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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Re con dampers

Just got some re-conditioned front dampers from frogeye spares and noticed when starting to fit them that one has a large washer behind the arm .I have not seen this before has anyone else just hoping it is not taking up any play in damper.

mark 1500 on the road Preston Lancs

Oh Gez mark...THAT sucks royally.

They didnt even attempt to hide the bodge...im not sure thats a good or bad thing

Prop
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

Mark. The lever arm damper situation, be they new or recon, is in a parlous state. It's difficult to know who to buy from. The only company that I've not heard bad or dubious reports of is Peter Caldwell in the U.S. I personally had a very bad experience with Moss. They sold me two new front shocks @ £95 each that I could not fit because they were so badly manufactured. I got a refund but I'm still looking for some.
There surely must be someone in the U.K. who knows how to recondition the things.
Bernie Higginson

"There surely must be someone in the U.K. who knows how to recondition the things. "

There is...Stevson Motors:-

http://www.stevsonmotors.co.uk/
Dave O'Neill 2

Can/do you vouch for them Dave?
Lawrence Slater

I have used them on several occasions.

Derek rebuilds dampers for all sorts of exotic machinery.
Dave O'Neill 2

Good enough then. And if that's the case, all damper requirements should be sent to him. Problem solved. His website doesn't work too well. I couldn't open the damper section. Do you know how much he charges?
Lawrence Slater

Looks like the web site people are a bit careless with link spellings, the damper page is http://www.stevsonmotors.co.uk/Dampers.html but doesn't really tell you much. Same for braking http://www.stevsonmotors.co.uk/Braking.html

This sort of thing can be missed if it was originally on a Windows server and then moved to a Unix one where file names are case sensitive.
David Billington

Seems like there would be someone in the UK that actually rebuilds them similar to Peter Caldwell here in the US. He sleeves the shaft, and machines the body for a lip type oil seal, and I think he also installs some bushings. Straight forward type work once someone sorts out the details.
Trevor Jessie

Chap in Croydon did my T type shocks 15 years ago. Had to drill out one of the new frog ones from AH Spares to make them fit, when I mentioned it to them they could not be that bothered.
mog

I have a set of Calver/Worldwide lever arms with the spacer twixt arm and body.
One set with - one set without.
Alan
www.masckent.org
Alan Anstead

I have a set of Calver/Worldwide lever arms ....

Hmmm ....now thats an interesting pairing of modernday names

Prop
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

I flushed out my LA dampers and refreshed the foul smelling oil hydraulic oil with slightly thicker Silkolene fork oil to take up any wear in the pistons/bores. Works a treat. No idea what the point of the spacer could be...
Mark O

I just spoke on the blower to the chaps Dave mentioned. Brilliant.

Not only do they really know their stuff, and can recondition the shocks properly, but they also sell new ones, that they personally select, open up, clean out, and refill with oil before they sell them. And he says they should be good for circa 45K miles, -- PLUS.

Mine are getting tired. I've also got a frontline tele setup that needs rebushing. But now I know about Stevson Motors, I might just sell the frontline kit and buy new lever arms instead, or have my tired lever arms reconditioned by them.

PS. From talking to the chap at Stevson, that spacer is because the rod isn't pressed on properly, and the spacer is taking up the slack. They can correct that too.
Lawrence Slater

The bush of the lever arm often wears out because the dampers are bolted without feeling or measuring if there is any lateral force on the arm. I always have to put some washers between arm and trunnion link.
Flip
Flip Brühl

I met the chap from Stevson at the Beaulieu Spring Autojumble. Seemed to know what he was talking about. He relieved me of all my old dampers I had for sale and said they should all be good to go with a bit of work.
Bob Beaumont

That's interesting, Bob.

I offered him a load of dampers, some years ago, but he didn't want them.

Maybe I'll try again, as I have a big pile of them.
Dave O'Neill 2

Lawrence,
Are you willing to pass on approx costs for Stevson's dampers. Does he actually refurbish one's existing or simply take them in px for a "new" set. I ask because I'm not convinced that at least one of my dampers which were Moss "upgraded etc" isn't a piece of scrap from the outset!
Matt1275

Matt
i rang stevsons and spoke to the owner and he was very helpful and explained what they do to refurb them and also that most are scrap .Suggest you give them a call
mark 1500 on the road Preston Lancs

Hi Matt.
I should have posted it fresh. I can't remember how much he said now. But a new one from them wasn't any more than a new one from Moss I don't think. Although because they select the ones they sell, and clean them out before they sell them, they must be better. They give a 2 year warranty on them I think he said.

For repairs to your existing ones, he said they won't go above 60 quid. If it's going to cost more than that to fix them, he says it's not worth it, and you'd be better off with new ones.

As Mark said, give them a call. And then do what I should have done, post the prices here. Stevensons won't mind I'm sure.

Or even Stevsons, lol.

Lawrence Slater

This thread was discussed between 14/08/2015 and 26/08/2015

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