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MG MGB Technical - Raising a 'B'

A dear friend of mine died a few months ago. He had a '77B and his widow just recently sold the car. She had a few parts from an old '77 including a complete front end. My wife just had surgury and wants to raise up our '73B. Will the '77 front end fit under the '73 and what would I have to do to raise up the rear end, '77 rear springs do the job or would it have to be something more involved? I'll soon be getting ready to put both car's away for the season and thought this wuold be a good winter project. Thanks Victor
victor gardino

Victor, the complete front end from a 77 will fit onto your 73. The only difference I think are the springs. The 77 Springs from a rubber bumper car will make the front end 1" higher than at present. Likewise the rear springs from the 77 will fit and make the rear end about 1" higher.

So if your wife wants the car to ride higher that's the way to go. You'll find that the road handling won't be as good with the higher suspension.

Andy
Andy Preston

Victor; Moss shows the front springs to be the same from sometime in 72 on, The Original MGB by Clausager seems to confirm that on page 91. The front height was increased by rubber bumper crossmember changes. The front crossmember from the 77 will bolt on, but your steering rack will not fit because the rack mounting brackets are around 2" forward compared to your 73. Look at them carefully and you will see the difference.

The rear parts bolt on ok but the spring hangers on the rubber bumper cars were lowered to increase the riding height so you will not get the full rubber bumper height.

Longer springs are the easy way to increase front ride height but you should already have the longest stock springs available. You can increase front height by adding some shims in the spring pan or in the top spring pocket.

On the rear it seems you can add about 3 in. height by installing new springs, but they tend to settle. I recently raised the rear of my 74 by increasing the length of the spring shackles. About 3/4" longer shackles added about 1/2" to the rear height.

Good luck

Clifton Gordon

Would using the rear springs off a pre 74 MGB work to lower a 74 1/2 RB MGB to CB hieght?
Bruce

Bruce-
No. The rear springs are interchangable. The spring hanger brackets are the difference. Read Clifton's posting above.
Steve S.

Victor,

I was just re-reading your original intention for changing your ride height. I don't own a Clausager's nor a rubber bumper B, but what was the ride height change, a few inches?

Could you get the same amount of change by fitting new seat diaphragms and foams? You could even add some extra padding if you wanted to raise the seat bottom some more. This might ease your wife's access to the seat without being as major a change as swapping suspension.

My wife has fibromyalgia, and can also find it difficult to get in and out of the B. I have in the back of my mind finding an early 60's Mercedes convertible to give her a smoother, but still classic and topless ride. (Until then, she deserves a rebuilt seat as well. I must remind her of that next payday.)

As a final note, my wife has some special snazzy foam rubber on her side of the mattress which keeps her more comfy. You could trim a piece to fit in the seat to get that extra rise, and add to the comfort as well. If you'd like contact information for that stuff, email me at zkulka (at) hotmail.com.

Best wishes for you and your wife,

Matt K.
Matt Kulka

Victor,

Mat has a very good point regarding seats, new cusions do add a lot, I recently replaced them in my GT and now I have a crick in my neck. The other good point was made by Clifton regarding spring shackles, my roadster came with a pair which were enough to raise the rear end by at least 2 inches. If you want them drop me an e-mail offline.

Dave.
David Banyard

Got to agree with Matt, a real brain wave. The rubber bumper car is only one inch Higher, and alot of work for you to get it there. Raising up the seat(s) is easy, will be more comfortable to sit in and doesn't effect your handeling. You might even get both of them reupholtered in new leather etc.
Peter

Or if the seat foams and covers are good, how about some spacers under the seat runners. If on the drivers side, this might not leave enough room under the steering wheel, but on the passenger side the sky's the limit (except in a GT, of course).
Derek Nicholson

My 73 roadster had GT springs in the front which raised it enough that I noticed right away when I was buying the car. So, a set of GT front springs would raise the front. Don't know if you need GT rear leafs to raise the rear.
Wray Lemke

Thanks to all for their input. Right now the car is up at our place in the mountains. I will bring it back down in the middle of October. This will give me some idea on what approach I will take. It's going to be a good winter project regardless. I'll keep you all up to date on how it turns out. Thanks Vic
victor gardino

This thread was discussed between 08/09/2003 and 17/09/2003

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