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New TA safely home...

Well if I've done this correctly this should be a pic' of my new TA. Picked it up from the South coast this morning and enjoyed a "bracing" top down drive home. We even had a little sunshine coming across Salisbury Plain and only a couple of minor flurries of sleet. First thoughts? Sounds good, quite lively, hops about a bit, prone to wagging its tail, clunks, rattles and squeaks, and is surprisingly comfy... needs a heater tho'...


Re: New TA safely home...

Looks lovely John, love the headlamps wonder where they came from, they look a perfect size for the car.

I've not noticed mine being tail happy except on a wet road and too much right foot, perhaps the tyres are hardened/old - are the wheels 14 or 15 inch?

Enjoy!

Cheers
Jeremy

Re: New TA safely home...

Cheers. It's running 14" wheels and the tyres look fine - the tail wagging was probably due to the road conditions, very greasy and slippy in places, even noticed driving down there in my Subaru pick up (it was damp, muddy and sometimes a bit of sleet). Also, been a long time since I drove a live axle rear drive car and I'd forgotten how it would react to some of the apalling road surfaces we were on...
The headlamps look like Lucas "King of the road" - I have a similar pair on my '36 Austin, albeit in a larger size.
As for enjoying, well, that was the most I've enjoyed driving a car in a long time despite the cold.
Must get my membership sorted!
John.

Re: New TA safely home...

I run on 14 inch wheels too, from my perspective they work fine.

The lamps are nice, I want to get larger lamps for my car as I think they set the front off better.

I have had the TA coming up to 4 years now - that is a record for cars in my ownership I normally get bored with them. But I still enjoy it and still come back from every drive with a big grin on my face!

Cheers
Jeremy

Re: New TA safely home...

Looks good John, hopping about and oversteer points to the rear springs being to stiff.
Regards Mel.

Re: New TA safely home...

Mel,

What rear springs do you have on your TA? I have GT springs and it still bottoms out when loaded up with two people and a full tank of fuel?

Another cause could be too much pressure in the rear tyres - I run with 24-26 psi in mine.

Cheers
Jeremy

Re: New TA safely home...

Are you running MGB rear springs? My TA is Marina based and the rear end is very smooth, specially since I had a pair of new ones built by a guy on Ebay.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nos-Morris-marina-ital-rear-leaf-springs-/261750201856?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item3cf1871e00
I have forgotten his name, but he is very accomodating. Maybe he does MGB springs. He will add or reduce leaves, soften or harden them. Maybe you can find contact details on there.Will Marina springs fit on the MGB axle? Mine are two leaves, I think MGB are more.

Re: New TA safely home...

I don't have a TA Jeremy.

Ron, do you know if there is much difference in the weight of the two axles?
What the springs do is balance out the sprung to unsprung weight {as in the vertical acceleration of the wheel and axle). A good spring manufacturer should be able to calculate your requirements.

Re: New TA safely home...

Have been out and about in the TA (cold permitting, brrr) and the hoppity back end seems to be settling down a bit. A check through the old m.o.t. certificates shows that I've taken it as far in the past couple of days as it has been in the previous couple of years, needs a bit of driving methinks.
A few years back I had an old American pick up truck which behaved in a similar manner. I removed the rear springs and dis-assembled them, before they went back together I ground down any nasty wear ridges and the sharp ends of the leaves, a good coating of grease on re-assembly and the transformation in ride quality was huge.

Re: New TA safely home...

The MGB rear springs are supposed to have rubber leaves between the spring steel leaves and not be lubricated in any way.

However I do find that a drop of oil every now and again does wonders for the ride quality.

From what you say I would look at the tyres - sounds like you are wearing through the hard outer bits and getting more grip - these cars certainly need to be used.

Cheers
Jeremy