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MG MGB Technical - Rear suspension

Hi guys, I have not been on the forum for a while, my 67 MGBGT has been going well and had a quiet winter.
I have been giving it a bit of an overhaul last few weeks, come to rear suspension which I think is original, bushes are wearing away, so decided to change them, can anyone suggest where I can get best price for polybushes a set for the rear.
Also my rear leaf springs look poor, I was thinking I should change them , a bit concerned that if I get new ones they won't be the quality of the old ones.
Any help on this subject would be great.
I just thought if I'm changing the bushes may as well go the hole hog.
Guy on eBay doing springs and all bushes etc. for £189.

Cheers

Jack.
Jack New Forest

Hi Jack,
whoops better be careful with posting that!

both subjects have been covered fairly recently so will be in the Archives

for rear springs it seems for a number of years now the stock from the usual suppliers have been OK, no doubt they won't last as long as the originals but reasonable value for price against longevity

or there's an old place Midlands way I think that does springs for bikes up to railway carriages

or you could have your present springs rest if they're not broken

as for polyurethane bushes it's like other parts and makes the least expensive are always the best value

I had a full set, front and rear of the yellow ones that the MGOC sell on my midget and they were fine but possibly very slightly 'hard' for some tastes, after 2 years I replaced these with full sets front and rear of Super-Flex and I found these better and not as hard

if your rubber bushes are very old (original?) then whatever you replace them with should transform the ride and handling, unfortunately modern rubber parts can't be trusted for quality often

how old are your tyres?
Nigel Atkins

If you are contemplating getting them reset, check first for wear as in the attached where a leaf end has chaffed into the one above. (sorry, a bit blurry but you can see enough to get the problem). Wear like this results in a broken leaf at that point, which further loads the leaf above until it breaks ... and so on until the main leaf is the last man standing and breaks too.
At which point things get pretty ugly!
So if worn in this way, always replace the spring.


Paul Walbran

missed edit -

as for polyurethane bushes it's like other parts and makes the least expensive are NOT always the best value
Nigel Atkins

Thanks Nigel and Paul, I've opted to buy new springs, and ploy bushes, lets do it right, and yes Nigel my next job is to look at tyres, mine seem fine, but they have been on a while, but not many miles per year. Thanks for your help , I'll let you know when job complete and results.

Cheers
Jack New Forest

In what way do the rear springs look poor? If they are flat with the weight of the car on it's wheels then that is normal. Be aware that many people have had problems with replacement springs being overarched and/or too hard, giving a very high stance at the rear (submissive monkey) even after allowing time for settling.

I've had a rear spring break on my 75 V8. Apart from a thump from under the seat when doing a twisty hill-climb I didn't realise anything was wrong until back on the straight when the steering wheel was several degrees from the straight-ahead position as the axle had moved back a bit that side. It can only move back as far as the rear shackle will let it, and I drove home well over 100 miles with it like that with no problems. A pal had the same thing happen but being a 78 with the factory anti roll-bar that prevented the axle moving at all, he was totally unaware until the next MOT.
Paul Hunt

Paul,
are these rear spring problems recent as most of the posts I've seen seem to suggest the current stock of rear springs from the usual suppliers are OK
Nigel Atkins

The complaints go back some years, and I can't recall seeing comments from people who have used current stock and quoted the resultant ride height, satisfactory or not.

Paul Hunt

I don't know if it's here or elsewhere but I've seen where it's been put that the springs are OK, I can't remember any mention of ride height so assume it's OK too

if someone has bought a part and fitted it and everything is fine they don't tend to post to say so

also bear in mind most owners are not aware of how high classic cars should sit and sat as new having got so used to seeing classics with tired springs sitting lower plus the modern idea of lowering the cars and some modern cars sitting low - your arches must be filled for you to be accepted as a 'cool' person :)
Nigel Atkins

This thread was discussed between 18/03/2014 and 20/03/2014

MG MGB Technical index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG MGB Technical BBS is active now.