Do you or don't you have wire wheels? that is the first question. I know
that's not too likely with an '80, but some people have fitted them.
If yes, I almost guarantee that's the problem. Swap 'em back to front to see
if anything changes. It may only be one wheel that's at fault, so then
rotate 'em one at a time to isolate the bad one. Of course, it may be 3 bad
ones, and one good one. The big problem is, once you locate the culprit,
what do you do about it? It's cheaper to buy new painted wires than to have
'em trued and balanced.
If no, then the first thing would be to follow the other suggestions about
checking the bearing play yourself, then take it in for alignment and wheel
balancing (also check wheel runout).
FWIW, my personal theory is that the resonant frequency of the MGB unibody
coincides with a road speed close to 60mph (62 on my speedo), so that any
slight tendency to vibration is amplified at this speed. This is not to say
you should live with "the shakes", only that you probably will not be able
to eliminate a small amount of vibration around this speed. This is merely a
supposition based on limited evidence, but I have yet to meet anyone who
could report zero vibration from his or her B.
on 8/1/02 9:18 AM, Kevin Shertz at kshertz@bellatlantic.net wrote:
> All,
>
> My MGB has had the problem of "getting the shakes" between 55-65 MPH... It
> settles out when over 65, though. I recently purchased the car, and have
> dealt with it so far by either driving 50 or 70 (or not at all) until I get
> the opportunity to research it further. ;)
>
> I've heard everything from tire balancing to wheel bearings may be at
> fault... I have yet to rule anything out; does anyone have any suggestions
> as to what I should check and how I should check it prior to coming to a
> conclusion? I'm likely to take it into a shop rather than DIY since it's
> suspension-related, but would love to know as much as possible about the
> problem prior to doing so.
>
> Thanks...
>
> Regards,
> Kevin Shertz
> 1980 MGB
>
--
Max Heim
'66 MGB GHN3L76149
If you're near Mountain View, CA,
it's the primer red one with chrome wires
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