Lever Arms

[Keith66]

Hi All

That previous post on what rear shock conversion has concentrated my mind on getting my lever arms back in place.

So I've got some lever arms and new links etc., I’ve stripped, cleaned and repainted the levers, flushed them out and got some new Penrite Shocker Oil.

But I also want to replace the O rings as being old who knows how good they are.

But I’m not 100% sure what O rings to get or where from as I only need a few.

So looking at Bullfire.net a hugely impressive resource Ed identifies the O rings as "industrial sizes -111 and -113" but sadly that does not mean a huge amount to me at the moment.

So anyone got any further info on what a UK size might be and who would supply them in lass than bags of 50 which is all i have found at the moment.

Also once that’s done any guidance or rules of thumb regarding adjusting the lever arms for a first fit prior to driving and then what to and how to adjust.

Cheers

Keith

 

[rcreweread]

Keith

 

Save yourself the bother and get a pair of properly refurbished ones from Stevson Motors ( as often recommended by our late friend/fountain of knowledge, Alec ) - I suspect they are not far from you and not that expensive. No connection with them other than a satisfied customer.

 

Details are :

 

Stevson Motors,
Unit 1, 2a Harrow Road,
Birmingham,
West Midlands,
United Kingdom.
B29 7DN

Tel +44 (0) 121 472 1702
Fax +44 (0) 121 471 3312
E-mail Stevson Motors

 

Alternatively, contact Conrad on here as I believe he has a stock of refurbished ones from them.

 

Cheers

Rich

 

[Dave I O W]

+1

[michaeldavis39]

Just don't expect to have a good paint job done on them- had mine done and could rub the paint off with my fingers! Have had to completely strip them back down to bare metal and found they hadn't been painted with any primer- very shoddy lick and a promise so hope the mechanical work has been done to a better standard - time will tell when I fit them later this year.

[Litespud]

Keith66 - PM me a postal address and I'll put a few of the requisite o-rings in the post. I bought a 100-bag of each size

[simonjrwinter]

30% uprated leverarms........best, most noticeable improvement I've ever done.

 

simon

[stuart]

FWIW Stevsons only do 15% uprate for road use and as to the paint finish thats about what the factory did.

Stuart.

[michael pridham]

Very pleased with my Stevsons 15% recon shocks, nice ride but not to hard, plus 2 year warranty.

 

Michael

[michaeldavis39]

Maybe Stuart but does that mean I should have paid 1970s price too as it was not cheap by any means - I don't mind paying for quality but some people think that means charging high for very little work these days perhaps it's a British disease

[stallie]

An interesting conversation. I had it in my mind that my project car which still has original lever arms would be modified to a koni or pax rear suspension kit - to match my other TR which has the type 3 with Konis that I am very happy with.

 

30% uprated lever arms. Hmm. Food for thought.

[stuart]

Maybe Stuart but does that mean I should have paid 1970s price too as it was not cheap by any means - I don't mind paying for quality but some people think that means charging high for very little work these days perhaps it's a British disease

If you werent happy with the service you received then can I respectfully suggest you contact them and complain directly.

Stuart.

[michaeldavis39]

I'm just saying about my experience Stuart, you guys seem to think that everything's rosy there's nothing wrong with telling people about ones own experience be it good or bad so others can have a good overall view of what to expect - makes sense doesn't it?

[stuart]

Of course however its always best to contact the supplier first to see what they are prepared to do about it and then if they dont want to do anything by all means complain elsewhere.

I have to deal with sub standard parts every day of the week, I always complain to the suppliers/manufacturers first.

Stuart.

[jogger321]

So if I give my lever arms (nothing been done to them for at least 35 years!) to Stevesons and get them to do a 15% uprate can anybody describe exactly what difference I will experience

 

It also begs the question why they didnt leave the factory as original like this or am I missing something?

[Motorsport Mickey]

"So if I give my lever arms (nothing been done to them for at least 35 years!) "

 

Do you really think the standard lever arms are performing the same now as they did 35 years ago with over 100k in accumulated use and 350,000 deep pothole impacts ?

 

An upgrade by 15% will give you back what's lost and then a little stiffness so in 2060 you can think about what's to be done again. Back in the 1960s ( can't be more specific, your signature is sadly lacking what car you drive, it's year of manufacture and your location in the country, all of which will allow better information to be given to you, check out my signature and others). Your car when first registered was possibly on cross plies with a different profile to radial tyres and so a different compressive force would be employed for bump suppression. In the meantime nearly 60 years (see that's why we are guessing, no reg date) of road testing has proven that newer spring developments, tyres with different profiles and stiffer shells from learnt seam welding renovations which turns out shells markedly stiffer than a poxy 180 spot welds a side original offerings of inner and outer sills benefit from a slightly uprated shock absorber.

 

Mick Richards

[simonjrwinter]

With my uprated and reconditioned dampers it was evident as soon as I drove the car it was smoother and soaked up the bumps better. My wife noticed within 1/2 mile that the car felt much better than it had done before (and she never usually notices anything to do with the car!)

I’ve said to people I’m going to almost look at it like a service item and change the every few years.

Best “bang for the buck” In my opinion FWIW.

simon

[Keith66]

Hi All

 

I do know Stevson’s as they did some brake pipes for me some years ago which I was happy with so I did get them to quote for the refurb of my lever arms and can say I’ve have not heard anything bad about them.

 

My understanding is that the thing that controls the firmness of the lever arm is the strength of the springs that controls the oils access to the larger spring loaded valve, stronger spring firmer ride. But I’m not going to go uprated and I assume is where the tuning knowledge comes in, so with the cost of being around 80 each plus carriage for a full refurb I decided to have a go myself given I

 

So new gaskets, new O rings and new oil and a repaint, I can do that. If it turns out they need more I’ll get it done.

 

 

Cheers

 

 

Keith

Edited June 18, 2018 by Keith66

[saffrontr]

I fitted some brand new Moss uprated lever arms a couple of years ago in the hope that they would transform the handing back to how I remembered it from 35 years ago however I must have remembered it with rose tinted glasses because they were awful and I couldn't wait to get them taken off and my trusted TR Bitz brackets and Spax telescopics back on and I have to say that's how it will remain. £250 wasted that's for sure.

 

cheers

 

Derek

Edited June 18, 2018 by saffrontr

[Keith66]

derek

 

TBH i agree back to lever arms is a bit of an unknown for me so i didn't want to shell out £160 plus just to find out.

 

Some labour on my part new oil and O rings on ther other thand is worth a punt.

 

Cheers

 

Keith

[aardvark]

With my uprated and reconditioned dampers it was evident as soon as I drove the car it was smoother and soaked up the bumps better. My wife noticed within 1/2 mile that the car felt much better than it had done before (and she never usually notices anything to do with the car!)

Ive said to people Im going to almost look at it like a service item and change the every few years.

Best bang for the buck In my opinion FWIW.

simon

Absolutely agree with you Simon. When the wife notices, then something must have been done right. In my case, I had the lever arms reconned by racetorations. Top notch imho.

[RobinTR6]

Stevens did mine updated....what a difference and in my view more tractable, comfortable and better handling all round. I've tried the various telescopic alternatives but found the original levers updated with stiffer springs is the best I've experienced.

[Z320]

Hi Kieth,

 

for the links to the trailing arm, this is a more durable construction.

Perhaps an idea for you.

 

Ciao Marco

 

 

[Grahamgl]

Hi Marco.

Where did you buy those links from please?

Graham

[cvtrian]

Having spoken to Rimmers regarding a number of items, I am led to believe they are about to introduce, if not already available, drop links with rose joints similar to the above

Ian

[Z320]

Hi Graham,

 

they are my own idea and design, I introduced them some years ago at the german TR forum, they are made in my workshop.
If Rimmer want's to copy my idea I should ask them for special conditions for my next orders ???

There are two problems:
First the propper connection to the leaver arm, therefore I made a cone as the original link has.

Second the TR comunity used the lowest prices for scrap. I wanted to sell a pair of them,

but any price higher than the price for the scrap replicas is not accepted.

I know some TR fellows how made them theirself with some assistance from me, all are pleased.
I got the pair on the right photo still in my stock.

Ciao Marco

 

29.06.18 added details

 

 

Edited February 15, 2019 by Z320