Dear All,
As you may know, I have had a Leaning Spitfire for the past couple of
years. In that time, I have not specifically tried to address the
problem, but, for other reasons, have fitted a new rear spring, new
front springs, new front shock absorbers, checked the anti-roll bar to
see that it was straight and true (and replaced the vertical links), and
done just about everything that the experts tell you will solve this
problem. Well, none of them worked - or rather, they all seemed to
help a little, but even at the end of all of this, the driver's side was
still around an inch lower than the passenger's side, and it was worse
at the back than at the front. The chassis is not twisted (I'd had
that checked too). The last expert to look at the car stated that, in
his opinion, the body tub must be twisted, perhaps as a result of an
accident.
Today, I decided to cheat. Rather than trying to find the cause of the
problem, and then trying to put it right, I thought I would simply shim
up the driver's side of the body, and the hell with it.
After having undone the front five bolts on the driver's side, I gave
the body an experimental shake (I really wasn't looking forward to
removing the petrol tank to get at the last bolt, and, as they say, you
never know...). Extraordinary to relate, the driver's side came up
like a phoenix from the ashes, and, on measuring, proved to be exactly
the same height as the passenger side, all the way along! The culprits
turned out to be home-made spacers of unequal thickness under the
*front* mounting points in the engine bay.
If you have a Leaning Spitfire, and nothing you try seems to cure the
problem, try undoing the mounting bolts, and see what happens. It may
be that your DPO was in as a great a need of a clue as mine...
And if you have driven a Leaning Spitfire for two years, and then
suddenly found the solution to your particular problem, you'll know why
I am absolutely bl**dy THRILLED with my day's work! <huge g>
ATB
--
Mike
Ellie - 1963 White Herald 1200 Convertible GA125624 CV
Connie - 1968 Conifer Herald 1200 Saloon GA237511 DL
Carly - **HORIZONTAL** 1977 Inca Yellow Spitfire 1500 FM105671
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