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MG TD TF 1500 - Jeff Brown from Pittsburgh - about front springs

Jeff - I'm looking at the picture of your red TD racer and I'm wondering about your front springs. Are the MGB race springs? Cut down or re-arched stock? I've been waiting all winter for a spring company here in Alberta to make me a set of shorter springs [-1.5 inches] but with the oil boom in full swing in Alberta, a two-bit job like this will get done in, probably, 2016.

So how did you do it, Jeff? If you've got some how-to pictures of that front end, you can email me at: djorgensATtelusplanetDOTnet

And by the way, Gord, this also shows how great the picture database is. We can look and speculate from the comfort of our desk chairs.

Merry Christmas to all,
Dave J.
Dave Jorgensen

Dave:

Actually, I bought the car with those springs already in it... and yes, they are MGB front springs. They appear to be cut down fron stock.

Also, the car has (sh-hhh-hh, the tech Inspectors might be listening) camber blocks to provide the right amount of camber (negative, of course), and rear lowering blocks. Of course, it also has a front sway bar, which I believe is also an MGB bar.

I say this from a neutral perspective (trying not to brag, because I bought the car already engineered this way), but it does handle like it is on rails... and compared to the "stock" TD which is restored, it is a whole different world.

I'll try and get some pictures in the coming weeks, as I am about to strat the off-season re-build, which will includes rebuilt front shocks ("Heavy-duty") from Apple Hydraulics.

Best Wishes for the Holidays!

JB
Jeff Brown

Thanks Jeff:

I appreciate the help on this. When you get that front end apart, can you count the number of coils on the spring and measure the unloaded length - that'll help me figure out which particular MGB springs to go after. Also, if you could include a picture of how the camber compensator is built into the suspension, that will help too.

Thanks and best wishes,
Dave Jorgensen
Dave Jorgensen

Yes, Dave. My pleasure.

In the meantime, the camber compensator is just various thicknesses of aluminum blocks that go between the a-arm pivot (Moss #264-270), and the frame extension. Many vintage race organizations frown on too much negative front camber, but no Tech Inspector has ever said anything to me when I take the car thru Tech, and it has never been noted in my Logbook.

Same with the rear lowering blocks; they are simply various thicknesses of aluminum blocks that go betweem the top spring centering plate, and the top leaf spring.

JB
Jeff Brown

Dave:

I went to the garage to take pictures of the front suspension, and found that the batteries are dead in my digital camera, but while I was there, I pulled out my notebook and looked up some of the notes I took from a conversation I had with the previous-previous owner, who built the car as a race car... here are some of those details:

Front springs are 550#, 8" in length (free). We believe them to be Moss #264-395, but a quick phone call to the Moss tech guys could confirm that. I also found that the front and rear rebound rubbers are only about 1/2 the height of the new stock rubbers I just received from Moss, so that mod obviously provides more front suspension travel. I did have in my notes that the front sway bar is the stock MGB 5/8" sway bar, with solid mounts, although I can no longer find a Moss description of that bar with "solid mounts". The Moss part # for the bar is 454-965, and the mounting kit is 454-978. Since it is an early car (TD0844), I use the Girling shocks, rebuilt by Apple Hydraulics, and with their "Heavy Duty" rating. They work just fine. Same with the rear shocks.

While we're at it, in terms of the rear suspension, I noted from my notebook that "some of the racers remove leaves from the rear springs, but I didn't". I measured those rear lowering blocks, and they are just a shade under 2" (!). I think that is about all you'd want to go, and remember that my notes state that those rear rebound rubbers are cut in half!

Anyway, pictures forthcoming during or just after this coming holiday weekend. In the meantime, I hope these details suffice. (you ARE building a vintage racer, I hope!? I would not want to make these mods to a street car!).

Jeff

PS If I can find your email address, I am going to send you a couple of pictures offline that show the car at Pittsburgh, in a nice, sharp right turn, so you can see the suspension mods in action!
Jeff Brown

"...as I am about to strat the off-season re-build, which will includes rebuilt front shocks ("Heavy-duty") from Apple Hydraulics."

I would recommend you send them to Peter Caldwell at World Wide Imports this time.
Carl Floyd

Carl:
Have you an address or Website URL for World Wide Imports? As I have to have the shocks I'm removing rebuilt, I will try them.

Jeff
Jeff Brown

Dave: I believe that I have a barely used Moss rollbar like that in my garage. Email me off list (mrkshrmn@hotmail.com) if you are interested.

Mark Sherman

This thread was discussed between 19/12/2006 and 02/01/2007

MG TD TF 1500 index

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