Armstrong lever arm suspension

[Simon m]

Hi Does anyone know if there are any alternatives for the Armstrong lever arm suspension units, maybe from an MGBGT?
I put a pair of recommissioned ones on a few years ago but the drivers side has failed. The consensus seems to be to just buy a new pair but that doesnt seem right. Any ideas please?Thanks very much
Simon M

[philthehill]

Can you please enlarge on what the failure was.
If the damper is not leaking but has poor damping qualities then you can fit a tele damper kit to the front and also to the rear.
Unfortunately there is no alternative to the Armstrong damper on the front of a Minor as the Armstrong damper forms the top link of the front suspension.

[59Elva]

MGA and B front lever shocks have twin arms and are mounted via a flange on the bottom unlike the Minor single arm side mount.

[moggiethouable]

I did wonder if seal kit replacements are available or indeed possible?
If that is what is wrong, weepy seals that is?
But on searching the web I found reconned units available for 50 quid and new ones at 100.
https://www.morrisminorspares.com/front ... s-p1239010
Alternatively, call Tom Roy who will source original used items too I am sure.
P.S. if the consensus came from anywhere but here, I would doubt its reality in fact

[philthehill]

The problem for the home mechanic is that it is near impossible for them to strip and rebuild the Minor front Armstrong dampers without specialist tools therefore it is easier to replace the damper.
There was a thread by Declan Burns on overhauling the front dampers but it seems to have disappeared from the MMOC web site.

[svenedin]

I looked a long time ago and there are companies that will overhaul Armstrong Lever-acting dampers. They say they can "upgrade" them as well but I am not sure what that entails. When I needed new dampers it was much easier to just exchange them for rebuilt ones from ESM. Rebuild from a specialist is probably more appropriate for rare dampers which the Minor ones are not. My car had very old, largely useless dampers and it was transformed by a new set of 4. One of the dampers was painted gold so at one stage, a long time ago, there must have been a Goldseal exchange of dampers as well as engines and gearboxes. Shows how old that damper was!

I would put the early failure of your damper down to bad luck. It is not common at all. They usually last a long time and they are not expensive to replace.

One annoyance is that although the front ones are easy to check, the back ones need to be taken off the car to check the oil level. Barmy. The reality is they don't get checked until they obviously are leaking or have stopped working.

Stephen

[philthehill]

The current Armstrong front dampers on my Minor were upgraded items from V.W. Derrington way back in the 1970s. The damping function has now been disabled as the front dampers are now SPAX adjustable gas filled items.
The upgraded items as far as I can see is that the damper valves are replaced with stronger springs. Below are the damper valves removed from the V.W. Derrington dampers.
You can un-solder the damper nut and adjust the standard valve nut to give firmer damping as I used to do before the V.W. Derrington items became available. As an aside the V.W. Derrington dampers were painted purple. Unfortunately V.W. Derrington has long gone but they live on in the dampers fitted to my Minor. I do also have a V.W. Derrington Minor anti-roll bar fitting kit on the shelf which combined with a Ford Cortina anti-roll bar gives good anti-roll qualities.

Front damper valves (2).JPG (496.56 KiB) Viewed 203 times

[Andmurph]

https://www.vandcengineering.co.uk/

These guys did a great job of restoring ours for the pickup. They took 3 or four days and they came back refurbed and painted. 2 years later, so far they are brilliant. They offer off the shelf replacements and uprated adjustable d as more valves if required.

[geoberni]

One annoyance is that although the front ones are easy to check, the back ones need to be taken off the car to check the oil level. Barmy. The reality is they don't get checked until they obviously are leaking or have stopped working.

Stephen

I think that requirement to remove the rear one before checking the level is on a par with removing the Torsion Bar for access to the MC bolts.
Yes they are in dirtier location than the front ones but any decent mechanic can clean the top area around the filler cap with a wire brush followed by a dry paint brush etc even inspect the area with a strong light and mirror.
Of course you also have to guard against dust falling from the underbody above it
The filler cap is, by design, approximately horizontal when fitted. Pretty conveniently done.....
I did remove Basil's and replace the oil in the first couple of years of ownership, the oil was quite manky, but checking them insitu isn't that difficult especially if the rear is up un ramps.

Screenshot_20260821-145801_Drive.jpg (159.64 KiB) Viewed 132 times

[59Elva]

The younger generation would use the light and camera on their iPhone. One handed operation. No separate mirror and flashlight.

[svenedin]

It’s a bit like these modern cars with no dipstick. To check the oil level, remove the engine, turn the engine upside down. Remove sump plug. Insert specially calibrated upside down engine dipstick (optional extra) and read oil level. Oil level MUST be checked weekly!

Stephen

[myoldjalopy]

I have to confess, I never checked the rear dampers once in the last 25 years! But I removed, drained and refilled them when I replaced the two rear damper links last year. It did make for a firmer ride. The fronts I replaced about 15 years ago when they started to leak.