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MG TD TF 1500 - TD Mark II Shocks

Did the TD MK II have Armstrong shocks on it? PJ
Paul161

I thought they were Andrax PJ. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

Early cars had Girling plus the four supplemental Andrex, later Armstrongs(when all late TD's changed to Armstrong)plus the Andrex.
George Butz

If you don't have the fender bumps you have Girlings. If you have the fender bumps you MAY have Armstrongs.

As George states, the later cars (53) most likely had Armstrongs.

The Andrex friction shocks were supplemental.
Christopher Couper

No argument about the early Girlings & the later Armstrongs but I believe all Mark 11's, or TDC's if you prefer, had Andrax shocks fitted ex factory. They also had chromed radiator slats, 2 fuel pumps & 1 1/2" SU's as standard. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

AKD 824, Section R (Mark II), under the Chassis Section says that MKII's, from the beginning, were built with Shock absorbers: R/H front #500144, L/H front #500145. These are unique numbers, and are different from those of the Girling (136023), or Armstrong (500533). As the page says "Identical to Standard "TD" Except for These Items". There is no indication that they were replacements for the standard shock absorbers.
Bud Krueger

Peter - not quite. Only cars after TD22613 had chrome radiator slats as part of the badging package that was introduced then. Before that car, all slats were painted as interior color.

Tom Lange
Mark II guy...
t lange

Thanks Tom. Not gunner argue with a Mk 11 guy. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

Bud - since those shocks you note are listed with "Bracket Frame R/H" (and L/H), I am pretty confident those are the additional Andrex shocks found on all Mark II cars, and not some differently-valved Girling or Armstrong. Standard shocks do not require an additional bracket, as do the Andrex shocks.

Tom Lange
MGT Repair
t lange

That's what I was trying to say, but you said it much better. (And, in fewer words.) Bud
Bud Krueger

I had to go to the parts manual and be sure, because all of a sudden, I wasn't!

Tom
t lange

I'm afraid that not all Mk IIs had the Andrex dampers. I'm not sure what the selection criterion was, but I believe it was an ordered option.

I've seen lottsa Mark IIs and only a few had the friction dampers.

Gord Clark
Rockburn, Qué.
Gord Clark

Gord: Did they have the extra brackets? I have seen lots of Mk II's without the Andrex too and I suspect the were just taken off because they broke or made the ride stiffer and it was just easier to discard them.
Christopher Couper

Gord - I'm not saying it could not have happened that a Mark II car might have been special-ordered without the Andrex shocks, but why? Both of the two factory sales brochures, the contemporary ads and reviews ALL list the 4 additional Andrex as one of the big selling points for this "Competition" model, so it makes little sense that a car would not have them installed from new. Andrex shocks are shown as standard on the Mark II parts listings in Section R, and are listed as an option for a regular TD in section P of the parts list. (Although I admit that there is at least one thing in Section R that did NOT come standard on Mark II cars - the manual ignition control, which I have never even seen on a single car - challenge out there...).

Virtually every Mark II I have seen has the modified front A-arms with welded-in packing blocks and extra holes to accommodate the Andrex shocks. And every genuine Mark II I have seen has the upper Andrex brackets welded and bolted to the front frame, and welded in place at the rear, from the factory. Andrex brackets (and the bulkhead holes for the second fuel pump) are usually enough to identify a TD/C car.

Since the Andrex shocks tend to freeze up after all the lube drains out of them due to bad seals, and since only two bolts and the link hold each shock in place, I am sure owners simply removed the shocks when they didn't work - which must have been often. Two of my 5 Mark II cars had all the brackets, but no Andrex shocks when I got them - they were in boxes with the cars, frozen solid! The other three cars had the shocks in place.

I really think it's safe to say that if a Mark II car has the unique Andrex frame bracketry - and EVERY Mark II I have seen has them - then it came with Andrex shocks.

Tom Lange
MGT Repair

t lange

This thread was discussed between 03/08/2015 and 06/08/2015

MG TD TF 1500 index

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