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Completion update - New trunnion lock washer frustration


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Hi all

thought I would provide an up date now that I have finished all my suspension upgrades on the front.

test drove the car this weekend And after a glitch of a hub not seating that also overheated a brake we are all sorted. 
60 hilly and twisty miles yesterday and the steering is great, may be my imagination but the steering feels lighter and more responsive easier to recentre the steering.

the 420lb springs don’t feel too harsh that I was worried about.

i confess it took me ages to do this task as I started with shortened top wish bones But I couldn’t get the camber on one side. I thought it was my chassis.

so I decided to go the whole hog and fit an adjustable top fulcrum kit. With standard top wishbones (luckily all parts I have been gathering on eBay for a couple of years)

Turned out my issue was a seized ball joint :angry: ( new set from Rimmer’s but again from a couple years ago)

invested in the high articulated versions from revington eye watering price but they really do work And could have saved me literally weeks of messing about. 
 

(Had my issues with a trunnion that stripped threads.)

Fitted 420lb springs then took them out again as I thought they were too stiff. But then compared them to the ones that were on before and they were very similar so  refitted the 420lb.

then braided brake lines rubbed the wish bones so with the ace ball joints I  got the revington reroute brake line kit.

i then found the wheel rim rubbed the rear outer top wishbone so ground some of that off and bob kindly made me larger steering stops that I’ll fit when they arrive.

With the new ball joints and adjustable fulcrum I had full adjustment. 
but I had to take the springs out to fit the fulcrum nuts that need welding in place. Now I have never welded before but do have a ancient mig. ( came with a Daimler I bought years ago) I managed to weld the nuts in-place using a bolt to hold them in place from above. I’ll confess I also welded one bolt to a nut. There then followed many hours grinding the weld from the bolt with a dremel.

i found the camber, measured from the disc varied a bit through its travel (without springs) also with the new castor thus steering angle affected it.

so I fully fitted all the suspension and the wheel. jacked up the bottom wishbone until the car started to lift. I was then able to loosen the adjustable fulcrum bolts and adjust the whole assembly with the wheel. I then tighten the fulcrum bolts removed the wheels and tack welded the top plate. You then need to remove them fully to fully weld the plates and reassemble. Ensuring that the car is level whilst jacked.

finished off most of the underside of the car and suspension parts with Dynax uc .

tracked up with my string method 

test drive- sorted niggles- test drive and enjoyed.

took me bloody weeks !!!!

lessons learned sometimes it worth investing in parts that are safety and performance critical.

learn to weld

right tools for the right job

its a tight squeeze in a single garage.

very grateful for a very understanding wife.:wub:
 

jobs done in lock down 

Dynamo to alternator upgrade

volt metre fitted


dynax uc under body and suspension protection

complete front suspension up grade (camber castor springs)

 

big big thank you to all of you on the forum. Moral support, advice, making things - Test drive back up etc etc

 

please accept my humble  thanks- 

 

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Yes, left speechless by your account. Admittedly, can only half follow, owing to engineering ignorance, but picked up enough to understand you are a determined fellow who won't give up at the first (t)hurdle. ;)

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Bobs bigger steering stops Arrived today and fitted.

all safe and wishbones clear of wheels on both locks now.
thanks bob

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13 minutes ago, Hamish said:

Bobs bigger steering stops Arrived today and fitted.

all safe and wishbones clear of wheels on both locks now.
thanks bob

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Dont forget they should be adjusted to give a different back lock to front lock.

Stuart.

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I have done both side so it clears the wish bone at the back. This effectively forms the stop on the opposite front from what I can see.

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10 hours ago, MilesA said:

In awe, Hamish.

Looking forward to your vids with improved times, as I am sure you are.

Miles

I hope so Miles. My fear is I have made so many changes this winter and during lock down  that I have to re-learn the car.

its looking like our championship may be nul and void this year so any events will be for fun and set up.

Edited by Hamish
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55 minutes ago, iain said:

Nice work H

Iain

Thank you

not as busy as you though !! 
big job on the 3 by the look of it.

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I got bored today whilst I waited for gearbox oil to flow into the overdrive before topping up so I Had a look into the seized top ball joint and did a brief video of the ball joint that caused So much extra work.

Thought I’d share The view of my new ball joint  ( R bros from over a year ago) that seize up during fitting- obviously not enough to articulation with spring weight on it.


ps

this appears to be post no. 4000
:o

Edited by Hamish
Post no.
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It’s too stiff to use.

im no engineer bob as you know. 
 

I suspect it doesn’t have the min articulation of a standard part Under compression, thus when I fitted it without springs and shock With the Short top wish bones,  Standard bottom wish bones and vertices link moved smoothly.

but with 420lb spring on full droop must have forced it past its working angle and locked. 
 

Frustrating as the lack of movement prevented my camber setting so went the whole hog with moveable fulcrum and standard top wish bones, that also wouldn’t let me set the camber. 
found the ball joint seized swapped with the revington gold plated versions and it works.

couple of test drive show a marked improvement in steering - much lighter and some self centring, good brakes and springs not too harsh.

its a little high at the front,  I think due to poly spring spacers I fitted and stiffer springs with less give with body weight.
 

what is the height normal of the front chassis rails ?

 

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Those 420lb springs will sag a bit after some miles but only around 5mm. 
I’ll measure my chassis height for you this morning. 
I’d be surprised if Revs premium top ball joints aren’t the British made Amsteer ones. 
 

Edited by Drewmotty
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I’ve got 145 mm under the front crossmember. How does that compare?

370 & 380 mm wheel centre to arch. I was going to correct the 10 mm discrepancy but it messed up thecorner weights. 

Edited by Drewmotty
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1 hour ago, Drewmotty said:

I’ve got 145 mm under the front crossmember. How does that compare?

370 & 380 mm wheel centre to arch. I was going to correct the 10 mm discrepancy but it messed up the corner weights. 

Hi Andrew

thanks for checking and sharing your info.

I’ve just checked mine.

i have :-

150mm at the cross member

wheel centre to arch

NS 385mm

OS 375mm

i probably have 10 to 12 mm (compressible) poly spring spacers each side.

 

Rear  Hub centre to arch

NS 355mm

os 345mm

Uk car so OS is drivers side thus I suspect common for it to be a little lower ?!

H

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18 hours ago, Hamish said:

I got bored today whilst I waited for gearbox oil to flow into the overdrive before topping up so I Had a look into the seized top ball joint and did a brief video of the ball joint that caused So much extra work.

Thought I’d share The view of my new ball joint  ( R bros from over a year ago) that seize up during fitting- obviously not enough to articulation with spring weight on it.


ps

this appears to be post no. 4000
:o

Having had this seize up issue i was advised by a company at the race track in SPA that they always run the new joints in a drill until they are happy with them. I have not tried this but do understand their thinking. I am sure a fine grinding paste was mentioned if bad, which would need to be flushed out after.

Roy

Edited by roy53
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Rear arches are close to even at 340mm. 
Rear chassis height is 170 mm at the point where it kicks up. 
Arch heights on different cars tend to vary as the wings are variable. I’ve seen cars which look much lower and higher than mine  With similar chassis heights. 

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Just tried what i mentioned with a drill [ fairly powerful one ] and no joy. Whilst a bit of sideways movement the drill wouldn't move it so one for the bin.

Roy

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1 hour ago, roy53 said:

Just tried what i mentioned with a drill [ fairly powerful one ] and no joy. Whilst a bit of sideways movement the drill wouldn't move it so one for the bin.

Roy

I did think you were a bit ambitious in trying to turn it with a drill as if you could it would already be too worn for road use.

Stuart.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well after about 150 miles Of up hill and down Derbyshire dales I am happy with the suspension, the 420lb springs are not too much for the road, there is some self centering  due to the castor and the camber feels comfortable and the steering is, if anything a bit lighter. The lock to lock is a little reduced to keep the wheel rims off the wishbones. it seems stable at higher speeds In a straight line. The front is a little higher than it was ( springs and Thicker poly spring isolators) but may be nearer original and I can now get my jack under the front.

it been hot and dry on my test drives so the LSD hasn’t really kicked in. The 4.1 gives it some poke and it will run in top and top OD at very low revs.

the only downside I have is that 3rd od is the same as 4th.

i guess a 28% od would have been better ??

just need to try it at curborough sprint for a comparison.  If I get any entries for competition this year I might run the car with the hard top, we’ll see?

So far all the work done is working out.

 

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  • 1 month later...

After seeing my trials and tribulations about this post in the current TRaction magazine 323 I thought I could give another update as I have competed at Shelsely Walsh hill climb couple weekends ago.

it was a little damp in places especially under the trees in the esses but in competition time terms I achieved my fastest time up the hill of 42.03 seconds this being 1.6 seconds faster than previous best.

however, another major improvement to the car has been a change from a 3.7 to a 4.1 diff ratio with a LSD.

it seems to all work very well together.

I’m at Shelsely again on the 15/8 so hopefully it wasn’t a fluke run.

this was me at Shelsely 

 

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Well done Hamish, much cleaner second run with no lift at the first left as on the first run...takes me back, good stuff.

Mick Richards

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Well done all that work you have done looks like it is working for you, keep up the good runs. If they were allowing spectators we would of had a day out but looks like it will have to hang on till next year. We had a weekend at The Court House on site but there was no racing on but had a good look round and a walk up the hill.

Mike Redrose Group 

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