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MG MGA - front shock replacement for 1960 MGA

I have received my newly rebuilt front shocks and planning to replace them in the next few weeks. The question is are there any tips, suggestions, or advise to replacing them? And are there any other parts that should be replced while i'm in the process. thanks in advance for all your views. jim
james guilfoyle

Next time I have to work on my shocks or have the body off, I think will replace the stud/nut mounting points with bolts. If you have the body on and remove the nuts, you can't lift the shock body over the studs without being stymied by the inside wheel arch. If they are grade 8 bolts and lockwashers, there is no problem getting the shock to clear.

With the body on, you might be able to double nut the studs to remove them before trying to fit the shocks.

JIM in NH

AJ Mail

I just changed mine. The only issue I had with the correct shocks was that I had to remove one bolt for the engine mount on the RH side to get the shock in. Then I could refit the engine mounting bolt. Maybe that bolt is a fraction linger than standard, but it was easy to remove and then replace, and without that in the way, the shock slid straight into place. So if it is a standard MGA shock body, you don't need to change the studs to screws/ bolts.

On the other hand, the MGB body shocks do not fit unless you remove the studs and replace with screws/bolts. They are too tall to fit between the tops of the studs and the inner wing/fender. This is because the MGB ones have a circular turret on the top of the shock absorber, the A ones are flat (and lower).

The bolts supplied with the B ones are also a bit short IMHO. The studs are more secure with a longer thread into the chassis. I definitely prefer the studs.

dominic clancy

This thread was discussed on 21/06/2011

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