Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

Finch661 · Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 9:14 pm Post subject: lowering a midget

i have completely rebuilt my midget 1500 suspension, replaced all the bushes with poly ones. anyway i decided to lower the car as i have removed the rubber bumpers. I changed the springs to 1275 ones, but now the suspension sits a lot higher than before. i have rolled the car back and forth, but it hasnt settled.

have i done something wrong

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1985 Mini Mayfare (1275)
1976 Mg Midget 1500

47Jag · Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 9:58 pm Post subject:

Did you tighten the suspension bolts while the wheels were dangling? That's a NO NO. You have to tighten when the car is sitting on it's wheels.

Art

Finch661 · Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 10:35 pm Post subject:

ah yeah i did, when reassembling the various bits i tightened them all up. didnt think that that would be a problem. would it be the wishbone bolts causing this problem then, opposed to the shock absorber?
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1985 Mini Mayfare (1275)
1976 Mg Midget 1500

Rick · Site Admin Joined: 27 Apr 2005 Posts: 22449 Location: UK

Nothing to do with ride height, but is there a lower kingpin grease nipple wanting some attention there, under the claggy muck?

R
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47Jag · Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 11:23 pm Post subject:

Finch,

Any bolt that goes thru' a bushing should be re-adjusted.

Art

Finch661 · Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 11:24 pm Post subject:

aye, i need to clean up the grease nipples. one thing at a time lol
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1985 Mini Mayfare (1275)
1976 Mg Midget 1500

Finch661 · Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 1:23 am Post subject:

cheers 47jag. so i should loosen the nuts when the cars on its wheels and allow the car to resettle, then tighten up the nuts?
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1985 Mini Mayfare (1275)
1976 Mg Midget 1500

47Jag · Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 1:37 am Post subject:

Yes. Give a bounce or two to flex the suspension, then tighten.

Art

Finch661 · Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 8:32 am Post subject:

cheers, will try that today and let you know how i got on!
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1985 Mini Mayfare (1275)
1976 Mg Midget 1500

Finch661 · Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 5:16 pm Post subject:

had a go at re settling the bushes/suspension, but still no joy. Someone has pointed out to me that the suspension spring may not be seating properly, and in pic the spring looks arced out towards the wheel
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1985 Mini Mayfare (1275)
1976 Mg Midget 1500

victor 101 · Joined: 03 Apr 2009 Posts: 446 Location: East Yorkshire

Its normal for the spring to arc as the top and bottom seats are not parallel, find a small coil spring and press between finger and thumb and it will do the same if not squeezed straight.

MVPeters · Joined: 28 Aug 2008 Posts: 822 Location: Northern MA, USA

Yes, that spring does look a little odd.

If it's easy enough to take the spring out again, you might compare the static height of it against the old spring, along with the wire diameter. This might give you some idea as to whether it's the correct spring or not. There's also a green smudge of paint on the lower coil - this is often an indication of the spring rate - one of the Special Tuning manuals will tell you what this means.

Sorry I don't have those reference materials (any more!).
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Mike - MVPeters at comcast.net
2002 MINI Cooper 'S'

Finch661 · Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 8:15 pm Post subject:

they are brand new springs, i compared them with the old ones and they are the same height. after looking at my pic, they dont look right. i

haha i thought that the green mark was green primer Smile

Will google it and see if i can find some info about it. It should be a 1275 standard spring

If anyone has any pics of their suspension that would be great

another pic
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1985 Mini Mayfare (1275)
1976 Mg Midget 1500