Rear Suspension
The rear suspension is still just as it came with the car. Well...after I bought it, some things have been renewed. The basic thought behind all this is to keep it standard. It wasn't that bad, after all. This thought is fuelled by Roger Parker's words: "most people judge their cars by modern day standards. Also, the components of the car are either reconditioned or simply old and worn. This viewpoint is therefore not correct." So to feel what the car is really capable of, renew all worn items and don't fool around.
Another thing to consider is that the power output is still relatively mild; it is after all not a big 4.6 lurking under the bonnet. So I can stick to the valuable advice of Doug Smith (MG Motorsport), to keep the rear soft and firm up the front. So no panhard bar, torque reaction bar or an anti roll bar. The previous owner fitted one of these Hopkinson handling kits, so the front has a 7/8" anti roll bar - which is perfect - and the rear is now equipped with a non-standard 5/8" anti roll bar.
So the following actions were taken:
| Remove rear anti roll bar |
| Check for leaks and top up lever arm dampers with Penrite lever arm oil |
| Replace rubber bushes and pads with purple Superflexes |
| The sagged leaf springs were replaced with brand new V8 spec springs |
The ride height remains unchanged: speed bumps are not a problem, and I don't want them to be a problem. The dykes here are littered with these things, and I don't want to crash my car when I failed seeing one in time.
The rear now feels compliant, as far as leaf springs go that is. The axle stays nicely under the car. But there is a very real advantage of removing the rear Hopkinson anti roll bar! The rear axle stays on the tarmac with both wheels! It is not lifted of by the roll of the body. So the grip has improved dramatically. Also the reaction to the throttle is far better in corners: when I apply power, the car just goes into fast forward instead of the rear wheels making a power slide. Though I have to admit it was fun. On the straight nothing has changed.
Parts were supplied by the following companies:
| Bushes and spring pads | Superflex, via MG Motorsport |
| Penrite lever arm oil | Go Wammes, Culemborg |
| OE V8 leaf springs | Imparts, Arnhem |
Alternatives to the above:
You could replace you rear lever arms with gas filled shocks, like GAZ, Koni or Spax. Cheapest place to look for a complete kit would most likely be the B Hive (UK) or MG CAP (NL). If you have a kit, but are looking for new shocks only, try Go Wammes.
Of course you could buy new leaf springs, but there are several other options:
| carbon fibre leaf springs |
| parabolic leaf springs |
| have your old springs retempered with new interleaves |
Refurbing/re-tempering your own leaf springs can be done in Heemskerk, at a company called Eeltink Bladveren.