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MG MGB Technical - Spax, front tube shock conversion

Greetings,

Can anyone tell me their experience with the MGB front shock conversion using the Spax kit found in the Moss Catalogue ?

I own a 65 "B" with the rear shocks having been converted to adjustable Spax shocks several years ago with great results.

My reasoning is that I noticed a small leak from one of the Armstrong shocks and rather than exchanging or rebuilding, it might be a good opportunity to make the switch.

Speaking to several people so far, they claim this conversion is not a good set up ? Can anyone shed a little more info ?

"Got the February Blues", waiting for top down driving.

Dino
Dino

This conversion seems totally Rube Goldberg-esque to me ... it just seems unnatural, ungainly and Not Right. Plus having the shock supports loaded as cantilevers -- the shock body is offset from the load -- seems nuts. But what really bugs me is that you have to just drain the OE shocks and leave 'em on the car ... that's just ridiculous!

A much better, albeit more expensive, way to go is to get the Hopkinson or Frontline shock kits that replace, rather than augment, the OE shocks. The shock body is in line with the load and all is well there.
Ted

I'm satisfied with my front & rear Spax, but I don't drive as one would on the track. The difference from the standard shocks wasn't very great --- not as great as the price, in my opinion.
Dan

Thanks for your responses.

It appears that the high cost relative to an original type shock is simply not worth the changeover as no real benefit is achieved.

Conclusion, rebuild what I got and enhance elsewhere.

Thank You
Dino
Dino

Dino:
before you rebuild, let me recommend a superior rebuilder you can exchange your old shocks with: World Wide Auto Parts of Madison, WI. http://www.mailbag.com/users/nosimport/ They provide a better than average rebuild and many folks on this BBS have used their services. Let me requote from an email sent to me a few years ago by their owner of how they rebuild their shocks. Pricing may have varied since this was sent to me, but I doubt by too much.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
World Wide Rebuilt Armstrong Lever Shocks


Firstly, pricing ..... for the MGB - fronts $59.95 + 40.00 core Rears 47.95 + 30.00 core
Secondly, below is some info I sent to the Blue Grass Healey Club on

How World Wide Approaches Rebuilding Lever Shocks...
First. What fails in a lever shock? Almost all of the (non-traumatic) failures result from lack of oil in the shock. The manuals always recommend Checking or topping-up your shox in various intervals 3000 miles or so. Why? Because they leak!.. what a surprise! They don't leak just because they are British, they leak by design (now there's a bumper sticker). Speaking here of the rear shox... the shaft that protrudes from the body of the shock is rotating in the body without a bearing. To ensure sufficient lubrication there is often a channel or groove in the shaft bore. At the outside there is a rubber packing retained by a thin metal washer. A packing needs some lubrication to work at all and the weeping of oil acts as a deterrent to dirt getting in. Dirt getting in will score the shaft at the seal area hastening the demise of the packing and wearing the bearing surface in the body.
The solution that all of us rebuilders use is to machine the body and install a bearing. We use Delrin, others use bronze. Bronze requires oil, Delrin doesn't. We also machine the body for a rotary oil seal (others don't) (in fact we use a double lip seal with dust excluder). One guy does use a rotary single lip seal and the others use several rubber washers held in place with a steel washer or two. To solve the pitted and scored shaft problem, others sand or grind the shaft down.(you don't need to be precise with rubber washers) We have manufactured for us, to our specs, stainless steel sleeves that allows us to have a 3 micron finish and consistent diameter and concentricity of the shaft. After many years, we have found this to be very reliable. Our shox don't leak.
The process... step by step. Receive grimy old shock, tumble clean in a deburring/tumble cleaner. Glass bead blast entire shock. Disassemble.
Tumble and hot wash internals. Bead blast the rest of the arm. Machine for
the bearing and for the seal. Wash again. Press in bearing and seal. Press
on sleeve. Inspect and repair/replace as necessary the pistons and the
valving. Reassemble components using all new hardware of proper thread and
style. Fill with oil and bleed. Compare valving with NOS shock, adjust if necessary. Wash AGAIN. Paint 2 coats primer and 3 coats high heat black enamel. Date code and ship.
There you have it.
Peter Caldwell president. 800 362-1025
Bob Muenchausen

Dino,
also, as for most of the front shock conversions, you have to watch out for design glitches that can become problems. I bought a kit for my GT some years ago from Moss (not the spax kit, but another) and it had a problem with the bottom shock mount banging the brake hose fitting on the calipers - not a good thing. So I went back to OE type shocks from World Wide and have been happy since. FWIW.
Bob Muenchausen

FYI - the Spax kit comes with woven metalic brake hoses. The clearance on the left rear shock hardware is insufficient and requires crimping the exhaust pipe a bit.
Dan

Every tube shock conversion I've seen (excepting the full coilover kits) has been a horrible Mickey Mouse affair that weighed more than stock, didn't work as well, and could very probably be dangerous, too. The geometry is terrible, they foul the brakes, and they look like the worst sort of bodge add-on.

And frankly, a good set of lever shocks work pretty well, anyway.
Baxter


I have heard good things on this BBS about World Wide and am considering using them for a rebuild as well.

My question is since I only have one shock leaking do you need to replace both at the same time?

Mike (Another Canuck waiting for spring!)
73B
Mike

This thread was discussed between 25/02/2003 and 01/03/2003

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