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C Suspension upgrades

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Todd16

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Hello all,
It's a slow day at work, so what better time than to screw off and chat with my new friends.

Question:
I will be re-building the front suspension on my C. I was planning on using the following upgrades. Please let me know what your opinions are.

SuperFlex Polyurethane Bushings
Spax adjustable shocks
&
HR Steering Rack and Pinion from MG Motorsports (UK)

Thanks

thumbsup.gif
 
Todd...you know my feelings...good to go on bushings, be careful with the shorter turn radius of the new rack...make sure you have proper sized tires so you don't exaggerate the understeer problem of too thin tires...&, EVO coilovers are my personal choice!
 
posted 11-12-2003 01:47 PM
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Todd...you know my feelings...good to go on bushings, be careful with the shorter turn radius of the new rack...make sure you have proper sized tires so you don't exaggerate the understeer problem of too thin tires...&, EVO coilovers are my personal choice!

Thanks Tony,
I just got your other e-mail. I upgraded to Minilites with a more aggressive tire quite some time ago. As for the EVO coilovers I'm not familiar with these. Do you have more info?
 
A lot of weight can be taken off the MGC engine. You can start buy getting a tubular exhaust manifold. That cast iron piece is HEAVY! Electric fans save weight. Take about 11 lbs off the flywheel and have the rest of the engine balanced. A total of 56 lbs can easily taken off the front end. 40 lbs of weight was added at the rear in the spare tire location to give the car a near 50/50 weight distibution.

This information is from an article featured in MG World titled "C Change". It was published in June/July 2002. Its about updating the MGC to what the factory might have done if the car had stayed in production into the '70s.

The car also featured a HR steering rack from MG Motorsport, stiffer torsion bars, Larger 2" SU carbs, unleaded conversion, ported/polished head, modified distributor from MG Motorsports, and a Downton replica exhaust. Power is estimated at 180 hp.
 
wait a minute, please???

I thought that the way to go was with the V-8 bushings instead of the polyurethane for the B...does this change for the C because of the extra weight???

Bruce
 
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Bruce74B:
wait a minute, please???

I thought that the way to go was with the V-8 bushings instead of the polyurethane for the B...does this change for the C because of the extra weight???

Bruce<hr></blockquote>

Yeah, the C needs all the help it can get to help the front suspension deal with the ships anchor under the hood.
pukeface.gif
 
HI Todd

Poly Bushes: Definitely (you'd be hard pressed to find original pattern bushes for a C now anyway)

Higher Ratio Rack and Pinion: I don't have one fitted myself (looking at it at some point)but all reports I've seen indicate that it is a first rate conversion and doesn't make the steering any heavier due to the gear pattern used.

Stiffer Torsion Bars: the jury is out on this one, some say do it others say don't without other suspension changes, again I don't have any personal experience of these.

Most reports however say DON'T replace the standard fan setup with electric fans, particularly if you live in a hot area. General opinion is that the existing setup is pretty efficient due to the shouding and because of the high temperatures that the C runs at any changes can marginalise it.

In fact in some US markets BMC supplied an additional electric fan/blower to cool the carburetors due to the overheating problems.

When my C was first put back on the road a couple of years ago (fully rebuilt engine) it was the height of summer with temperatures over 100 in the old scale. I was stuck at lights and I ended up with fuel vapour lock which is not any fun at all as restarting is nigh impossible when it happens. Retuning and use of water wetta helped this a lot and of course now the old girl has a few more miles on her she's settled down a bit.

regards

Tom
 
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