[Mgs] question about steering rebuild

[Eric J Russell]

> When I hit the road in my 62 II deluxe, especially on bumpy roads, I get a
> lot of rumbling , clunking and shaking. She goes down the highway
> smoothly; no veering and only above 70 do I start to get some shimmying.

How are the tires? Some tires will 'flat spot' when left sitting. Some will
become round again after driving for a while, some seem to take a permanent
set. Uneven wear, broken cords, etc cause all sorts of noise/shakes.
Remember that you can balance a square tire - but it won't give a smooth
ride.

> I am planning to put in a major suspension kit and steering bits
> I am thinking specifically about any steering ball parts, or shims.
> Suspension springs front and rear, rebound buffers. Although there is no
> problem that I am aware of, I am also thinking of putting new bearings in.

New parts for the sake of having new parts might be false security. I have
found that many of today's reproduced parts are inferior to parts from
'back-in-the-day'. If not broken/sagging then springs are not usually a wear
item. The MGA steering rack is usually very long-lived if kept full of oil
(90 weight, not grease). Wheel bearings can usually be serviced by cleaning
& re-packing. This avoids having to R/R bearing races unnecessarily.

Rubber suspension bushes are certainly suspect. Unfortunately, today's
rubber parts do not last as long a they used to. Polyurethane bushes will
give a slightly harsher ride but they'll usually last a lot longer. If there
is a choice of firmness, a soft polyurethane is close to rubber's
compliance.

Eric Russell
Mebane, NC