can read the comments, a front sway bar will be an improvement in the road holding of the car.

Regards,
Herman


H. Jorens

I have a number of MGA's and I was very dissapointed in how one of the Mark II's handled. My 1600 handeled great, the red Mark II handeled great but the white Mark II felt like it was going to roll over when in a tight turn. I tried new dampers but they made little difference. I purchsed a sway bar from Summit Racing and it did correct the problem. It installed under neath without any problem. The red Mark II already had a sway bar on it but it looks to me like it was installed with the body off. My 1600 has no sway bar on it and it hadles fine without the sway bar.
GK George

The front sway bar became standard equipment at (c)91240 in April 1960. All 1600=MK-II should have the factory sway bar on top of the front frame extension. I presume your white MK-II handled bad because it was missing the original sway bar.

Quality of handling is closely related to type of tires. Switching from bias ply tires to radial tires increases grip, which allows faster turns, which in turn creates more body roll. This rather upsets the front suspension camber (losing a little grip in front) while lifting a rear tire off the pavement (losing a lot of grip in back). If you push it hard enough into a moderate speed tight turn, this can cause a sudden transition from mild understeer to dramatic oversteer.

Try installing a 3/4-inch sway bar on the 1600, and see if it doesn't light up your life.
Barney Gaylord

Herman, -- When you hit a bump or pothole in a turn, and the front end hops a few inches toward outside of turn, this implies lack of damping in the front shock absorbers.
Barney Gaylord

Herman..can thoroughly recommend the 3/4in . I fitted the under slung one two years ago and it was very easy . I have done many things to my 1960 1600 but this mod changed the handling of the car and gave the biggest bang for the buck, euro etc. Bought mine in Oz but looks the same as Addco one..it came with a metal template to make sure holes drilled in exactly the right place and took about 4hrs I recollect. good luck....
Neil Ferguson

Instructions on fitting MGB sway bar under MGA extension: http://www.rhodo.citymax.com/f/Fitting_an_MGB_sway_bar_to_an_MGA.pdf
Bill Spohn

a quick update regarding the 3/4" anti roll bar just fitted to my mk1, i have just had a chance to drive on some of my local back roads and i have to say the differance between driving with and without the anti roll bar is really noticable, its like being on rails compaired to before and i thought it was fine then!, i would have to say to anyone considering fitting one, get it done you will not be disapointed, vin
Vin Rafter

Vin, did your roll bar come with the set of stainless steel clamps that fit around the roll bar just inside the rubber mounting blocks?
They apparently prevent any sideways movement of the bar through the blocks and they are a recommended item to improve the stiffness and stability of the front suspension.
Mine didnt have any on and we fitted some when we changed my car from negative camber arms back to the standard ones.

Colyn
Colyn Firth

They didn’t come with any the supplier didn’t have any 3/4" ones so at the moment I’m using jubilee clips although i would be interested in a pair if anyone could point me in the right direction
Vin Rafter

I purchased some 3/4 clamps from Brown & Gammons a few weeks ago.
J Bray

thank you ill look into it
Vin Rafter

Barney, You said all MK11s came with a anti-roll bar. My Mk11 does not have one installed. It does have the cut outs above the front end ext. It does not have the re-inforced a arms. At this time I don't have access to my car, but recall the vin number to be over 107K.
It maybe my MK11 had front end damage and was removed or one of those cars that got missed because they were out of sway bars when the car passed down the assembly line.
At one time I had a 69 MGB with a sway bar, then later a 64 MGB that did not have a sway bar. A friend and I installed a used sway bar on the 64 from a donor car.... What a difference!! If it wasn't such a job to remove the front ext and related front valance I would install a original sway bar on my MK11.
Ray Ammeter

I thought only twin cams and delux had anti-roll bars as standard. All 1600 and 1600 MkII should have the cut outs though.

I've had two 1600s and two 1600 MkIIs, none of which had an anti-roll bar or any signs of ever having one fitted.
N McGurk

Just found a reference in Clausager. Anti-roll bar was available from 1500 66575 and was standard on twin cam from 2275 and deluxe.
N McGurk

By the numbers:

Apr 59, (c)66574, Chassis front extension and front suspension spring pan assemblies modified to permit installation of OPTIONAL anti-roll bar (not Twin Cam at this time).

Jun 59, (c)2275, Twin Cam chassis front extension and front suspension spring pan assemblies modified to permit installation of anti-roll bar as STANDARD equipment.

Apr 60, (c)91240, Four-wheel Dunlop disc brakes and center-lock disc wheels introduced as option, with related changes (the “Deluxe” model). (Lots of detail omitted). In short, it is a complete Twin Cam chassis with pushrod engine and a hybrid body shell.

Also at (c)91240, Front Sway Bar and all related parts become standard equipment (no longer optional).

Therefore after April 1960, (c)91240, all MGA have the front sway bar as standard equipment. More than 9000 1960-1961 1600's had the sway bar standard, as well as all "Deluxe" cars and all 1600-MK-II cars, plus the last 337 Twin Cams cars starting earlier in June 1959. For the Twin Cam it was a sudden transition from no sway bar to standard sway bar with no period of "optional" in between.

The factory knew that the sway bar was a good thing, and once it became standard there was no going back, and you couldn't buy an MGA without it. I can only "recommend" (with enthusiasm) that the sway bar should be retrofit to all earlier cars as well (except for the concours folks who value originality over performance).
Barney Gaylord

This thread was discussed between 18/06/2012 and 01/07/2012

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