The MGA Suspension & Steering Upgrades & Alternatives section covers four distinct upgrade categories. Polyurethane bush kits replace the original rubber suspension bushes with a harder-wearing material designed for fast road use. Rear telescopic damper conversions allow owners to replace the original Armstrong lever arm dampers with a telescopic arrangement. Uprated lever arm dampers allow owners who prefer to retain the original lever-arm configuration to fit rebuilt dampers with revised valving.
Aftermarket steering wheels and associated boss kits provide alternatives to the original Wilmot Breeden wheel. Each of these upgrades is optional rather than a factory specification, and concours restorations should retain the factory suspension, damper and steering-wheel specification rather than fit any of the upgrade options in this section.
Polyurethane bush kits
Polyurethane bush kits replace the original rubber suspension bushes throughout the car. Fitting polyurethane bushes improves handling during high-speed cornering while reducing tyre wear, cabin noise and vibration. The bushes are manufactured using hot injection moulding for improved consistency and, where the bush geometry allows, incorporate an internal cross-hatched design to retain lubricant, eliminate noise and reduce stiction in service. Kits are guaranteed against defects for two years from purchase and are supplied with a polyurethane-compatible grease sachet to ensure long service life.
The compound is designed for fast road use: sufficiently pliable to avoid a harsh ride on road conditions, but slightly stiffer than standard rubber to minimise deflection under cornering loads for a more controlled driving experience. Full detail of the polyurethane bush kit range is covered under the Polyurethane Bush Kits node.
Rear telescopic damper conversions
Rear telescopic damper conversions replace the original Armstrong lever arm rear dampers with a telescopic damper on mounting brackets specific to the MGA chassis. The conversion is covered in the Rear Telescopic Damper Conversions node, which should be consulted for detail of the specific kit supplied. Owners considering a rear telescopic conversion should note that the original lever-arm damper is the factory specification, common to every MGA variant as set out in the Rear Suspension node, and a conversion will change the appearance and behaviour of the rear suspension from that factory baseline. For concours restoration, the original Armstrong lever arm damper should be retained.
Uprated lever arm dampers
Uprated lever arm dampers are rebuilt Armstrong lever arm units with revised valving and are the option for owners wanting improved damping performance while retaining the factory lever-arm configuration and appearance. One factory-approved variant of uprated damping already exists within the MGA production specification: Twin Cam cars could be fitted with higher-setting hydraulic valves to both front and rear shock absorbers as a competition option. This modification is believed to have been available from approximately January 1959 and was recommended for circuit racing. Twin Cam cars identified as having the competition-specification higher-setting valves should retain that specification when dampers are renewed.
For further period-correct front damping modification, Andrex friction-type TE.1 competition shock absorbers were factory-available as a supplementary front-suspension addition on all MGA variants except the 1600 Mk II. The Andrex TE.1 is a friction-type damper fitted alongside the standard Armstrong unit through special mounting brackets. It is not interchangeable with a telescopic unit and is not suitable for use in combination with the optional anti-roll bar, the two are mutually exclusive factory options.
Aftermarket steering wheels and boss kits
Aftermarket steering wheels of various diameters, rim materials and spoke configurations are available as an alternative to the original 16½ inch Wilmot Breeden wheel. Each aftermarket wheel requires a boss kit specific to the wheel brand and matched to the MGA's steering column specification. The Steering Wheels & Gearknobs node covers the range of aftermarket wheels and the associated boss kits. Owners ordering an aftermarket wheel should specify the wheel brand at ordering so that the correct boss kit is supplied.
For cars being restored to concours standards, the original Wilmot Breeden four triple-wire-spoke wheel (or the optional Bluemels wood-rim wheel covered under the OE Steering Wheel node) should be retained rather than an aftermarket alternative.
Ordering considerations
Polyurethane bush kits are supplied as car-specific kits rather than as individual bushes, and suit every MGA variant.