Thanks to everyone who responded to what to be wary of in doing the rear MGB
tube shock conversion. The Moss kit (Monroe shocks) was very easy to
install, and everything went pretty smoothly. All rusty nuts and such were
pretty easy to remove, except for the ones that attach the lever arm shock
links to the bracket under the springs, and also the ones that hold the
rebound strap to the axle (as I was warned). Since I had to swap the
under-spring brackets for the conversion, I simply removed the lever shocks
from their mounting points and also the spring brackets from the U-bolts,
pulling out the entire assembly. With the assembly off of the car and on the
workbench, I was able to get the nuts for the shock links removed pretty
easily. I had heavily soaked the rebound strap nuts with PB Blaster and let
them sit for ~2 hours, but I still managed to snap the driver's side one
off. Fortunately, the nut must not have been completely screwed down when it
welded itself to the bolt. About half of the threads were still left on the
car, which was plenty to put a replacement nut onto securely. The passenger
side nut came off without a hitch. I think the rebound straps were both
original, since both were snapped and deteriorated badly. The spring pads
were also in bad shape, so its a good thing I ordered replacements. Had to
move the exhaust over about 1" so it wouldn't run against the shock body,
but that was simple. The car now sits a little higher in the rear, since the
front shocks are probably as bad if not worse than the rears. The rear lever
shocks I removed both were leaking, and had little or no action in them.
Total install time was about 4.5 hours (with a couple of interruptions).
Took the car for a spin, and the ride seemed a little firmer, but was tough
to tell since the front is still so spongy. I will be doing the fronts next,
but probably will stick to rebuilt lever units from Apple Hydraulics (anyone
else have a better deal?) instead of a tube conversion. I figured I would
replace the front springs and A-arm bushes (w/ V8 ones) also. Anything else
to replace up front (I think my kingpins are in good shape)? Thanks.
Craig
'71 B
BTW, going to take the B to a couple of body shops in my area that work on
classics tomorrow for estimates on getting two new floor pans installed so I
can install my new interior. Basically need the old floors removed and new
ones welded in (I have removed everything else from the interior). Any ideas
on either labor hours or total price for this type of thing? Any BTDT's?
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