Rear Leaf Springs?

Hi All,

I've been concerened about my rear springs since our Gatlinburg roadtrip to MGFest last June. Along with some twitchy handeling, several people commented that they look like they may have settled too much.

Measured my ride height's a little differently from the suspension "sticky"; measured from ground to the bottom of the beltline trim strip (per John Twist's recommendation):

1971 MGB-GT, stock, on original springs and shocks:

LF: 25 1/16" RF: 25 3/8"

LR: 24 5/8" RR: 24 5/8"

So, are my springs settled to the point i should replace them? If so, I'd like your recommendations on where to get new springs? Universty Motors (John Twist) re-arches them and adds an 8th leaf; Britek? Moss (read bad things about those springs on this forum)?

Thanks in advance!

John Morrison

Britek kit worked fine on my 73! 3000 miles and no problems to date.

The problem with measuring from the ground is that it doesn't take into consideration wheel/tire size differences. So based on your measurements it's hard to compare.

I have heard good feedback on Brit tek's springs but I have no personal experience with them.

John - My '74 roadster has always sat low in the back w/ the classic MGB lean to the left. I rebuilt my ft suspension last spring and am getting ready to replace my rear springs. I took some before measurements and will post my 'after' results in John Moore's "Sticky" at the top of the page.

I bought the front and rear major kits from Brit-Tek.

Paul

I like Brittek as well.

I'm no expert on BGTs but it sounds like the springs are in pretty good condition. Your car sits basically level, only 3/4" difference front to rear. Some setteling, but I wouldn't think it's enought to notice in any handling issues. These might well come from other sources such as worn bushings, loose U-bolts, or incorrect toe. With all the bad press about springs these days I'd certainly check other areas first and then consider getting your original springs rearched before I'd buy new ones.

John,

When I got my 73 GT, it sat low in the back and the suspension was a bit of a mess.
Rear springs looked like the obvious culprit, but they were actually only a small part of it.

Things were real loose. It got interesting at speed during turns as the back end was mush and the front would want to go it's own way(it needed new bushings and kingpin work too) as the rears springs and rear suspension was just way too soft. However, for grocery getting the ride was "nice."

I replaced a bunch of suspension bushings, and tightened things up in the front and rear and that made a big difference.

I could have replaced the rear springs when I replaced their bushings, but they weren't too bad so I opted to keep them and the car was great after the quick refresh and tightening.

New springs would be great, but make sure thay are the source of your problem.

I'd go throught the whole suspension if I were you and look for old/cracked bushings, slop, old axle straps, worn shocks, etc and make sure that spring replacement will take care of the problem.

John here is what your car should look like with new springs....poly bushes front and rear. 7 leaf.

Jerry Wrote:

One of my cars, a roadster, had the Gt springs and a lowering kit. It sat the same as a regular roadster.

Hmmm..., good points about replacing the bushings first. I did replace the front bushings (red poly) about 4 years ago as there was some noticible slop in them. I just hate the thought of doing all that work just to find out that the springs were the problem!

John

Ralph Yingling Wrote: