Originally Posted by Rog

That is interesting what you say about the older cars Nick. It has always struck me that the rear telescopic dampers were perhaps sub optimally mounted on later cars. To my mind the mounting eye axis is not great, ie 90 degrees out. Perhaps the axis should be parallel with the axle axis rather than tangential to it. The problem I see is that owning to the different shackle heights the axle actually moves 6 degrees off the vertical rather than vertically and this to some extent must put unwanted strain on the dampers and their fixings. I don't know if this also translates to a small effect on behavior or not? I prefer the Rutherford damper mounting orentation.
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The virtue of the "hoop" is its strength. Rutherford made a hoop, shaped differently, that extended the distance of the lower mount and made the upper mount in a way that made the shock angle far more upright and permitted the installation of longer shocks...many more choices and better ride quality, so he said. He was never very proud of the super popular shock kit he invenedt..especially after others began copying it in cheaper metal and selling it without his input.

Did you know that the first such kit was a one-off made for TOK before its LeMans victory? Except, the shocks were canted rearwards behind the axle as it was the assumed direction of an incoming impact for Chris Lawrence and his team. Bill Beck, the Factory Developer, said THEY assumed the impacts would be coming in from the side. No one really studies these things like AFTERMARKET does.

I think you may have a point in theory...but remember that each Morgan, because of the variables on a flexing frame (even an extra 25 kilos on a driver will change suspension effect and comportment..I can tell you moving a left mounted battery on a LHD to the right is a noticeable difference. I stopped fiddling in the rear after I deeply liked the drive and my wife confirmed by snoozing on rough country roads! Also. I like a very simple car and preserving the template/datum (as George Dow calls it). So much of wonderful Morgan camaraderie is based on a commonality of mechanical problems. (GRIN!) Your system has moggers leaving that fold, albeit that is compensated for by its simplicity. Those who are beguiled by complex addons lose more than they gain by adopting them. By they way, I do not treasure old things merely because they are old. I treasure simplicity and common sense no matter where or when it comes from.

For me this problem boils down to finding a RELIABLE Morgan leaf spring maker for ALL 4-wheelers. Preferably, that would be one in the USA (lots of old springs needing replacement ) and one in the UK. Shipping costs are enormous otherwise.

Lorne