My car has the Moss Motors tube shock conversion on it. For some reason, the passenger side top mounting bracket got bent. And then the shock eyelet got warbled. Which caused a clang over bumps.
I got a new top mount and shock and replaced them today. In doing so, I discovered that the PO had put the top bracket on upside down from the instructions. i put the mount on in the "soft" position according to the Moss instructions.
I did a few clutch drops after the install. And now I have wheel hop.
So, experts, do i need to put the bracket on upside down like the PO or can I just put it in the "firmer" position? I don't want to do it two more times if I don't have to.
Mmm, what a pain.
It depends on your spring travel.
Presumably got bent because the suspension bottomed out onto the shock. The shock must never bottom out.
Measure the closed shock length, then measure the distance from the top to bottom mounts that will exist when the suspension is
on the bump stop.
Ivor
Hmmm.
Seems like flipping the mount upside down is just goinog to make the shock bottom out and bend the bracket again. And to put the shocks in the "firmer" setting, i would have to remove both the passenger and driver side shock mounts and switch them.
i found this article, which might actually be less effort than pulling the shock mounts and reinstalling them
http://www.britishv8.org/Articles/Easy-Traction.htm
I assume that longer part of the spring goes to the front of the car and the shorter (after cutting) part of the spring goes to the rear.
Edit: I don't understand how the traction bar attaches to the car. Doesn't it have to be secured to the body of the car? The article makes it sound like you just put the center bolt back in and you are done. Am I missing something?
Stock style MGB rear suspension is prone to wheel hop. Bill Guzman's half leaf spring is a good alternative to traction bars. Yes, the longer part goes to the front.
Make sure your shocks are not too long.
Bottom brackets swapped and flipped?
I found that adding an extra full length leaf eliminated the wheel hop and stiffened the suspension nicely.
Jim
Stupid question number 2. Do I need one on both sides?
Both. The only people doing one side that I am aware of would be some of the 4x4 crowd.
You have to flip and swap the lower mounts and then your shock won't be too long. If you don't the shocks will bottom out.
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Thanks Jim.
it was the upper mount that was flipped upside down.
What am I getting myself into in the job to add this spring?
I got a set of old springs and I had to cut the center bolt to take the leafs apart. The springs on my car are low mile and no rust. Am I going to have to again cut the bolt to get the bottom spacer leaf off so I can add the longer leaf?
Here is a video of what I am afraid is going to happen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u86a6B-w7Uo
Aaron, You wouldn't believe how many don't flip the lower mounts. You wont have to remove the center bolt on your existing springs. You simply sandwich your helper spring between your existing spring and lower bracket.
Do I put that smallest leaf spring back in on top of the traction bar?
No. That smallest leaf (what Bill Guzman calls the "support leaf") does not go back on at all. It is replaced with the new offset leaf.
Yeah, Carl. i figured that out as soon as I dove into the job.
Passenger side is on. Only 3.5 hours. i think I did every step bassackward. With mistake number one being I did not remove the wheel. I spent way too much time trying to get the lower spring pan on. Finally got over my stubbornness and removed the wheel. I was done in 30 minutes after that.
I bet the driver's side is done in an hour.
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I thought about doing that once upon a time, but didn't.
Please report back & let us know how it does, Aaron.
Been a lot of salt recently. I may be able to get out this weekend and drive it to see how the car handles now.
I was lucky, the springs are very new so the nuts came off easy and I could reuse them. I was afraid I was going to have to cut the bolts off and use new ones.
For a couple of years, I had a Silver Shadow. Every fastener on that car was rusted. Arrrgh.
I always put marine grease, or copper slip, on external bolts. Saves a lot of bother.
Ivor
I finally got to go for a test run. I dumped the clutch from 3-4k rpms several times. The trac bars work as advertised.
Great! Thanks for the feedback!
I will tag my question on this thread, since wheel hop and clutch dumping are mentioned....
I'm a relatively new owner although long-time into various MG cars. I have a 215 running through a T-5 and a stock MGB diff. I have been afraid to dump the clutch although I have been tempted. :-)
So, can I DO that??
John
You can, but just be aware that beating on it is likely to cause damage eventually, and the quality of your traction can make all the difference. So try to avoid it where either tire might lose traction and then grab. Like running over a pothole or patch of water for instance.
Jim
"I have a 215 running through a T-5 and a stock MGB diff. I have been afraid to dump the clutch although I have been tempted. :-)
So, can I DO that??"
Not unless you don't mind breaking something.
The MGB is not setup to launch hard. Needs some mods to be a drag car. The rearend is fairly stout, but some have broken spider gears. I cracked the bellhousing drag racing mine. Not much metal over by the clutch fork opening.
You can do it a few times before something breaks unless you are unlucky. Then things will break right away!!! I have a LS 5.3 in mine and broke two MGB rear ends. They both took a good beaten before boom, So I have a ford 8 inch with a new 3.55 lsd posi no problems at least up till now, lol
I fabricated these traction bars from 1.25" pipe and poly bushings from a MGB leaf spring.
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( "Posted by: Brittsonly" )
How well do they work?