Mario wrote:
>What I'd like to ask the group is what any of you have
>done to fix weak leaf springs. My Tiger's rear end
>seems about 2" lower than the front, and the car
>bottoms over even mellow bumps, especially with two
>people inside.
Perhaps we should swap springs; mine is lower in front! :)
(Actually, I might have left out the front "isolators", oops).
>Victoria British has replacement springs for all
>Tigers/Alpines. Are these any good?
Cannot say about the springs, Mario, but _everything_ I've
bought from VB has been lower quality, and higher cost,
that parts sourced anywhere else (Sunbeam Specialty, Classic,
Tiger Tom's). YMMV, but _I_ consider VB my _last_ resort.
> If not, are there other sources?
C.A.T. 'Course you need to be a member, and I let mine
lapse, but the bits I've bought from them have been top
grade so far. I've heard a couple of folks complain that the
C.A.T. rears are arched so high it raises the rear of the car
too much; but have they, however, been comparing them to
old, sagging originals? Dunno.
>What about just adding a small lifting block between
>the existing spring and axle? Is this a bad idea?
??? Hey, I gotta get under my car tonite and look at
this, I thought the Tiger had the springs below the
axle, in that blocks would lower and not raise the car.
Hmmm, need to check this out-- I once had a set of lowering
blocks made for my Series V rustbucket, but couldn't
get them in due to interference with the add-a-leaf
helper springs I had put in (hey, there's an idea for you).
Dang, if I had missed that fact that the spring might be
on the wrong side of the axle, then I've definately qual-
ified for the Most Unobservant Award, as my nose was
six inches away at the time!
If the Axle is above the spring you could still raise the
back, Chevelle-style, with longer shackles. There's a piece
in "How to Make Your Car Handle" about doing this to
get the front and back eyes of the spring at the same height
in an effort to reduce roll-steer, even if you have to put in
some lowering blocks to get the ride height correct. Boy,
that seems like a lot of hardware under there! One good
thing about Tigers; with the Panhard rod back there, I would
not feel as bad about lengthening the shackles as I would in
a car that relied solely on the springs for lateral location.
>Or perhaps, just taking the springs apart, cleaning them
>and adding new spacers and lube? How about
>re-torsioning?
Short of re-arching (ya ever hear of local outfit Martin & Boyd,
Mario? Ar they still around?), I cannot imagine this raising
the car. BTW, I wonder if eye bushings, mebbe even in poly,
are available?
>Perhaps I should just chuck the whole
>thing and install a T-Bird IRS!?
Yes. Do so, and we'll all look forward to reading your tech
article on how to do it. :)
Larry Wright, Maryland "I can't get no-- Satis-traction"
1964 Sunbeam Tiger Mk 1 (302/285, T-5, Revolutions)
1996 Nissan 200SX SE-R ($TB, 17d BTDC, +25 MIR hp!)
1992 Toyota pick-up (Bilstein, Yoko AVS, Concordes)
ph 301.386.7979 fax 301.386.5333
and e-mail at home now! Larry.Wright@mail.wdn.com
|