After mechanically getting my MGB in order over the fall and into early spring, I decided it was finally time to get to the suspension, the rear to be exact.

As with many other projects I had begin to attempt with the car, the suspension was new to me. I understand how it works and why, however never took one apart or so much as changed a bolt on one. This was about to change because I had the following parts to install:

-rear leaf springs (Moss standard)
-rear leaf shackle mount (Moss standard)
-rear shackle bushes (Super Pro Poly)
-rear leaf poly pads (Super Pro Poly)
-U bolts and associated hardware (Moss standard)
-used set of good condition shocks from a low mileage B
-new bump stop pedestals (Moss standard)
-new poly bump stops
-new Strapping Lad style axel straps (from Rusty @ Strapping Lad)
-used set of good shock link arms

I started off with the advice of the forum and its amazing members and began unbolting what I could on the rear suspension starting with the U bolts on the bottom of the rear leaf springs...which was not much. I was able remove the drivers side bolts, but the passenger side had nothing to do with me. They were cut.

After that I moved on to the rear shackle mount bolts and was able to get the lower ones on each side, but the uppers gave me some issues. They were cut.

With only the front eye bolts remaining on the rear suspension, they were almost immediately cut as well, since they were seized with rust like the rest of the rear bolts. I have to say, while all of this cutting was going on, I paid very close attention to where I was cutting, as not to damage anything any other components that I would have to purchase additionally. I cut these items using a bi-metal saw blade by Lennox and my trusty Sawz-All by DeWaltt (I've heard Milwaukee makes a great blade that I will try next). Also, a much easier tool to use for cutting these would be a hand grinder. I purchased a DeWaltt cordless 18V version with the standard cutting wheel.

Bushings were a bit tough for me since I've never done bushings before and they were poly, a bit tougher than standard rubber. I started by placing the rear shackle bushes with lots of dishsoap and elbow grease, then followed it by putting the new rear shackle into the bushes and tightening it with a large washer/nut and long bolt trick. Once these bushes were pressed, I simply put the correct hardware on and I was good to go.

Next up was putting the leaf pads, U-bolts, bump stop pedestal and associated hardware together. This was a very tough task I completed with the help of a floor jack, and large strong friend. They all have to line up in a certain way with a lot of even tension. The use of air tools here would be invaluable. However, I used hand tools/ratchets, it worked, but it was just slow going. Next I slide in the front eye bolts, let pressure off the jack and tightened every thing up.

The end result was an even rear end with no more 'bachelor lean' and a very tight/firm ride compared to before. No more noises, clunks and forever rebounding from the rear of the car.

Wait a minute, you say there are 2 seperate sections to a MGB's suspension? Urghhh, I guess I'll do that front end next...

I don't know if anyone will read this, but if they do, I don't know where they will be from. However, here in west-central Illinois, it was another cold winter. Seeing as I have a small detached garage that I effectionately refer to as 'my 2 car shed', cold and wet weather doesn't mix very well. It is originally a small one car garage from when my house was built in the 1940's with a lean-to addition with a overhead door (that is currently ready to fall off). Not the warmest or roomiest option when temps are hovering near -10 degress F with the wind chill.

However, being an avid fisherman, I learned how to ice fish and had a blast doing so (see pics).

My winter goals were simple: make sure the B was put to 'bed' by mid November, check. Make room in the garage to do small jobs during the winter, check. Tear our the old interior and panels, check. Source and replace leaking radiator, er, uh, almost... When its that cold outside and all you have to heat and light your workspace is a 500 watt utility light running off of a drop cord that is pluged in 50 feet away outside the garage, your will to work quickly drops along with the temperature.

Fast forward to spring and after a long winter of looking at this great forum and parts catalogs, acquiring many new and 'new to me' parts form the Trader and studying the Moss diagrams, it was time to get to work.

Throughout the winter, I was able to gather many great deals that my car desperately needed, these included: a re-cored/painted radiator, used interior panels still in good shape, shifter boot and bezel, tachometer, all red pre-1970 tail light lenses and some other small odds and ends.

While most of these items will be waiting to be bolted on for at least a little while longer, I was able to start the spring tune up process with an oil change and a Sea Foam treatment. After quickly moving through these tasks, I also installed the new radiator and got it working correctly.

Next on the list was the rear suspension 'rebuild' that I had been putting off since I purchased the car. I have had the rear leaf springs sitting in the garage since I purchased the car in August, but didn't have the nerve or patience to give it a shot yet, until a few weeks ago...

When I took the car out for the last brake test drive, I certainly didn't expect it to 'cut out' on me like it did while halfway through its gears. I was dreading dumping a bunch more money into the car and still not being able to drive it.
I took the the forum advanced search feature and looked for similar problems previously posted. I was nearly certain it was the carbs and that scared me because I've never worked on them before. One thing that I learned that really surprised me was '90% of the time a car's faulty running is electrical in nature' as one poster put it. This would be through the coil, plugs, wires, distributor and the list goes on.
I began immediately by looking at plug #1 and its badly burned head. I cranked the car a few turns to check the spark. It was there, but not the color I wanted, even after replacing the coil, wires, rotor, Petronix electronics and plugs. It was more of a orangish yellow than the optimal blue.
I posted my problems and had many people chime in that it could be my distributor. So, it was time to contact Mr. Jeff Schlemmer, member id: bracer about a dizzy recurve. I had heard his name a couple dozen times over the 2 months I had been a member on this site and heard all of the 'miracles' he has performed on other member's dizzy's.
A couple quick emails and my dizzy was off for a recurve and clean up. While I was at it, I also ordered new Bosch plug wires and new NGKE6 plugs that Jeff recommended. 2 short weeks later the dizzy came back shining like a Christmas present with a set of easy tuning instructions for optimal performance. I put it in right away and after a bit of tweaking with the static timing, I was off for yet another test drive.
The vac advance was not rebuilt, however it was thoroughly cleaned and now worked properly as well. Just backing it out of the driveway was a completely different experience. The car no longer wanted to stall out when depressing the clutch pedal. A shift into first gear and I was off down the road with a zip that I didn't know a MG B could offer! After another shift to second, I was about to see if this was the fix I was looking for. About halfway through the revs in second, it kept going! And then to third, and it kept going as well! I finished my short jaunt around the block after testing about a bit of fourth gear when I heard something out of place coming from the engine bay at a stop sign.
I pulled into the drive and found out my newest problem before even opening up the hood. Her vital bright green fluid was dripping from the front of the car, great...

Has anyone ever put an MGB on a whole-car U-Haul trailer? If you have, congratulations because that is one tough task. The trailer itself is great. It is designed well and is very heavy duty. However, to get a B onto it, you have to ever so slightly tilt the ramps inward and center it just right so the whels do not fall through the center of the trailer. It also works really well if you can drive the car onto it, as was not the case with my B.
As if getting it on the trailer was not hard enough with the help of 4 others, getting it off the trailer with 1 person was going to be just as tough. As I sat in the seat, I was blindly pushed down the ramps from the lone helper in front of the car with the directions, "Turn the wheel 45 degrees immediately when you start to go down the ramp." Remind me never again to take advice from a man nicknamed "Billo Gomez" (as in the Billo pad).
After the car backed itself practicly off the edge of the ramps, down the street and into my driveway, it was time to get a good look at her and assess the situation. Pen and paper in hand, I started to scribble.
Now let me give you a bit of history on this car. It was a WI car seemingly all of its life (since at least 1972 anyway). It was used regularly the first 12 years of its life to the tune of about 85,000 miles. The owner then decided it was time to retire it to the man I purchased it from in 1982 for a parts/restoration project.
It was passed over several times by the new owner for restorations on other cars and it was finally time to accept the fact that he was probably never going to get around to doing this one. So, he put it up for sale and we are back to the present. The car had been garaged since he took ownership and had only been driven twice. Each time when moving to a new house across town.
Now in my driveway, it was time for the obvious:

-oil filter, flush and fill
-radiator flush and fill
-gas tank flush and gill

I was also told the fuel pump was bad so I was going to have to replace that as well. I changed all of the fluids the next morning and ordered a aftermarket electric pump with a fuel pressure regulator. I got that in and was ready to fire her up. After a half a can of carb cleaner and starter fluid later, the car sputtered to life in the form of a stumble and sputter. After a few more attempts, the car was able to sustain a reasonable idle with all of its old bits that haven't been changed or serviced since the later '70's. I let it idle for about 30 minutes until it died on me and did not want to restart. I was happy with my progress and decided to expand on my list with more tune up items:

-plug wires (Advance Auto Parts)
-spark plugs (Bosch Platinum)

I put these on and got the car started again, but it would not sustain an idle for very long and shut off. Then it would restart fine later in the day. This is where the parts started adding up, one after the other. I should have realised that after 27 years of slumber, more than one system was going to need attention.
Fortunately, at this time I met member Robert Kirk on this forum, member id: kirks-auto. He actually has his shop in my town and was very friendly giving me his advice and help ordering parts. I next replaced my old coil with a Lucas Sports Coil and Petronix Electronic Ignition. This is the part where the car finally takes a turn for the good. After installing said parts, the car fired up the first time every time, and held an idle for as long as I wanted.
Now it was time to look at the other systems, the brakes and the clutch. I knew that both were needing attention when I bought it, so I started to diagnos things. I found out right away that the clutch was bone dry and the seals were just about gone. I orederd a new clutch master (County) and figured while I was at it I would order a new slave (Lockheed) too since it wasn't too expensive as well as a new clutch hose that connects the two apparatus'. After a LOT of bleeding, it worked like a charm.
Time for a test drive. Yes, you read it correctly, I still didn't have any brakes but that wasn't going to stop me. I fired her up and headed around the block for some "cautious" test driving. Besides the clunking of the suspension (which will be covered in another installment), the clutch parts I installed worked perfectly and after only one close call, she was back in the driveway.
On to the brakes. One close inspection of the brake master diagnosed this as too far gone as well, the same fate as the clutch master. I replaced the brake master (county) and all the associated goods:

-2 rebuilt front brake calipers (Advance Auto parts OE Lockheed)
-front brake pad set (Moss standard)
-2 new front brake hoses (Moss standard)
-turned both front rotors
-rear brake hose (Moss standard)
-turned both rear drums
-rear brake rebuild kit: springs, shoes, wheel cylinders, etc (Moss)
Time to bleed and go test it out.

That means its time for another test drive! Well, it was a short one. I left the driveway and shifted from 1st to 2nd, and then halfway through second, I couldn't get any more power. Shift to 3rd same thing. That was probably a good thing considering I didn't bleed/adjust enough and the brakes were probably only at about 20%. After some more bleeding, it was back to the drawing board for the engine...

My buddy called me up on his way to his Sunday afternoon softball game to mention he has been driving past a 'pretty nice' 1973 MGB for 2 months and forgot to mention it to me. '$1500, runs, looks great, says it needs brake work.' was his reply. He sent me about 10 pics that looked great and I was on my way across the river to call the number he neglected to obtain. 20 minutes later, I found no number, 'inquire within' was the message on the sign and the biz was not open that day.
I went to work early the next morning so I could get back to the car as early that morning as I oculd. Of course, being my luck the car had sold about an hour before my arrival and was already gone...damn. Utter disapointment would be an understatement as to the way I felt. I decided to go home and scour the internet. If there was a good deal here at home within my reach, there had to be another out there somewhere. Little did I know I would look at over 300 expired and current MGB listing across the US over 2 days...
My eyes finally fell upon a dirty little gem advertised in a local paper in Osh Kosh, WI. Not exactly close to home for me, about a 5 hour drive each way with a good tail wind and no trailer. I emailed and the friendly owner replied with lots of pics and answers. A deal was in the making.
What mad this better was that I was to be in Milwaukee, WI that weekend for a good friends bach party from Friday through Sunday. If I could make a quick trip northwest, I would only miss a bit of one afternoon and this would be cake.
What the hell? I arranged a U-Haul one way, whole car trailer for Saturday and crossed my fingers.
After my first agonizingly painful afternoon of paintball ever, I was headed to the great north of Osh Kosh, WI to retrieve my very own B. An hour up, a hour to load and shoot the bull and an hour back, this will be cake. Leave by 1pm, back by 5pm at the latest, clean up and dinner at 6pm.
Easier said than done. If you've ever driven in WI then you know what I am talking about. After an hour and forty five minutes of driving behind some idiot playing a game I like to call 'The 59 mph vs 58 mph drag race' with another driver, I was getting close. A 35 minute stop at the U-Haul and my schedule was officially blown.
I arrived at my destination hours late and in a hurry. I pulled into the driveway doing about 42 mph much to the shock of the owner's wife. As soon as I came to my screeching halt, I saw my future daughter flanked by her 2 siblings. One being an unmolested, completely original and stunning 1969 MGB and a well restored 1971 MGB. I found out that if I had gotten there earlir as planned, I would have been able to take both of the others for a spin myself down to the local 'British car barn' that I had passed on my way in to check out several of his other B's....damn again.
Needless to say, everything checked out as was told and after a little finagling with the U-Haul trailer, I was on my way to Milwaukee for the evening. Once again, driving behind several ridiculously slow moving vehicles I arrived two hours later. NOTE-why do ALL slow moving vehicles in WI drive in the fast lane? And to think, WI drivers think IL drivers drive poorly...
After a second staright night of dubachary, a safe trip back home was had and I got her off the trailer and was ready to tinker and start making my list of to do's. I thought I was only going to need a sheet or two to make my list, however, who would have thought I was going to need the entire notebook...?

Truth be told, I have been searching for a MBG since I was about 5 years of age. That's around the time of my first recollection of what an MG or British car was. My favorite and 'cool' uncle Pat had a few really neat little cars that I thought were amazing. When I would visit his home or when he was at a relative's house, I would beg and bother him for a ride until he 'reluctantly' gave in. A top down ride in his 1971 MGB was about as fun you could legally have as a young child. A ride in the green car (a 1963 Austin Healey 3000 in British Racing Green) was equally appreciated by me as well, especially since I liked the color much better than the MGB (Harvest Gold).
Fall football trips from Muscatine, IA to Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City at the University of Iowa in the yellow car were always a favorite. The smell of the vinyl interior and oil from the enghine was like a designer cologne to me. I asked 'Why don't we take the green car more often'. The reply was usually, 'It's in the shop.' or 'The brakes need work.' were the popular replies. I found out when the Healey was in good shape he still preferred his B anyway, a car that was 1/4 the value and with much more wear and tear. It was years down the road that I found out that the Healey had a 6 cylinder engine and was 'much more desireable' among the general populace.
Even as I grew older, I still had an affinity for older British cars. I went to my local British Car show every August in Davenport, IA and drooled over the chrome and curves that abounded along the narrow street in the German East Village area.
Fast forward to high school, my 2nd car was a 1985 Jaguar XJ6. It broke down constantly and cost me a LOT of money on a regular basis, but man did I love that car. Besides the styling and charm, it garnered lots of attention everywhere I went, which was both a good and bad thing at times. It sure wasn't in great condition, but it was mine regardless.
In the following years, I owned a 1987 XJ6 and a 1989 XJS. Both not being in great shape either, but with each car I learned to wrench a little more. These were followed by American trucks, most recently my 2006 Ford F-150 that I wouldn't trade for the world and I will drive until the wheels fall off, literally.
I've toyed with the idea of an older British car lately but haven't done enough homework to find a candidate that was cheap enough and 'driveable' (I use that term loosely). I would see them for sale here and there around my area in the Quad Cities, but nothing really caught my eye that was within budget...until a few months ago.