1973 Midget build by ianjoub

4 minute(s) of a 203 minute read

Ok, business is slow, this is work on the MG time! Sorry, no pics this evening.

Today I took apart the rest of the front suspension pieces. The pin that is where a lower ball joint traditionally is was a bear to get out. I needed to get everything cherry hot with the torch to unscrew it. It appears to be a pressed fit in the 'kingpin' ... or whatever the Brits call it. I will order 2 new ones tonight, may as well while it is apart.

The brass (maybe?)bushings for the king pin, in the spindle are a good fit. Everything is tight clearance wise, and pivots smoothly with grease in it. I fit the energy bushngs in the lower control arm pivots. I also fit the energy bushings in the top where the lever shock bolted on, and now my upper control arm will...

I bead blasted the lower control arms. I test fittied the new coil overs. I now have a good idea of what I need to do for lower mounts. I won't know on the uppr mount until I get the lower in place and take some measurements...

All in all, I call this good progress. I wish I would quit taking S*$^ apart though....

6-19-2012

Very nice work Hap! I wish I had thought of the heim joint to use in place of the upper trunion.
Here is what I was trying to fab up today. I am not happy with what I have so far, so it will all get torn apart and redone:

For whatever reason, I neglected to get any pics of the lower shock mount, which is what I spent the better part of the day on.

6-20-2012

Well, my minilite wheels are a no go. Apparently, they can't drill the holes for the wheel studs in the 8" wide rear wheels. I spoke with a fellow named Paul at Braidusa. He indicated that it should be no problem and I should get them within 3 weeks of placing the order/ leaving a deposit.

Looks like I will go with these in a gloss black. One downside, the rears will be 10 spoke, the front 8 spoke. This is due to the 5 bolt/ 4 bolt lug patterns.

I did more cleanup and parts removal today as well. There isn't much left. I removed the doors. Wow, they are heavy. They must weigh 60 lbs each! I have my body man coming by tomorrow to give me an idea of what it will take to make it like new again.... Here is today's progress: