1972 MGB GT Lowering and dampers

[dangerdawes]

Hi

I've searching all over the web and called a few places regarding lowering a CB MGB GT and using telescopic dampers, with little luck.
Currently the car sits on what I think is it's original suspension, so had a boat like experience to the ride.

I would like to lower the car by 1" and then fit Gaz dampers. Gaz have said they will make 1" shorter dampers specifically, but I will still need all the bits to fit and I then risk the rebound being too short. I also am aware that lowering will make speed bumps a challenge, but I have an MX-5 on Meister R coilovers so I'm used to diversions to avoid them

So my questions are;
If I fitted 1" de-arched springs to the rear, would a 1" lowering block fit between the spring and the damper plate restore it to the correct initial length?

For the front I assume everything should be ok, as the bump will be controlled by the chassis bump stop, and the rebound will be longer than a standard height car.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Leigh

[dangerdawes]

Called MGOC and they confirmed it should all work fine with lowering blocks between the spring and the damper hanger.
Infact the chap on the phone said it before I could even tell him that was what I was thinking!

[MGHammer]

do a bit of research on the interweb

i have just finished sorting my rb roadster. most of the stuff i read suggested that cb height is pretty good for the street and opinion is divided on whether or not the tele shocks are too hard. I put poly bushes, 3/4' arb, lowered springs on the front and back of mine and kept with the lever arms. you might find that a refresh of the std set up is a big enough improvement.

[nta16]

Leigh,
things to consider before binning the original suspension -

do you know if your car's suspension (including tyres, suspension bushes, dampers and springs) are in full and proper good working order? - have you ever ridden or driven in a c/b BGT that is in very good mechanical order to know?

in 1972 cars were not built to have the same suspension characteristics as today (including the tyres) so a car from that time will feel perhaps "softer" and the vintage rear suspension will feel different but they shouldn't give a boat ride, it should be pleasant if not exactly razor sharp

tyres - how old are they and how few (not many) miles have they done since fitted, what pressure do you run at

suspension bushes - their condition, changing these is often overlooked but by just changing these a big difference can be made - I'd go with Super-Flex you can't trust modern made rubber parts for classics because of their abysmal quality

dampers - are they topped-up, securely fitted, of good quality if reconditioned (and how many times) only good ones seem to be from the USA

springs - are they worn, not fitted correctly - if older springs they could be better than the replacements of a few years back

then there's things like ARB and their fittings and bushings to sharpen things up a bit

many owners find an original suspension, in good working order, to be preferable to upgrades and some have even moved back from upgrades

it depends what you want the car for and what you expect of it but it is very easy to spoil the pleasant nature of the original set of the car by too many or aggressive upgrades

[nta16]

ETA:
I used to have a standard ride height MX-5 and I had lowered MX-5 behind me going up to Tann Hill and he sat on my rear bumper so I just dropped a gear and left him behind as I had the ground and suspension clearance to increase my speed on that road without leaving bits of the car or my fillings on it, his souped-up lowered car 1.8i was slower than my 1.6 because I had knowledge and experience to keep the suspension as designed for compromises of real road driving and he was more a follower of fashion

although I stopped and waited for him at the top of the hill he didn't want to stop and talk

the fashion for big wheels and skinny tyres is a fashion not usually a function even on standard cars with oversized wheels to keep the punters happy (and sell extras :rubhands: )

due to the fact I bought my suspension on my present Midget from some l*ing b*stards
'specialist experts' the front of my Midget lowered by 1" this caused problems and me having to slow down sometimes - until I got the correct ride height springs again and overall I can go quicker (quicker sometimes than the four Porches behind me on a PH run) just because of ground and suspension clearance

I realise you wont take a blind bit of notice but these posts are for others too

[flashgit]

I can vouch for the move back to original setup on the rear suspension. I did this recently on a '71 CB GT. I had trusted that a telescopic conversion done to the car before I bought it in '86 had been done correctly, so when I changed the dampers recently I found a whole lot of grief.

Go with what nta16 advises before you think about lowering etc.. You could save yourself a whole lot of money and actually end up with something which is a lot of fun to drive - my MG is now being used a lot more as I feel like I am not longer hurting it (or myself) as much as before :-)