1969 MGB Lean

I know it’s a long shot, but here it goes! I have a 1969 MGB which I’ve been working on for the past few years here in Italy. Engine and body wise, the vehicle is in great condition. I purchased it in the year 2000 and the only issue I have not been able to overcome is the fact that I seem to be sitting lower on the driver’s side (which is the right as it is a British spec vehicle). I have had the body checked and it has been deemed perfectly straight. I have had the suspension changed and ths springs replaced, but I still seem to be about 1" lower on the driver side than I am on the passenger. I had a spacer placed on the driver’s side to no avail. I have even gone as far to check the seat cushions, but they are fine as well. If I take a measurement from the ground to the top of the wheel well, my feeling is confirmed. The right (driver’s) side is approximately 1" lower than the passenger’s side. I’m looking for any insight as to what else I can do to find where the difference is.



Thank you for your time. I love this car and want to restore it to a point where I can use it as a daily driver.



Hope to hear from you soon!

Keith

Seems you should be able to take your tape measure to the front suspension and find that 1" difference. I don’t know anything about this car, but you could measure the springs and see if one is more compacted than the other. Or the shocks, or the tire.

I find the 1" difference on the outside…but it’s what is causing that difference that is getting to me! I’m resorting to putting some heavy items on the passenger side and jacking up to driver’s side to see if I can compensate for it! :slight_smile:

Have you checked the condition of your MGB?s lever shocks? Your driver side shock may be low on shock oil and causing the 1? drop. Measure from the top of the passenger side lever shock to the ground and compare that to the driver?s side. Good luck!

I will check those measurements, but I can tell you that all the shocks are brand new (well as brand new as a moss motors order was).

I’d be interested in what you find out. I had a brand new 1965 MGB that was an inch lower on the right side. Neither I nor the dealer could ever figure out what it was. It stayed that way for 15 years until it was totaled in a parking lot by a falling tree!

The question is…did it fall on the taller or shorter side? If on the taller, do you think it fixed your lean? :slight_smile:

Measure the height above the ground from at several points up to the fender on both sides of the car. Maybe you will find the difference in between.

The best place to measure is where the lower control arm attaches to the frame to the ground. That can be really hard to do on an MGB as it sits so low to the ground. You may be able to take this measurement by driving the front wheels up on a 4" cap block (4"x8"x16" used to cap off a block wall). If the measurement is the same on both sides, then the problem could be where the body attaches to the frame.

I will try measuring there. I have been measuring from the floor, through the center spline of the wheel to the top of the ark of the wheel well until now. I’ll let you know what the difference is at the lower control arms.

could it be a bent frame?

Bill,

That’s what I had originally thought, but as I said, I took it to two body shops here in Italy (ok, I take their opinion with a grain of salt too), and both said it was as straight as an arrow.

boy, now you are taking me back to my childhood!

i seem to recall that my brothers old MG had a difference in the floors in the inside of the car. he had the seats out and i vaguely recall that there was a difference in the steel floor pan. the floors were not symmetrical, i believe the seats were of different height. i am not sure if the different height was due to it being a race car (in the home circuit) or since it was constantly being ‘fixed up and tweaked’ or because the seats had to be that way,

any way, maybe some other MG fans could enlighten you about this.

people have been talking about measuring suspension. have you measured the seat height inside the car? see if they are the same height. as i am thinking about it, i recall that the seats were not even the same type (drivers to passenger) one was a much better, more cushy seat. (again maybe that was due to the racing scene)

Where’s MG Mcanick? (I hope I spelled that right)

I’m going to be taking the vehicle out for a ride this weekend. It’s corrected iself a little because as I said, I was putting weights on the passenger side as well as slightly jacked up. After my trip, I will see how it settles and I will report back. Before I set it like this though, it was lower by approximately 1" on the driver’s side. After this trip, I will measure to see if the suspension is level and the body is off, or if it is the entire system.

I’m hoping MG McAnick has a chance to take a look at this too! :slight_smile: It’s morning here, prepping the car for the drive. Will let the thread know shortly!