Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Can Roger’s Bump Stops fit a 1994 +8?

Oh no they can’t,… Oh yes they can!

Roger’s Bump Stops are usually straight forward to fit. See Roger’s instructions on this page Here and DaveW’s experience Here The bump stops are fitted to the rear shock absorber hoop.

In 1993 the +8 rod operated handbrake was replaced by a cable attached to the rear of the hoop until about 1996. The cables loop forward under the bend of the hoop before going down to the brake drums. The installation of the Stops on the off side is not a problem; there is plenty of room to move the hand brake cable out of the way. The problem is with the near side. The cable is just where the Bump Stop should be mounted. There is not enough slack in the cable to move it out of the way or change its direction.



The sheaths of the near side and off side hand brake cables are attached to two brackets at the rear of the shock absorber mounting hoop with the adjuster in-between. This picture shows the two rear mountings, the cable has been removed from the near side mount. (Top centre of picture)

I decided to try and mount both cables in front of the hoop and let the cables travel in front of the Stops to the brake drums.



I made two identical plates with holes no. 1 & 2 drilled for a U bolt to attach each plate to the hoop. Hole no. 3 allows the brake cable sheaths to be anchored to the plates using the original imperial fixings. Hole no. 4 is used to bolt each plate to its original mounting bracket for additional stability. This also keeps the cable mountings the original distance apart which keeps the hand brake adjustment about the same as the original. In addition to being in front of the hoop, the anchor point at hole no. 3 moves the cable about an inch towards the off side and a bit lower than the original fixing.

I actually used two plates and a reinforcing strip on each side because I was working with mild steel ( washing machine casing) which would not stand much tightening of the U bolts without bending. I intend to replace these plates with one each side of better quality material.
The whole set up with the adjuster is shown in the picture below.



The off side cable sheath passes naturally in front of the Bump Stop and is cable tied onto the hoop. Where the main hand brake cable emerges from the transmission tunnel I moved it a bit to the near side with a new retaining clip so it cleared the differential.



The above picture shows the near side cable going over the front of the Bump Stop.



This shows the underneath view of the plate bolted to the original bracket with a long nut and some locking nuts.

My first outing was for a MOT test which was passed with no problems. I then headed for some sleeping policemen as a road test. I initially set the Bump Stops at 38mm and they are currently on 36mm with excellent results. No more crashing and banging from the rear when running over the policemen! These bump stops are certainly worth fitting.

Witness marks. I learnt a trick years ago doing archery. If you spray aerosol spray powder for athlete’s foot on to the side of an archery bow and shoot your arrows, the powder is rubbed off where the arrows touch the bow.
I sprayed a light dusting of powder on to the top surface of the springs and found some nice witness marks on return from my test drives. Wipe the powder off between tests; it does not give a good witness with a thick coating of powder.


Before

After

PS. No other Bump Stops are available.
PPS. I have no financial interest in anything, anywhere, anytime.

Great engineering skills and no small amount of perseverance there.

Don't know if I am preaching to the converted here , but the reason for the change in the handbrake operating mechanism was a couple (or more?) high profile cases where Morgans had been rear-ended. The later investigations showed that the brake rods and "turret" became detached from the axle, and the (now bare) spigot pierced the fuel tank. At least one of these incidents resulted in a very serious fire.

I must think that the change was rolled out across the entire range of trads.

Great work as usual Colin.

How come you always tackle the complicated jobs? Maybe just change the light bulbs next time!!!

I guess I'll have another world exclusive in about 6 months time.

What an ingenious little conversion and Colin has kindly let me have the dimensions for his plates. The next time that I have a batch of bump stop brackets laser cut I will add some of these plates using the same 6mm stainless. It may just help somebody with an early damper hoop car from getting into trouble who’s thinking of taking an angle grinder to the rear casing of the washing machine to liberate some material....

Having sourced washing machine parts for a handbrake conversion, it puts a different slant on "Darling, I'm just nipping out for a quick spin in the Morgan"

Roger

Excellent service again - perhaps fantastic help describes it better

Further development of the handbrake conversion.

A little background reading indicates that the shock absorber mounting hoop was introduced in 1991 for the change over from Armstrong lever to gas filled telescopic shock absorbers. The rod operated handbrake system was changed to the cable system, mounted on the rear of the hoop, when Morgan changed the braking system of all models, not just the +8, from Girling to Lockheed in 1993.

This handbrake conversion first used plates made from the casing of a washing machine. However, better materials have become available and a simpler fixing method has been developed. The plates are now available in 6mm stainless steel with some elongation of two of the holes to allow for adjustment when positioning.



Orientate both plates as shown but not in mirror image. Holes A & B are for attaching the plate to the hoop with a U bolt. The hole C is for bolting on the brake cable sheath and the slot D is for bolting the plate to the original hoop bracket with a long bolt, M8 x 65mm.



First, completely slacken off the handbrake adjuster. I use an 8mm spanner on the off side cable to stop it rotating and a 7/16” ring spanner, or better, an 11mm (3/8” drive) deep socket if you have it, on the inside lock nut of the adjuster. Leave the outside lock nut in position.

Unbolt the cables from the brackets at the rear of the hoop using a 5/8” spanner to steady the brake cable blocks. Keep the ½” UNF nylock nuts.



An M8 65mm bolt is used to bolt the plate to the original hoop bracket.
This picture shows the plate prepared with the long bolt and fixings ready for offering up.



Attach the plate to the hoop with the U bolt through holes A & B, and at the same time attach the long bolt to the hoop bracket.
Keep the plate vertical and the long bolt horizontal as you tighten the bolts. Install the second bracket in the same way.



Next, locate the thread of the brake cable block through hole C, do not add any washers. Apply some thread lock (Loctite or similar) to the original imperial ½” UNF nylock nut and tighten, keeping the cable level. Repeat this on the other plate.



The following picture which shows everything re-attached.

Now you can adjust the handbrake. Lift the rear wheels off the floor to assess the action of the hand brake. If slight adjustment is needed tighten or release the off side cable a little before nipping up the lock nut. If you have any concerns then consider a formal handbrake adjustment. For instructions see:-
https://www.gomog.com//allmorgan/APBRAKES.html

Where the main handbrake cable emerges from the transmission tunnel it may be a little close to the differential. The cable can be moved a bit to the near side away from the differential with a retaining clip bolted to the floor. The off side cable sheath passes naturally in front of the Bump Stop and can be cable tied a couple of times onto the hoop. If you wish to add some protection to both handbrake cables, tie wrapped petrol pipe is easy to install from the adjuster to the brake drum.



The original configuration of the cable can be easily restored since it does not involve any cutting or drilling.

Declaration-1; I declare no financial interest.
Declaration-2; No domestic appliances were harmed during this modification.

Looking very smart Colin

I’ve heard a rumor that ‘Calypso Red Developments’ might be undertaking the first feasibility study into fitting the bump stops to a 4 seater.....

D'yah mean 'Roger's R & D Dept'?

Please forgive the thread revival. But I fitted these last night and it got me thinking.

The plates effectively move the cable blocks to the other side of the hoop and approx 30mm across the hoop. Both blocks move the same distance laterally and transversely.

Why then has it made a huge difference in the adjustment of my handbrake cable. The adjuster nut has gone from one end of the thread to the other….

Gary