Morris Minor Owners Club

Hello,
Ive nearly finished putting a van back together and now need to deal with the rear suspension.
I can push the van side to side with two fingers, to the point where the van with wobble like a rowing boat or canoe. Plus, the rear seems way too hight, yet Ive added 3 inch lowering blocks, and still it looks high.
I don't plan to use it to carry heavy loads and like to keep it as light as possible.
Any ideas?
Im thinking of installing 6 leaf instead of 8 leaf springs, poly bushes (like I have with the front), and then Im not sure about the dampers...upgrades?
I took it out to test the other day, and it felt like it could roll over without much effort. I didn't get above 30mph!
The front, I sorted and Im happy with it. Its just the rear that needs serious attention.

Any ideas and experience to solve these issues will be most welcome.

Post some pictures of your rear suspension and a side view of the van to show the problems you are experiencing.

——as the above suggestion.

The other posting same subject is a duplicate...

Be aware that the front eye of the van spring is larger than the saloon so you will need to retain the top leaf.
You can try reducing the number of spring leaves to 6 and see how it goes.
If it rolls as you describe then I would check the serviceability of the dampers.
The lowering blocks should have no effect on the rear suspension.
Have you fitted rubber spring pads on the rear? The vans and pickups do not have the rubber spring pads. The axle is bolted solid to the springs with special steel pads as per the photo below

It came with the rubber pads. I think this will have to be the first thing to change, if I can find some. I haven't seen any for sale on ESM.
I may just end up replacing everything and hope for the best. The springs (probably original) did have a few gaps in them, until I bolted on four clamps per side, yet it didn't made any noticeable difference.
I will post some pictures tomorrow with regard to the height, hopefully. It has had some work done on the wheel arches and looks like whoever did it was drunk! It could be that making it look too high...
Thank you for all the replies.

The metal pads are no longer available you have to use the rubber or poly spring pads or make your own as I have done. You can get alloy plates ready to fit from Peter May Engineering but they are not cheap.
https://www.petermayengineering.com/pro ... g-pad-set/

I do have a set of the Peter May Engineering plates but the plates I have made are a better fit for location purposes.

On our pickup we had new springs Made by Jones Springs. They are 8 leaf springs made to the original dimensions and they are absolutely fantastic. Initially they were a bit high and bouncy but they settled down after a few thousand miles and months. The original springs had sagged almost two inches and gone very soft. Almost like a 2CV! They were also almost worn out.
Jones springs also made me a set of Midget Springs lowered 1 5/16 to replace the old tired springs and lowering blocks. Again, these were amazing on the car.

Our pickup has new shock absorbers and Superpro poly bushes except for the spring plates where I kept the originals and had a new set made as spares.
Body roll when empty is manageable and with a couple of washing machines in the back is more fun than it should be going around roundabouts. It stays very flat but doesn’t bottom out.

Not for a van but I also had springs made by Jones Springs 3 years ago and I am still delighted with them.

Stephen

Excellent, thank you for the replies.
I will probably go down this route and inquire about having springs made for the van.
Hopefully, with all this advice, I think I will definitely see improvements.
Thanks again.