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MG MGB Technical - Aussie-made Armstrongs?

Just cleaned, purged and refilled my front Armstrong lever-arms. Surprised to find what appears to be a date stamp on the base (9 93), as well as an embossed Australian manufacture label on the outside of the cylinder. Can anyone confirm that the 9 93 is a date stamp, and not some random product code? The relevance is of course that they would be 20 years newer than a lot of the parts on the car! They are certainly in good condition, standard valve, no leaking seals, so should be good for another 20 years. Incidentally, I found ATF very good for rinsing out fine particles, and both hydraulic jack oil and 20W fork oil give the same "drop time" of the arms on the bench, of 110 seconds (just for fun).
Thanks anyone. John.
(Sorry, don't know why the pic is so small. The 9 93 is top left.)



J P Hall

Don't know about Aussie build or date but LA dampers went on lots of other vehicles including London Taxis so were still being made long after the B finished, can't remember dates now.

Peter Caldwell of World Wide Auto Parts (USA) (who used to post on the BBS) is very well respected for his better than new exchange service on LA dampers cautions about using thick oil, 30w max.

"Stick with the 20w oil recommended (AW [ISO] 68 spec). At most use 30w (AW [ISO] 100). Best are synthetics like Silkolene or Redline suspension oils. They hold up under heat waaaaay better than standard hydraulic oils.... and these shocks get hot."

AW just means anti-wear.

Silkolene SF 20 Fork & Suspension Fluid – https://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-89690-silkolene-sf-20-fork-suspension-fluid.aspx

“The SAE figures give a good guide to relative oil viscosities, however, the ISO figures, related to the true viscosity at 40°C, give a more accurate assessment of damping capabilities.”

ISO 68 / SAE 20w - ISO 100 / SAE 30w

HTH
Nigel Atkins

Thanks Nigel - yes, fork oil or atv oil at ISO 68 looks the popular choice. Waiting for my local m/cycle place to reopen tomorrow.
Does anyone know whether the date stamp is standard practice in theUK?
John.
J P Hall

John, I know a lot of components for the Australian assembled MGA and mgb roadsters were locally sourced. As far as the suspension is concerned, I know for certain that the semi-elliptic rear springs for the MGB were made in Australia, in Sydney. (I've actually seen the BMC blueprints for them!)
Your GT however would have been fully imported.
For more mainstream cars of the fifties and sixties, I'd suspect ALL the suspension components (and axles) would have been manufactured in Australia.

Your query prompted me to look up Armstrong shock absorbers, and sure enough, it seems they did manufacture here.
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/23415613

The map of Australia appeared on a number of Australian made components incorporated into BMC (Australia) built cars, including some engine blocks.

However I would suspect by 1993 Armstrong here would have been long wound up. Even the parent company, as we knew it, had gone by then, having been incorporated into a number of acquisitions and mergers as the British motor industry went through its death spiral.
Certainly I find it difficult to believe Armstrong would still be making lever arm damper here in Australia so long after the demand for them had dried up.
If it is a date stamp on your shock absorber then it might have been put there by somebody who reconditioned the shock absorber at that time.

My 1965 MGB needed the front shocks rebuilt in 1985.
And I have to say, it made a big difference to how the front of the car felt.
One day I might have to bight the bullet and post mine to Peter Caldwell for their next rebuild; it surely would have to be well and truly due by now..
T Aczel

Some interesting info on Aussie MGBs here http://mgbsmadeinaustralia.org/, but it's very slooooow to load. Suspension section 'coming' though.

I love the bit about not being impressed with the panel gaps so they made changes to improve them, but as soon as the car was on its wheels the doors jammed shut.
paulh4

Thomas, fascinating info thank you. I think you're probably right about the 9/93 being added later.
And Paul I waited and waited ... and my phone died. I'll get your article on the proper puter in the morning.
John.
J P Hall

JP obviously up to you but I'd be sticking with the expert's advice and going with straight ISO 68 and synthetic -"Best are synthetics like Silkolene or Redline suspension oils. They hold up under heat waaaaay better than standard hydraulic oils.... and these shocks get hot."

Synthetic oils are often better quality overall particularly at higher temperatures but also colder temperatures and stand up to the stresses of use better and for longer.

Once you've put the oil in it should be there for a very long time so will have a lot of work to do over a very long time so put the best in, fit 'n' forget.

I can't remember the details for B rear dampers but there has to be some air gap for the oil, you probably know a lot better than me about that.

It looks like the LA dampers might still have been made new up to about 1999 and probably later but now may well be stuck with a company that appears still active but not making some or most of its products.
Nigel Atkins

Agree Nigel - I should have made it clearer that my "purge and fill" was a first go,(a) to learn the process, and (b) to check the performance of the units with new jack oil, since I had some handy.Today I should be able to refill with the best ISO68 I can find, seal up with new gasket, and forget for 20 years - by which time I will be 87!
Also, I'm intrigued to find that the "uprated" valve might only have a couple of washers added. I'll stick with standard. John.
J P Hall

"Some interesting info on Aussie MGBs here http://mgbsmadeinaustralia.org/, but it's very slooooow to load. Suspension section 'coming' though.

I love the bit about not being impressed with the panel gaps so they made changes to improve them, but as soon as the car was on its wheels the doors jammed shut."


Paul, I have also seen the large scale drawings made to reskin the doors of those first few MGBs off the line at the Zetland BMC (Australia) plant in Sydney. They were certainly not going to scrap a bunch of otherwise perfectly good brand new MGB roadsters, so they fitted the doors of these early cars with slightly smaller door skins!!

They had other problems too, according to a gentleman I know whose office was at one end of the MGB line.
For example, the bonnets used to poke out too far at the front, necessitating them to have to lead load around the headlights to line the body up with the leading edge of the bonnet.
Also, the lead at the join between the inner top extensions of the guards, where they met the tonneau panel used to bubble up under the paint in the ovens.

The gentleman who runs the wonderful "MGBs Made in Australia" web site, Roger Sharpe, is currently changing everything over to a newer computer. This is taking him an age, and causing him a lot of angst. This may possibly explain why the pages are slow to load for you at present.




T Aczel

Talking about something else to someone else somewhere else the topic of Spitfire (aircraft) manufacture came up. When Castle Bromwich were getting mass production going they couldn't get the holes in the skin panels to line up with those in the ribs, even though they were positioned as per the component drawings. Eventually they spoke to someone at Supermarine who said "We don't drill the holes until the panels are offered up".
paulh4

This thread was discussed between 02/01/2021 and 04/01/2021

MG MGB Technical index

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