This post follows on from the previous post showing the fitting of the
rear MG ZR 160 suspension. I managed to pick up a set of used MG ZR 160 suspension and refurbished it by powder coating the springs red and spraying the strut satin black.
Fitting the front suspension took five and a half hours start to finish, considerably longer than anticipated as it was quite tough to get the Rover's standard struts off.
Compressing the MG ZR 160 springs was a nightmare, even with our heavy duty spring compressors, so building the struts took more time than I had hoped.
As with the rear struts, the fronts were held in a vice and the springs compressed far enough to allow the top mounts to be fitted and secured. Below is a comparison between the old struts and the new one assembled in the vice. In the picture on the right you can just about see the boss my dad machined up for holding the struts securely in the vice. It turned out to be well worth the effort of making, without it, holding the struts would have been tricky.
With both struts built, the car could be put back together.
Most people reading this will be interested in how much of a drop you get. At the front end it was around 18mm. It settled a couple of mm lower than it shows in the images below.
After all that work, was it worth it? Most definitely yes, despite not being a considerable drop, it's made such a difference to the look of the car. It now sits much more planted on the road, with a better stance. The handling is far better, sticking to the roads round corners giving great confidence. When I get round to putting the MG ZR body kit on, it will look even better.
Another upgrade well worth doing.
