Assembly order on MGA front suspension.

[tdskip]

Hey Steve - any specific order to reassemble the front suspension? I only stripped it to clean an paint a year ago...

[Steve Simmons]

Then we're on the same schedule!

It depends on whether or not you use a spring compressor, or a jack and blocks of wood, to install the springs.

With spring compressor:

1. Mount shock
2. Mount A-arms to pivots and bolt the assembly to the car.
3. Install spring pan and spring
4. Install king pin

With jack:

1. Mount shock
2. Mount A-arms and spring pans to pivots and bolt the assembly to the car
3. Install lower bolt in king pin
4. Install spring
5. Install upper king pin bolt, remove jack

[tdskip]

Then we're on the same schedule!

LOL. Not sure if that makes me feel better or sorry for you?

Thanks for the list. One more day of cleaning and painting and they she'll start to go back together. (well, the suspension anyway. they I can move her around from some welding and painting the engine bay)

[Steve Simmons]

I did finally get my A back on the road but it took a while. I have to take it all apart again too, since my disc brake conversion ran into a few snags so I put the drums back on for the time being. I also unknowingly installed negative camber A-arms.

[tdskip]

I did finally get my A back on the road but it took a while. I have to take it all apart again too, since my disc brake conversion ran into a few snags so I put the drums back on for the time being. I also unknowingly installed negative camber A-arms.

Ah, did you drive it with those arms or realize that something was off before then? I wouldn't have known...

[Steve Simmons]

I took it for a test run, and in the first corner at speed had a "whoa!" moment as the car literally dove into it. I thought perhaps it had been too long since I had driven the car, or maybe because I now had poly bushings in place of the old rotted rubber. Nothing felt loose so I continued on through the canyons.

At a dinner stop I looked at the front end and was alarmed because the wheel was significantly angled in at the top. I thought I might have broken a coil or two off the top of the spring, or perhaps that something had come loose. When I saw that the other side was the same, I started thinking and then it hit me - I purchased the front end parts from a racer.

I was driving without readjusting the toe-in for the negative camber arms, so I'm not sure how it would handle if the toe was set correctly for them. I haven't bothered to adjust it because I plan to put standard arms back on. I can say though, that those arms do wonders for hard, tight corners. Through Decker the front end stuck like it never has before. The harder I turn it in, the harder it bites into the asphalt.

[malcolmr18zoy]

So why change them . If you like to drive hard on twisty roads, a little negative camber wil help you keep a good contact patch on the road. That is the essence of good handling.
Malcolm

[Steve Simmons]

Because my wife drives it too, so I want to keep it nice and neutral for her. Again, I haven't tried it with the toe corrected, but in high speed bends it can get a little hairy as it is now.

[malcolmr18zoy]

Correct the toe to compensate for the negative camber, and I'm sure she won't notice much of a difference.
Malcolm

[Steve Simmons]

Well, she also doesn't think it "looks as nice" as before. I do have to admit that 3-degrees is a bit extreme and the arms might work better on my blown MGB anyway, but we'll see...

[Jimmy]

Damn it. Once again Malcolm is right.
I, too, wondered about the non-adjusted toe-in to compensate for the longer A-arms, but figured that Steve liked the inherent twitchiness of excessive toe-in.
Only later did I realize that it is indeed easier to wax an MGA's brake drums than to it is to adjust its front end geometry.

[tdskip]

Only later did I realize that it is indeed easier to wax an MGA's brake drums than to it is to adjust its front end geometry.

LOL

[Steve Simmons]

You're more than welcome to come over and wax the brake drums Jimmy, but then you'l have to wax the rest of the car as well since it hasn't been done in two years!

[Jimmy]

Alright, but please arrange to have them off the car by the time I arrive.
After all, while not visible under normal circumstances, it's very important to get the inside of the drums thoroughly waxed.

[Steve Simmons]

If you're willing to wax the whole car then yes, I'll have the drums off for you! Detailing isn't one of my favorite things in the world. Took me three days to finish polishing and waxing the TC a while back because I got bored a lot.

[Jimmy]

Ah, sounds like you need a WaxMaster 9000!