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MG MGB Technical - Best Place for new Panhard in USA?

I've been searching the archives to look for places to buy my panhard. I know many have said good things about the Doug's MGBMGA.com web site and how good it works..yeah, I'm sure that it is a great kit but is it worth $330 bucks? Doubtful...I am not a welder so I can't make my own so if it comes down to it I'll order a kit from him. Another source that someone commented on was minimania.com..I left an email because I couldn't find the kit avaialable online but no response yet..

Are there other sources for this great MGB Modification?

Eric
Eric Willis

The best place for a new Panhard in the US right now is in a museum.
Somewhere WestofLaramie

Eric, off the French cars to your question. Last week I removed the rear axle assembly from a 70's Toyota Celica liftback and left a nice panhard bar on the car. I believe it would be easy to fabricate some brackets to mount it on an MGB. I plan to go back to the breakers yard and get it and and see if I can make it work. I'm sure there are some other cars out there that have bars that could be used. Surely you can get two mounting pins welded on for a few $$. You have to be careful where and how it is mounted. FWIW, Clifton
Clifton Gordon

Be interested to see if this works.
I was also thinking that there must be Panhard Rods in junkyards that will do the job....some fabrication required for an axle mount and body mount, but must be do-able?. Anyone done it and have advice or drawings?. £350 from mgoc for Doug Jacksons $350 kit is a bit steep, although it does look to be very well engineered.........
Chris Cooper

Interesting that you say Doug's looks to be well engineered. I respect him a lot, but the aluminum clamp that goes around the axle looks like a very poor design to deal with the lateral loads encountered, which I understand get rather extreme. One issue, of course, is what would ensue if that end of the rod became disconnected "in flight" ... would this not have dramatic effects on useful things like the fuel tank ...
Ted

During last autocross season I installed Doug Jackson's current generation kit on my B-GT. It has been driven in several competitions literally as hard as possibe on r-compound tires (meaning the highest lateral loads possible on 205 wide tires). In checking the torque on suspension fittings in general, I have found no evidence of loosening or other signs of stress. While we all know aluminium of a given dimension will usually have less strength than the same dimension steel, the bracket in question appears to my (non-engineer) eye as being sufficiently overbuilt to withstand the demands placed on it. I am very happy with it in all respects - build quality, performance, and value (yes, despite that it is a bit steep). The handling is transformed more than any other improvement other than simply making sure the suspension is in good nick to begin with. I can't imagine that it would not withstand any kind of road use. Dean
Dean Lake

Hmmm, maybe a good call Ted. Perhaps I meant well made...
I've seen some fitted with brackets welded onto the axle casing, maybe this is better?. Still hoping someone who has done it will post.
Chris Cooper

I have Doug's Panhard rod set-up and have been very impressed with its quality, ease of installation and found a noticable improvement in handling on my Rubber Bumpered MGB.
Frank

Chris

I bought Dougs Panhard Rod direct from him in Febraury which cost me including postage $400, which at Feb's exchange rate was £250, a noticeable saving on the MGOC version

In my opinion, the rod and its brackets appear very well engineered. Howver, as i haven't had it fitted yet (waiting for another payday) i cannot comment on its design in practice.

Doug does detail some rods that went wrong on his webpage, and appears to have spent some time and effort researching each one.

He appeared very helpful and knowledgeble when he rang me from the US to dicuss and he also details the fitting and set up of the rod on his website.

Therefore even if you didn't buy from him (i agree you should be able to find something suitable if you can afford the time spent trawling the breakers yard), it may still pay to give him a call to discuss differences in fittings and best setup. Essentially a pnahrad rod is a very simple tool, but can work very well. I am expecting good results once fitted!

Also some of the boys on midget page have fitted/built their own rods and therefore you could try asking them for their advice on how they went about it.

Just some thoughts ~PHIL
Phil

I considered installing one but I'm terrified of tearing out the floor of my trunk. I've heard of this happening every now and then.
Steve Simmons

It seems like a little reinforcement on the boot bracket part wouldn't hurt. Some lighter gauge sheet spreading out from both sides of the bracket, to cover a larger vertical boot area. I may build something later on, similar in design, using the panhard rod I got from Jegs, bare with no brackets. I've seen a plan where the other end, if I recall correctly, fastens to a bracket made from plate, attached to the rear area of the hub. From what I've gathered, the PR makes lots of difference.
Joe Ullman

Dan Masters has a detailed description of his home made set up in the pages of the past V8 newsletter. He chose to attach the wheel/hub side to a bracket bolted behind the drum backing plate as the extra length gives optimum performance. (roll center has longer radius) I secured a panhard rod set up which was used on 65-66 Shelby Mustangs which I will be adapting to the Dana 44 rear end I am using on my V6 conversion.It comes with some heavy bracketry for the inboard side and I will either try to go with Dan's method at the hub or weld a bracket to the axle tube. I have not worked out all the details on reinforcing the trunk floor but I planned on welding in a wide heavy (.060-.090 wall) sheet metal section between some heavier brackets inside and out, bolted thru the trunk wall and reinforcement so as to spread load forces across as wide an area as possible. I will also follow Dan's lead in making anti-tramp bars for this set up. Here again I am using modified Shelby Mustang components which by the way are available from the Mustang aftermarket suppliers for around $120.00 and are very robust and well made. They are made so they bolt up to the U bolts at the axle and are welded to the subframe at the front. I will be welding them to some "tophats" which are sheet metal "U" sections welded from the center reinforcing channel and rearward to the spring hangers. This reinforcment is what was used on the RV8 as the B spring hangers are a definite weak spot.
Thomas Rynne

I used this one on my Sprite: http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?part=3740. I fabricated a bracket from hardware store angle iron (cut to size and then took pieces to a welder). Cost less than $100 all inclusive.
Phil ('66 Sprite)

This thread was discussed between 19/03/2003 and 21/03/2003

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