[Tigers] Tiger Front Suspension - Part I

[Mike Hokanson]

Part I of reply to the list - Sent it once already but it didn't show up so
maybe it was too long.  The front suspension topic has risen again and my
inbox has started to swell a little bit, so I thought I'd pipe up and let
people know what's going on.  I've been busy getting crossmembers built, but
at the same time I've had a large list of things that needed to get done this
spring as far as house projects, shop upgrades, etc.  The suspension design
has pretty much settled in a little bit and only minor changes are being made
at this point.  Out of all the crossmembers I've built, only two of them are
identical.  The rest are different in track width, steering rack placement and
brake/spindle package.  They are pretty much made to order, and that is
largely due to how the Tiger owner wants to modify his car as far as brakes,
spindles, wheel offset, etc.  But one item that most people overlook is the
motor placement in the car, and that makes a big difference.  When the
steering rack is moved back over 5" in the car and is positioned between the
back side of the balancer and the front face of the pan, not all crossmembers
would be interchangeable.  Believe it or not, I have a large disparity in
where the motor sits in many Tigers.  Some people have swapped motor mounts;
some motor mounts currently available do not fit the way an original setup
did.  Some cars have had new front ends grafted on, and so on (frame lugs
moved, changed or modified).  I've had measurements from one owner to another
differ well in excess of 7/8".  Something to think about.