Lowering the front suspension is only recommended for smooth track competition, as it can cause problems with speed bumps on the street. Installing shorter coil springs can cause problems with bump steer when lower suspension arms and steering links are no longer parallel to the ground. The better solution for lowering the front end of an MGA is to raise the steering knuckles (lower the swivel pins in the knuckles). This will keep the original geometry of the front suspension and steering parts with no other changes.

On 2/20/2024, Tyler in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA wrote:
"Barney, ... you said to raise the knuckle higher on the swivel pin for the front end. How does one actually accomplish this? Last time I checked, I thought those two pieces were pressed together with no latitude for adjustment".

Ah, how to raise the knuckle. Start with this for
Steering Arm and Swivel Pin Replacement

Notice the swivel pin has a shoulder that sits on top of the knuckle in assembly. .The procedure depends on how much you want to raise the knuckle. You could machine the swivel pin to remove part of the shoulder from bottom up). Or you could machine the knuckle to remove part of the top surface around the bore. Or you could counterbore the top of the knuckle to allow the pin shoulder to go down farther into the knuckle. Maybe a combination of these, like machine the shoulder back part way,and also counterbore the knuckle a little bit. And there will be the need to notch the pin again higher up to reinstall the steering arm.

If you want to lower the car more, you might completely remove the shoulder from the swivel pin, push it together to the position of your choice, and consider welding the parts together. Definitely do NOT machine a groove in the swivel pin for a snap ring. You might machine up a new collar ring (or a thick washer) to weld onto the swivel pin higher up to replace the original shoulder, so the parts could be disassembled again later. Otherwise you machine up a new swivel pin with the shoulder higher up.

If this sounds scary to you, then don't do it. This is not the proper modification to allow for use of coil springs with improper dimensions. The correct solution for that is to procure and install the correct coil springs as original. (At time of this writing, Scarborough Faire has correct coil springs for the MGA). That would be a lot cheaper than custom machining of the swivel pins and/or knuckles.