Front Suspension & Steering

The front crossmember is held on with just 4 bolts, torqued up to the Haynes manual setting, which is quite high. The various components were then assembled onto the crossmember and the original hubs were refitted for the temporary steel wheels.The front springs were a little awkward as my compressors were a little large for the springs. The front wishbones were drilled and tapped to accept the front stainless steel covers. These are an SVA requirement. I also exchanged the steering rack for a reconditioned one from the MGB Hive as there was quite a bit of work on my original. Other than that there were no major headaches in this section.

Rear Suspension

As the rear springs were off a B-GT they were a little firm so after discussions with Nigel Brooks at Findhorn Cars I removed a section of spring. They were re-assembled, stripped and painted and then had the new bushes pressed in.

They were then bolted to the chassis with no problems.

The axle was then assembled on the springs with a new fitting kit and U-bolts. By weighing down the rear of the chassis I attached the check straps and the panhard rod. It was easier at this stage to attach the rear brake line to the axle and the 3 way union. The brake components were attached using new springs, shoes and drums. The back plates for the brakes had previously been blasted and painted with black Hammerite. These were bolted to the rear axle bearing retaining housing.

The handbrake cable was also attached to the differential compensator and the new levers, although the handle will have to wait until the body arrives. The routing of the cable to the handle seemed to be vary for different models of MG so a little care was needed not the put too much of a radius on the cable causing it to have too much friction. The back plate for the differential has to be slightly modified to allow the panhard rod mounting block to sit flush. This was pretty straitforward using a hacksaw and a grinding wheel.

Fuel System

I opted for a bespoke stainless steel fuel tank from Findhorn Cars. Unfortunately the one delivered was the pattern model used for the fabricators, however although a little untidy it was serviceable. I struck a deal with Findhorn and kept and cleaned up the tank. I also decided to have it powder coated for added protection and was very pleased with the results.The tank can only be finally mounted when the body is fitted as the mounting straps attached to the same bolts on the rear crossmember. I ran the cable through the chassis holes to the engine area. This was difficult to get the bends without kinking the pipe. I messed up one completely and had to buy a new roll. The chassis holes were lined with some rubber hose for protection. The fuel pump from the donor car was not standard equipment and was of unknown origin so rather than attempt to recondition it I bought a new SU electric fuel pump. I used the standard MGB pump bracket and grommet and drilled suitable holes into the sloping chassis crosspiece to mount the pump. Care was taken to ensure that the braided stainless hose from the pump to the tank didn't get fouled by the movement of the axle.