Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) Body height at rear

Hi,
The left rear of my 1993 +8 is 3/4" lower than the right (measured from both mid- hub to edge of fender and also from ground to edge of fender, on level ground).
The rear springs are both good, and the front is level at both sides.
I am not heavy, 160 pounds, and the previous owner was also about 165 pounds.
Can I shim to bring the rear level? And if so, where to shim?

It was 60 deg F and blue sky here today, so it was great to get out and drive.

Thanks.

Personally not something I would do knowing the car’s handling could be compromised if the springs were unbalanced. Other may have a different opinion. Changing the springs is the normal route. If you were to shim and lower one side you would need a shim with an axle locating dowel pin/hole and a longer u bolt. I would ask the experts at Mulfab and seek their advice. They sell the lowering blocks/shims, U bolts and good quality springs.

I would not rely on the wing or fender as your datum.

On an absolutely flat surface, measure the distance of the bottom chassis rail to the ground. If you have 3/4 inch variance then start looking at the condition of the rear springs as it's possible that a leaf has broken. Broken leafs can be sometimes hard to detect.

The other cause might be a twist in the chassis but that's only likely if the car has been dreadfully mis-used or been involved in an accident.

How does the car drive?

You might want to measure ground-to-top of the body above the wheel or centre of wheel-to-top of body.

Hi, I thought mine was out at the back as well, turned out the ground was not absolutely level (you only need a minute amount of slope across the front wheels to throw the back out, check again before taking steps to rectify (measure twice cut once......................)

I recall a friend had this vey same problem, as mentioned above critical to measure from chassis rail down to ground. After Many hours trying all sorts he placed a small jack under the front corner (same side as low rear) and gently jacked the car a fraction and the low rear corner raised! He could then corrected the the rear with a little lift at the front. It was eventually traced to a tight kingpin and bushes that he could only assume was 'holding' one front corner a fraction high and seemed to be pushing the rear down.

Might sound weird but that's what it was, he stripped the front, the pins looked fine so he cleaned and greased everything and the problem was gone.

You never know?

One other thought (and not as idiotic as it may sound):
Are the rear leafs springs well lubricated?
(I use motor-cycle chain lube between the leaves and shackles.)

I amazed me the difference in feel of the car after I first started doing this a number of years ago, with the car always returning to its correct level.

Quite agree, my old +8 that had stood around, before I got it, for 3 years and only did about 500 miles in that time had king pin issues. When I stripped them down could see where the bushes had started to cause cross metal corrosion and a lip was there. Basically they were knackered through lack of use. So I can completely understand good old stiction issues at different heights.

Bud I do the same & it really makes a difference

Your springs may have had their day, as the ends of the leaves rub they can create a lip and then movement is restricted so no amount of greasing up will resolve it. Best to inspect carefully. Greasing up the one on the +8 and Roadster, makes a difference, significant on the +8, as they had seen none for several years but only done low mileage.

Thanks all.
I measured at the chassis rails at the rear, and same thing, the left side is close to 3/4" lower.
Springs are well lubed with motorcycle chain lube, the car drives and handles great, and I put in hard chrome king pins, new front springs and the steering thingy's about 1500 miles ago. The car has 18,000 on it.I'll contact Mulfab tomorrow for recommendations.