Flat caps and Driving gloves - A lot of love for the MGB

[niwid]

Jan 8, 2015 19:52:34 GMT bgt said:

Thanks guys. Problem is, it's a rubber bumper model originally, with the raised suspension. So it already has lowering springs at the front and blocks at the rear.

By the looks of it, it has only got the lowering springs that bring it down to CB height, which are only 1" lower than standard. With my RB model, I'm planning to use the 550lb front springs, which should bring it down 2.5", or 1.5" compared to standard RB height. The crossmember swap will supposedly only take you down about half an inch, so probably not worth it over a basic spring swap. You will compromise with bumpsteer, it just depends where your priorities are. Do you want it low, for not much cash, and aren't too bothered about a little extra bump? Or do you want it low without compromising bump but are willing to spend lots of money? Or spend no money, leave the handling as it is and live with the ride height.

I have to say, yours is very pretty indeed. Classy even.

[adam73bgt]

Mmm it is tricky to get the Rubber bumper lower but there are ways to do it.

I'm intrigued by the dropped spindles as mine has gone very low at the front now with the lower wishbones angled upwards. I'm also fairly sure I lost some ride height when I fitted the negative camber wishbone arms...

[309jazzpanda]

For me that is such a nice height looks subtle and still ably to have some b road fun in it. Beautiful little B you have there.

I will try and get some pics of the MGB rally car we look after at work

[Nathan]

Jan 8, 2015 20:48:26 GMT niwid said:

Jan 8, 2015 19:52:34 GMT bgt said:

Thanks guys. Problem is, it's a rubber bumper model originally, with the raised suspension. So it already has lowering springs at the front and blocks at the rear.

By the looks of it, it has only got the lowering springs that bring it down to CB height, which are only 1" lower than standard. With my RB model, I'm planning to use the 550lb front springs, which should bring it down 2.5", or 1.5" compared to standard RB height. The crossmember swap will supposedly only take you down about half an inch, so probably not worth it over a basic spring swap. You will compromise with bumpsteer, it just depends where your priorities are. Do you want it low, for not much cash, and aren't too bothered about a little extra bump? Or do you want it low without compromising bump but are willing to spend lots of money? Or spend no money, leave the handling as it is and live with the ride height.

I have to say, yours is very pretty indeed. Classy even.

Mines a CB model but on my friends we stuck the same springs (Classed as Race for some reason) then took the spindles to a local firm to be lowered even more.
It got the RB car down to mines height before I then imported dropped spindles.

[79cord]

This one made me look for more info given the subtle arch widening
www.britishracecar.com/MichaelZappa-MG-MGB.htm



I like the lime green GT shown earlier for its revised rear arch to match the fronts radii.
Surprised to see no other examples of that since I generally dislike miss-matches between arch shapes.

[niwid]

^^^ That is subtle, I hadn't even spotted it. I'd love to do something similar to mine, but I think the amount of bodywork and welding I have already got to do is enough of a learning curve.

[adam73bgt]

Jan 9, 2015 13:45:51 GMT niwid said:

^^^ That is subtle, I hadn't even spotted it. I'd love to do something similar to mine, but I think the amount of bodywork and welding I have already got to do is enough of a learning curve.

Well if you're cutting and welding it all anyway....


That black car has got some very nice engineering, from those subtle arches to that nicely constructed rear end suspension

Also interesting to read its not using dropped spindles! I need to do a lot of reading on suspension geometry :/

[Nathan]

It uses adjustable spring pans.
There was a Midget on there that had the same with some pictures I seem to believe.

[adam73bgt]

Jan 9, 2015 14:55:08 GMT Nathan said:

It uses adjustable spring pans.
There was a Midget on there that had the same with some pictures I seem to believe.

D'oh! Of course! It's been a long day the adjustable spring pans do look pretty neat

[mjphotography2016]

[Mike]

Jan 8, 2015 20:48:26 GMT niwid said:

Jan 8, 2015 19:52:34 GMT bgt said:

Thanks guys. Problem is, it's a rubber bumper model originally, with the raised suspension. So it already has lowering springs at the front and blocks at the rear.

By the looks of it, it has only got the lowering springs that bring it down to CB height, which are only 1" lower than standard. With my RB model, I'm planning to use the 550lb front springs, which should bring it down 2.5", or 1.5" compared to standard RB height. The crossmember swap will supposedly only take you down about half an inch, so probably not worth it over a basic spring swap. You will compromise with bumpsteer, it just depends where your priorities are. Do you want it low, for not much cash, and aren't too bothered about a little extra bump? Or do you want it low without compromising bump but are willing to spend lots of money? Or spend no money, leave the handling as it is and live with the ride height.

I have to say, yours is very pretty indeed. Classy even.

lol! Hate to be that guy but..... when i was looking for info on this there was nothing to be found and load of people telling me about parts that don't fit straight in or are best for geometry.

the 550lb spring swap will not gain you anywere near 2.5"!!!! (or even the 1.25" that moss and the hive actually state for there springs!! pressuming your using these) take into account your old springs are probably nackered from the time they have been in there and you will be super lucky to loose an inch.... plus, even if it did drop by 2.5" you would be on the bump stops or within a co-ck hair of them, even a 1.5" drop with the overall hieght off the springs on these cars you would be near enough on the bump stops, the geometry wouldn't be amazing and the car would handle shocking on a bumpy road... hence companys like moss having this as there race spring, for cars that don't encounter potholes and the such. (pressuming your going to drive this on the road?)

if you want to keep the handling and have lowered the rear, do the cross member swap, its the only way to get the car low enough properly, its not a bolt on process and you will have to mod the steering rack or the steering rack mounts, but providing the steering rack only rotates around the same axis the steering geometry would be correct and much much better than lowered springs!! this will not take you down around half an inch, the rubber bumper cross members have exactly 1" of material added on which results in a direct drop of 1" plus the weight transfer (minimal I know but its maybe a couple of mm). providing you keep the location of the rear axle the same the ackerman and geometry front to rear would also be correct as the chrome bumper and rubber bumper cars have the same wheelbase, track and front subframe component location (other than the mounting points vertically and steering rack mounts)

then theres the fact if you want the handling you will no doubt have removed the 92 kg combined weight of the front and rear bumpers, so the car will be around an inch higher anyway so you will may want to consider some mildly lower springs depending what you use the car for.

lowered spindles? great! 1" drop, but they in turn will cause minor bump steer, cant comment on them really though as i havent used them.

Would love to post some pictures of my third MG but its got some top secret bits on it at the moment and i don't want anyone copying these designs just yet! A Teaser picture of the front sat on slightly lowered springs, chrome bumper xmember and without glass lights wiring ect in it, so expecting it to drop a few mm




when you consider this is the stock hieght, i de bumpered it so it went up, and then i have lower profile tyres too....

[bgt]

Jan 8, 2015 20:48:26 GMT niwid said:

I have to say, yours is very pretty indeed. Classy even.

Jan 8, 2015 22:38:29 GMT 309jazzpanda said:

For me that is such a nice height looks subtle and still ably to have some b road fun in it. Beautiful little B you have there.

Thank you! It's a very functional height, but I won't be totally satisfied until I get it down a bit more.

Jan 9, 2015 16:10:01 GMT Mike said:

lol! Hate to be that guy but..... when i was looking for info on this there was nothing to be found and load of people telling me about parts that don't fit straight in or are best for geometry.

[...]

Wow! A lot of good info here. Thanks!

The car hits the bumpstops occasionally as it is, so getting even lower springs would be a big compromise for both safety and enjoyment. The only way to do it properly is the crossmember swap. I very much doubt that I will do that this year though.

I'm not removing the chrome bumpers, but they weigh a lot less than 92kgs fortunately.

I may look into the adjustable spring pans as well.


Another picture because I like you guys.


In this picture I had owned the car for a week. It had spent 5 days in this workshop getting the brakes fixed. You'll notice I'm still smiling.

[Mike]

That is one very clean looking B! nice! I would love a clean chrome bumper car at some point! something about these cars is addictive!

[Nathan]

If I had not invested so much time and money I would not have dropped the front of mine so much.
The comfort is totally lost, OK the handling is better (Bumpstops have been cut down) it turns in a lot better on spirited drives but at what cost.
I don't consider mine that low but it scrapes on everything, even more now I have a changed the motor thus exhaust is a little low.

Maybe I'm getting old.

[adam73bgt]

I can confirm that lowering a B down to the bumpstops (mine are now removed, must get round to fitting shortened ones....) results in a not too pleasant ride

Mike, I totally forgot to send you a message back about meeting up with the B's in Coventry! you still about these parts?

[Nathan]

^
Cool for about a week, then your back soon tells you how stupid it was :-)
Just take them out, slit the alloy mounting blocks and cut the rubbers in half.

[Mike]

Hi adam, hope your well, I am still in the coventry area however this is my last week! i have one very half finished red mgb down here with me at the moment but should be coming back down in the jag engined monster in a couple of months so if your not about have to exchange rides then!

[adam73bgt]

Jan 9, 2015 17:17:08 GMT Nathan said:

^
Cool for about a week, then your back soon tells you how stupid it was :-)
Just take them out, slit the alloy mounting blocks and cut the rubbers in half.

It probably says a lot that it hasn't been my main driver since it got really low.. Its not too bad with the bump stops out, but I do plan on reinstating some form of bump stop, will probably modify some standard ones as you suggest

Jan 9, 2015 17:18:52 GMT Mike said:

Hi adam, hope your well, I am still in the coventry area however this is my last week! i have one very half finished red mgb down here with me at the moment but should be coming back down in the jag engined monster in a couple of months so if your not about have to exchange rides then!

Ah fair enough! The Jag engined one is on the road??! I will very much be interested in seeing that when its about

[niwid]

Jan 9, 2015 16:10:01 GMT Mike said:

Jan 8, 2015 20:48:26 GMT niwid said:

By the looks of it, it has only got the lowering springs that bring it down to CB height, which are only 1" lower than standard. With my RB model, I'm planning to use the 550lb front springs, which should bring it down 2.5", or 1.5" compared to standard RB height. The crossmember swap will supposedly only take you down about half an inch, so probably not worth it over a basic spring swap. You will compromise with bumpsteer, it just depends where your priorities are. Do you want it low, for not much cash, and aren't too bothered about a little extra bump? Or do you want it low without compromising bump but are willing to spend lots of money? Or spend no money, leave the handling as it is and live with the ride height.

I have to say, yours is very pretty indeed. Classy even.

lol! Hate to be that guy but..... when i was looking for info on this there was nothing to be found and load of people telling me about parts that don't fit straight in or are best for geometry.

Some cracking info mate thanks a lot. There seems to be a lot of confusion around what actually fits what car, what parts do what, and what is the 'best' route to take in terms of ride comfort, handling or lows. I have to say I got all my info from a guy who owns a virtually standard chrome bumper model and sort of just trusted he would be correct as he's restored a few of them and modified a couple too. I'll have to look into the cross member swap myself. I was planning on removing and rebuilding the one on there anyway haha

[niwid]

Jan 9, 2015 16:10:01 GMT Mike said:

Jan 8, 2015 20:48:26 GMT niwid said:

By the looks of it, it has only got the lowering springs that bring it down to CB height, which are only 1" lower than standard. With my RB model, I'm planning to use the 550lb front springs, which should bring it down 2.5", or 1.5" compared to standard RB height. The crossmember swap will supposedly only take you down about half an inch, so probably not worth it over a basic spring swap. You will compromise with bumpsteer, it just depends where your priorities are. Do you want it low, for not much cash, and aren't too bothered about a little extra bump? Or do you want it low without compromising bump but are willing to spend lots of money? Or spend no money, leave the handling as it is and live with the ride height.

I have to say, yours is very pretty indeed. Classy even.

lol! Hate to be that guy but..... when i was looking for info on this there was nothing to be found and load of people telling me about parts that don't fit straight in or are best for geometry.

Some cracking info mate thanks a lot. There seems to be a lot of confusion around what actually fits what car, what parts do what, and what is the 'best' route to take in terms of ride comfort, handling or lows. I have to say I got all my info from a guy who owns a virtually standard chrome bumper model and sort of just trusted he would be correct as he's restored a few of them and modified a couple too. I'll have to look into the cross member swap myself. I was planning on removing and rebuilding the one on there anyway haha