MG Sports Cars

engine swaps and other performance upgrades, plus "factory" and Costello V8s

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danielruhe
Daniel Ruhe

(27 posts)

Registered:
05/23/2019 12:44PM

Main British Car:


Fast Cars Front Suspension Opinions
Posted by: danielruhe
Date: November 19, 2019 08:35PM

Hi everyone, Im doing my ford 302 v8 conversion on my 1974 mgb and I am debating on pulling the trigger on a fast cars front suspension. I want to hear from some people who have used it what their take is. What has it improved on the car and is it worth it or just rebuild the stock suspension?


mowog1
Rick Ingram
Central Illinois
(1523 posts)

Registered:
10/17/2007 09:36PM

Main British Car:
1974.5 MGB/GT 3.9l Rover

authors avatar
Re: Fast Cars Front Suspension Opinions
Posted by: mowog1
Date: November 28, 2019 10:41AM

Personally, I believe it transforms the handling of the car....and it is adjustable, something you will not have with the stock setup.

I saved about 75 pounds over the stock unit as well....

Decide before you buy if you will need the wider version....especially nice if you're adding flares to the wings.

The Sennekers are good people to work with.

FastCars Crossmember.jpg

Fastcars Installed.jpg

FastCars Weight.jpg

Stock crossmemember_2.jpg


MG four six eight
Bill Jacobson
Wa state
(324 posts)

Registered:
10/23/2007 02:15AM

Main British Car:
73 MGB Buick 215, Eaton/GM supercharger

Re: Fast Cars Front Suspension Opinions
Posted by: MG four six eight
Date: December 04, 2019 01:49AM

I have one and I would agree with Rick, less weight and better handling. The bigger brakes are an added plus as well.
Since my car has flared fenders, I opted for the 2" wider version. It allowed me to use wheels with better back spacing, which improved the scrub radius and handling.

Bill


BlownMGB-V8
Jim Blackwood
9406 Gunpowder Rd., Florence, KY 41042
(6468 posts)

Registered:
10/23/2007 12:59PM

Main British Car:
1971 MGB Blown,Injected,Intercooled Buick 340/AA80E/JagIRS

authors avatar
Re: Fast Cars Front Suspension Opinions
Posted by: BlownMGB-V8
Date: December 04, 2019 11:39AM

I rebuilt the stock suspension. Most of the weight loss is in the hubs, brakes and shocks. Probably 10 and certainly no more than 20 lbs in the crossmember. CCE is presently selling off their last remaining stock in aluminum hubs for something around $400 a set. That's a good deal, I spent nearly $100 on the billet stock to turn mine from. I used WW's reman shocks with external valving, most of that is sprung weight and they are superior to coil-over units but heavier. I also used air bags in place of the springs. Jury is still out on that one but I will have decided by this summer what the advantages/disadvantages are. So far the ride is very good but I'm not yet convinced of any handling advantages.

The FC unit is good kit, the one weakness in in the upper and lower shock attachments which should be replaced periodically. (annually maybe)

Jim


rficalora
Rob Ficalora
Willis, TX
(2764 posts)

Registered:
10/24/2007 02:46PM

Main British Car:
'76 MGB w/CB front, Sebring rear, early metal dash Ford 302

authors avatar
Re: Fast Cars Front Suspension Opinions
Posted by: rficalora
Date: December 04, 2019 05:46PM

Quote:
The FC unit is good kit, the one weakness in in the upper and lower shock attachments which should be replaced periodically. (annually maybe)

You're talking about the bearings Jim? I've had mine for 6-8 years & about 26k miles. Only one of the four (upper/lower each side) bearings has shown signs of wear.


BlownMGB-V8
Jim Blackwood
9406 Gunpowder Rd., Florence, KY 41042
(6468 posts)

Registered:
10/23/2007 12:59PM

Main British Car:
1971 MGB Blown,Injected,Intercooled Buick 340/AA80E/JagIRS

authors avatar
Re: Fast Cars Front Suspension Opinions
Posted by: BlownMGB-V8
Date: December 05, 2019 12:00AM

Yeah, the rod ends on the shocks, I think the life can vary a great deal depending on a lot of different things.

Jim


steveng
Steve Engelman
Ohio
(5 posts)

Registered:
06/14/2013 06:56AM

Main British Car:
1968 MGB Ford 302 V8

Re: Fast Cars Front Suspension Opinions
Posted by: steveng
Date: December 26, 2019 08:29AM

Just thought I would weigh in here with my 2 cents on the Fast Cars front suspension unit. I used it on my car with a Ford 302 V8 conversion and I absolutely love it. I saved weight and improved the handling and stopping of the car, without question. I used the wider version as I added flares and that gave me some more options on wheel choice. Overall, very happy with my decision to go with this unit.



302GT
Larry Shimp

(240 posts)

Registered:
11/17/2007 01:13PM

Main British Car:
1968 MGB GT Ford 302 crate engine

authors avatar
Re: Fast Cars Front Suspension Opinions
Posted by: 302GT
Date: March 03, 2020 09:37AM

One advantage of the stock suspension is that needle bearings are available to replace the bronze thrust washers at the top of the king pins. The needle bearings do reduce steering effort, something like the ball bearings at the top of struts in many cars now.

I assume the Fast Cars suspension has a reduced caster angle compared to stock; caster reduction also helps reduce steering effort and caster reduction wedges are very useful with the stock suspension. The high caster angles were more necessary with bias ply tires.

I like the extra clearance under the sump. I have to pull the engine/transmission to remove the sump with the stock suspension.

Finally, there are rubber seals available to keep dirt out of metal heim joints (which I assume are used for the shock mounting).


BlownMGB-V8
Jim Blackwood
9406 Gunpowder Rd., Florence, KY 41042
(6468 posts)

Registered:
10/23/2007 12:59PM

Main British Car:
1971 MGB Blown,Injected,Intercooled Buick 340/AA80E/JagIRS

authors avatar
Re: Fast Cars Front Suspension Opinions
Posted by: BlownMGB-V8
Date: March 03, 2020 02:49PM

Have you tried those seals Larry? Really only work when the ball is perfectly centered, which is usually never.

Jim


302GT
Larry Shimp

(240 posts)

Registered:
11/17/2007 01:13PM

Main British Car:
1968 MGB GT Ford 302 crate engine

authors avatar
Re: Fast Cars Front Suspension Opinions
Posted by: 302GT
Date: March 04, 2020 08:20AM

I use the seals on sway bar bushings, but I do agree they are not perfect.

Greaseable bearings are made but I do not know if they are available for the Fast Cars suspension. Even if some can be found that fit, the shock eyes will have to be drilled for grease fittings and they may not be thick enough for that so maybe some metal will have to be added by welding at the fitting site. Modifications needed…


MG four six eight
Bill Jacobson
Wa state
(324 posts)

Registered:
10/23/2007 02:15AM

Main British Car:
73 MGB Buick 215, Eaton/GM supercharger

Re: Fast Cars Front Suspension Opinions
Posted by: MG four six eight
Date: March 05, 2020 12:22PM

I installed the seals on the shocks in my Fast Cars front end. So far they seem to be working, though admittedly I don't have a lot of miles on them yet.
The drawback to using Heim joints on the street is that they are exposed to water and road grime for much greater distances then in a race car. This in turn, causes the joint to wear/squeak over time. The seals are inexpensive and I figured that even if the seals only reduce the amount of road debris exposed to the joint, it's still better then nothing at all.

When installing them on the shock joints, you do have to machine or grind some thinkness off of the shock joint spacers to compensate for the thickness of the stainless steel washer in the seal itself.

Bill


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