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Good morning !..I am posting two pixs of my London roadster factory built frame/chassis with its front suspension .
Do any of you London roadster owners or anyone know what size shock or coil over shock I need on my London roadster?
I own a ’86 and I am sure they have never been replaced … Basically my MG TD 1600 V W engine and factory built frame (’86) had sat for 17 years in a barn in VA before I bought her . My friends in Roanoke did all the basic obvious tune up before I left on our 360 mile passage to NC. Luckily very Luckily ..I got home with out any problems in the same day . The next morning I went out to crank her up. She ran very rough..(float bulb in the carburetor).-Silver lake V W-in Wilmington- Darrell Philip replaced the bulb. Only a few days later the TD died on the beach road(thank goodness for AAA). She fired up and would start fine ..but wouldn’t stay running …so back to Silver lake in Wilmington . Darrell went thru the whole engine .He did an awesome tune up and changed out many of the knock off parts to Bosch : new carburetor, points, plugs,generator , voltage regulator,CV boots, ,cooler seals , crank pulley and belt ..and Patiently answered many of my questions that a newbie V W engine owner has..BTW I do not have any place /shed /garage in my yard to work on her..ie rebuilds etc
I did expect these kind of issues since the previous owner told me that he put under 4,000 mile in 17 years on the Green car as he called the MG TD
thanks for any help
jebarry 40935.5013773148 Hi John
Well I am a newbie also and can’t answer your question direct. I had a simlar problem finding a answer for the correct trailing arm for my 1970 VW MG TD and contacted rodney@airheadparts.com and sent him a couple of pictures and he gave me the info I needed plus he can get the part for me. Hope this helps. Maybe someone will know on the site to help you.
Once the shock is off look very carfully for a possible part number or brand name.Coil-overs are a very common product these days.most are sold by length,spring rate,and eyelet size.Spring rate is determined mostly by weight of the vehicle,and my memory is failing but my vw based was around 600-800 on the front end.Places like summit,Jegs,and Speedway Motors all cary the coil overs.
Also motorbikes,4 wheelers,and snomobiles all use coil overs.But consider a larger motorbike will be hevier and may match up.
Ditto Oldbuzz: front springs will be carrying 300-400 lbs per side. (Here’s some general advice for how to measure for new coil-overs, and Here’s a chart to figure spring rates according to the angle of the shock mount–you’re looking at about a 45 degree angle there, so your spring rates will be about double the actual weight they’ll carry–so 700 lbs or so).
Looks to me like the coil-overs you have are good enough to drive to a scale. My guess is that the control arms ought to be parallel to the ground when the car is at rest. You’re just a little saggy–not too bad. If the shocks still worked and there was 5 inches or better ground clearance I’d consider driving it as is for a while. Just check the alignment, set the toe-in 1/8″ in, camber at 1 to 1.5 degrees negative and caster at maybe 3-4 degrees positive. That should keep you on the road.
Good afternoon.. the shocks were ok in the MGTD a solution to my
London roadster bottoming out going over dips or bumps and also tire
rubbing when I made a tight turn. Apparently there was an extra
weight added to the front at some point(differnt color and no
undercoating). When this was taken off she rode just fine even with
myself (200#) and another person(240): and anther MG TD MIGI did
exactly the opposite. Also they had the MIGI in the shop for replacing
bad wiring …(sound familiar?)
John
John, Glad you solved your problem.If you search the forum,you will find that there are many opinions as whether or not weight should be added. One school says to remove leaves from the VW type suspension and the other says add weight . I suppose there are pros and cons to either method.so I’ll not even to give my opinion.I once took a trip in my London Roadster with the trunk packed to the gills with luggage and other supplies required in order to travel with my wife. It handled well with no tire rubbing or bottoming out. My car has the VW suspension with however many leaves the LR factory left in place.I’ve never seen a LR with weight added so your car’s previous owner may have added it as a matter of personal preference.You are probably better off without it.
John, When I got my MiGi, it rode extremely hard. And the wheel clearance in front was too much giving it an un-natural look. I also measured the floor pan and found that it was not close to level. I considered putting weight up front, but finally was convinced to remove all the small leaves from the front beams as others had done. It was not terribly difficult and I am now very happy with both the look and the ride. There is a thread here about November 2011 that show what was done.
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