I’ve got a 71 MGB that runs well and looks pretty good. The suspension, however looks original. The car leans to the right and front by a couple of inches and it hops around curves and corners. I just use it for daily driving in the warmer months - no racing. Should I replace the suspension with stock items or explore some of the custom conversions that are out there?
that is up to you. what doo you want from the car? how do you drive? but you want to make sure the car is safe to drive . enjoy the road
You’ll want to get plugged into the MGB community, I’m sure there are several good forums. There will be dozens of folks there who have dealt with this exact problem. There are a couple here ( @MG McAnick comes to mind).
Me, I’d want to upgrade as I went, but not put any low profile tires on it.
What ‘custom conversions’ are you considering?
That’s not normal, or safe. If it’s leaning a couple of inches to the side when it’s sitting still, something is obviously wrong. I’d suspect a broken leaf in a rear spring, or perhaps some idiot in its past has tried to lower it by heating the front coils unevenly. If the car is rusty, it may be that the attach point for one of the rear springs has broken away from the unibody. Bs didn’t do well in the rust belt. In any case, you should probably have a good alignment shop have a look at it. Tell me the first three digits of your zip code, and I’ll tell you if I’m close enough to help. I have lots of MGB parts. You can also send me a personal message.
I agree with MG McAnick that this car should be considered unsafe, even downright dangerious, until the cause of the leaning is diagnosed and repaired. Something is clearly broken or rotted out, and anything fitting that description that’s part of the chassis is a serious and sudden loss of control looking for a place to happen.
I urge you to stop driving this until you (or a mechanic) get under it.
“Replacing the Suspension” is a lot easier said than done…Worn or broken components should be replaced, and those shocks were always suspect, but the rest of the suspension was pretty solid…But after 43 years…