Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing front steering and suspension rebuild in progress

Hi there Morganeers,
Just joined this forum and this is my first post....
I am rebuilding the steering and suspension on my 1973 plus 4, 2 seater. I have just dismantled the right hand side and laid out all the parts on the bench. I had the surprise of my life as to the sheer length on the kingpin. As a tallow youth I had watched my older brother fit and ream in new kingpins to his Austin 7 and expected something of a similar size. It was not to be.The new ones are S/S and new adjustable shockers.

This is my first question for you with excess Gray matter...what is the purpose of the sliding blade attached to hub and sliding in a slot on the chassis? For the first time I noticed when turning the steering wheel that the shocker and spring all turn, but I cannot fathom out what the S/S blade does in the picture?
regards
Peter

Peter, as I do not have "excess Gray matter" in the realm of DIY Morgans, I'll can't add any value; however, fear not, I'm sure Dave, Cerealsurfer, GLLHG or one of the other knowledgeable chaps will be along with an answer in no time.

It's the damper blade... don't remove it.

The damper blade damps out shimmy induced by the twist which occurs when the spring is compressed. This aspect was designed out very recently, so from something like 2007, the damper blades are no longer fitted. You may need to replace the your blades and shims with new items as they do wear.

Thank you DaveW,
I noticed before dismantling the front blade that it had a bend in it, or rather a gentle curve downwards.
Upon removal I found that the brass bit was bent and that was probably the reason for the bend in the blade.
I straightened the brass with a block of wood with gentle taps.It did not take much force to achieve this result. I believe that the blade can be removed if the ball bearing and shorter springs conversion is carried out, but I may be wrong. Rumours are rife concerning Morgan s, even here down under. I hope to learn a lot in this forum for newbies like myself
regards
Peter

Peter

The following link I found quite useful in understanding the workings of the "damper blades". The site is co-written by a very succesful American racer of Morgans and the delivery of technical information linked with good graphics is very understandable. Harpers amongst others supply the bushes if required for the blades.

http://www.gomog.com/allmorgan6.html#Damper

I have previously enjoyed a +8 which with the additional front end weight gives the suspension a fairly torrid time with wear rates being higher. These damper blade bushes being one of them, having said that I do approx 12,000 a year pleasure driving in my Morgans though whatever the weather just enjoy them.
Happy miles.

Richard

Welcome to the Forum Peter

Thanks Richard, Dave & Cereal
I just love this forum. I have never heard if 'damper blades' and will now search a photo.

Dave's comment that fitting them has been discontinued on new cars is interesting because the extra wide wheels on the Roadster 100 throw the steering wheel into a real 'hanging on' hell of a wobble on rough roads when cruising along.

Would these damper blades prevent or reduce the effect, and can they be retro fitted without a major change of parts?

thank you Frank for your interesting link.
Now all is clear and I now await the return of my hub with new bushes fitted and reamed in if necessary.
Then I can get on with the job of refitting everything and then tackling the near side wheel and hub!
I don't think that the blades could be retro fitted unless the rest of the hub matched the earlier hubs on pre 1980's cars?
Peter

thank you Richard for the original link, most interesting stuff, I learn something new every day
Regards
Peter

The earlier hubs are on pre 2008 cars I think...