lowering and converting to shocks

[davidpidge]

I'm sure this has been discussed before but I couldn't find a thread. Whats the best way to lower a Minor, front and rear? How easy is it to change the front suspension to shocks and springs and likewise for the rear?

Some photos of nicely slammed Moggies would be good too!

[chrisryder]

you can get lowering blocks for the back (35mm ish) which corresponds to lowering the front by 1 spline on the torsion bar at the wishbone end. which is what i've done to my minor (see my sig) it doesn't look that low as my wheels are too small but hey!

you can buy bolt on damper kits, you can get gas filled, oil filled and spax adjustables all as bolt on kits (just drill a few holes) or you can go whole hog and get a coilover front suspension conversion from JLH, they also do fancy stuff with the rear end too if you're after that sort of thing!

[bmcecosse]

Good news is - the Minor already HAS 'springs and shocks' - although the correct term is 'damper' not 'shock'. Most minors almost sit on the rear bump stops anyway - and lowering the front too much will damage the inner wings - where the bump stops live. Make sure they are present and correct - front and rear. Simplest upgrade is to drain the dampers and refill with more viscous oil - SAE 30 or 40.

[IslipMinor]

The existing springs do a good job, why do you want to change them?

To lower the rear, if you have 5-leaf springs, then lowering blocks are required, but if you have the 7-leaf springs, as fitted to the early M1000, take the bottom, shortest leaf, off, turn it upside down and put it on the top of the main leaf. The effect is to lower the car by about 1.5"/2", and soften the rear suspension slightly at the same time, which is a further benefit. I did this 40+ years ago, when we bought the wide 13" wheels, and it has worked very well since then. Oh, by the way, they are the orginal springs from 1958!!

At the front, to lower the car by about 1.25"/1.5", move either the rear reaction arm or the suspension arm by 1 spline on the torsion bar. For more than 1.25" and less than 2.5" (2 splines), use the vernier plate at the back of the torsion bar. The combination of splines and vernier allows you to set the height within 1/4". With regard to damaged inner wings etc., if the bump stop is in place and the mounting is sound, they will be no problem. Again we did this 40+ years ago, and no damage has ever occurred. During the restoration 15 years ago, I replaced the Minor torsion bars with Marina van, which are slightly stiffer, but set them at the same, lowered, height as we had had before.

In case you are wondering from the photo, the car is used for all sorts of purposes, including extensive trips around Europe each year on the MSA Euroclassic, complete with 2 people and a boot full of luggage. This year we covered almost 3,000 miles in 2 weeks going from Oxford right across to the Czech Republic and back, with virtually every road surface you can imagine.

If you do lower it, make sure that the bump stops are shortened and reprofiled, as they will be doing more work, and at the front that the rebound stop is in place. Lowering without shortening/reprofiling the bump stops will leave you running on or very close to the bump stops all the time, which is rather uncomfortable.

For the dampers, as Roy suggests, drain and refill with straight engine oil. Makes a big difference and probably all that is needed unless you are planning to uprate the performance quite a bit?

[davidpidge]

Your tourer looks great. thanks for the advice. I just wanted to know what was involved in lowering a Moggie as i've only lowered cars with springs, (which we just cut in half!). It's purely for aesphetic purposes I might add.

[bmcecosse]

Well - it's even easier on the front of the Minor - no cutting involved - just undo the bolts and nuts, take the load off the torsion bar (which is a spring!) and then move the arm round one spline. Simples!

[mike.perry]

"To lower the rear, if you have 5-leaf springs, then lowering blocks are required, but if you have the 7-leaf springs, as fitted to the early M1000, take the bottom, shortest leaf, off, turn it upside down and put it on the top of the main leaf."

If you have the seven leaf springs as fitted to the Series MM - early M1000 you will probably find that they have already sagged with age. These springs are not the same as the Traveller seven leaf springs and if you remove any leaves they will be far too weak

[chrisryder]

with regards trimming the bump stops, does anyone know of a suitable length to trim?

does the bump stop not also stop the damper from reaching its extent of travel?

i've not got round to trimming my bump stops because i don't want to trim too much!

[bmcecosse]

There is plenty of overtravel built into the dampers - at the rear I have cut ~ 1" off the stops - and restored the original profile. I wouldn't think there is much room for timming the front stops - but I dare say 1/2" off the tips will be ok and again restore the profile.

[mike.perry]

I have used cut down Marina rear bump stops

[IslipMinor]

These springs are not the same as the Traveller seven leaf springs and if you remove any leaves they will be far too weak

Yes, the Traveller 7-leaf are different. The 7-leaf on the earlier saloon/convertible are the ones I am using, and are the originals as fitted to the car in 1958, just with the bottom leaf moved to the top, and turned upside down to work in the opposite direction! So 2 bits of softening, removing the bottom leaf, and then making it work against the remaining 6 leaves. Lowers and softens all at the same time - and has worked very well like this since January 1970. Interestingly I got a new spring at some point during the restoration, so used this during the rebuild on one side, but it was much too soft. Even in its original configuration, the shape was completely different (much flatter), so I went back to the original.

I have removed 1" from the rear bump stops, and at least 3/4" from the front. The rear reprofiling was 'complete', but at the front all I have done after cutting off the 3/4"/1", is to chamfer the edge of the cut. Even with the slighter stiffer Marina van torsion bars and the Koni dampers on 'full hard' (the rear are on 'full soft'), the front suspension touches the bump stop occasionally, but never the body work at all. You don't 'feel' the contact with the bump stops, just can see the slight shine on the body plate, where it touches.

[chrisryder]

thanks, i knew some people would have the answer they really do need a trim, especially at the front!