Well, when I got my car the suspension was pretty much shot and the tires were well on their way as well. I had to replace all of the bushings in it before moving onto anything else. At least, that's the way I saw it. Plus, I have a '76. From 74.5 to 76 (maybe even 77 but I'm not sure on that) MGBs did not have any anti-sway bars at all. So, I've done a number of things to improve the driveability of my car. The following is the list of things I've done with the largest amount of improvement in terms of ride and handling:
1) Replaced all of my rotted rubber bushings with Prothane bushings. -- Doing this stiffened up the ride a huge amount but the poly urathane bushings have now settled in and the ride is comfortable. Also, replacing my bushings eliminated all of the steering slop I had when I first got the car. So steering was nice and crisp... I had to "relearn" the car because the steering response had changed so much.
2) Added a stock front sway bar from earlier MGBs. -- The addition of this simple device was most welcomed, because it eliminated almost all of leaning the car did in turns... remember this is compared to no sway bars at all. However, doing so introduced a small amount of understeer...
3) Changed my tires from worn out 185/70 14 to 185/65 14. -- This reduced the amount of lean experienced in turns even more and the improved traction cornering grip limitations are still begging me to find them... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif Also, steering response was improved slightly due to less side wall flexing in the tires.
4) Lowering the car... 2" 550# springs up front and 1" blocks out back. I can't express the importance of relocating the front bumpstop spacers (ala Tome Rynne's post above) when switching to these springs. You'll be riding on your bump stops if you don't do it. The ride and handling suffers pretty bad when this happens, because the suspension aren't allowed to move. So bumpy turns become unpredictable. However, with the bump stops relocated (or cut down if you prefer it that way) the suspension is allowed to work and the handling is great. It's not the biggest improvement I've seen (compared to all of the other suspension work I've done on this car), but it is well worth the money spent on the parts. Done right, the ride is almost like stock (ever so slightly stiffer... barely even noticeable), but the handling is much better. I think the understeer that I mentioned earlier may have been reduced, but I haven't had any good opportunities to explore the envelope yet.
So, as you can see, from my perspective the biggest improvements I've had so far were in replacing worn out parts. If you have any, nail those first. Since you're in a 1980 MGB you should have front and rear sway bars, so I wouldn't worry about changing those until after you've lowered the car. Bret on this forum drives a 78 (i think?) and the suspension in the 78s is identical to the suspension in the 80s. I recall reading his thoughts on lowering his B on his site, and I believe he too thought the investment was well worth it (the link to his site is in his sig up near the top of this thread).
Overall, the difference wasn't as profound as I might have hoped, but the improvements in ride and handling that I had made prior to lowering the car were so huge that they eclipse the improvement from stock to lowered. But the improvement is very noticeable... I wish I could tell ya that the difference is as mind blowing as I've seen so many people claim, but the fact of the matter is that I've come from a rather poor example of how an MGB handles to how glorious a stock one with sway bars can handle just before making my last suspension improvement.
Maybe someone that drove on good stock suspension for a long while prior to lowering their B would have a different perspective. I'm not sure. All I can say is, if you're thinking about it and have the money to do it, then go for it. It's well woth the moeny spent on the parts, but I wouldn't expect it to handle like a Lotus Elise when you're done... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Hi Guest!
Hey - did you know if you click on the title of a thread it will take you to the first unread post since you last visited that thread?
but were afraid to ask: 
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smilie in place of the real @
Pretty Please - add it to our Events forum(s) and add to the calendar! >> 
