Ok, my turn to ask. I have brought this up before, but am still thinking
about it. The front end ride height of the Alpines vary greatly. I wonder
what is "correct."
I fully rebuilt my very late SV front end when I restored the car. Now
that I am rebuilding the SIII, I figured I would just swap front ends.
Some have commented that the SI-SIII front ends might be superior because
of the different A-Arm bushings. But then, Dan Walters suggested to me
that he has rarely seen the early bushings made to fit properly,
eliminating any benefit. The early Series stuff is disappearing and there
does not seem to be much incentive (read: $$$) for suppliers to make it.
The SIV and SV stuff is the same as the Tiger so the incentive is there.
The SI-III front end also had a cross brace on the top of the front end
towers that was later dropped. It was not added for the Tiger so I wonder
if it really adds something that I will ever miss.
The one thing that I have noticed is how different the ride height is of
the front ends of the various Alpines. My very late SV has a very large
gap between the top of the front wheel and the wheel arch. You can easily
fit your fist in there. I have seen earlier cars where the gap is very
small. Now this can be attributed to a number of things. First, sagging
springs and rubber insulators can drop the car. Rick at SS has told me
that most Tiger owners do not realize that the front ends of their cars
should be much closer to Alpine ride heights, but years and years of
sagging springs has affected their memories.
Second, I have heard many people mention that the spacers between the cross
member and the car have disintegrated. That would cause the car to drop
(but then why doesn't the front end become loose and bounce all over the
place). I know that VB used to sell those spacers and in their catelog
they specified the particular VIN number that started using them (the '97
one in my office does not list them). I don't know why these were added.
Was it with the new front end to get the alignment right? Or, was it
another factory method of de-emphasizing the fins?
I have mentioned more than once "very late SV" only because I have noticed
other very late SV's that ride as high, and wonder if the factory did
something different. I have also seen more than one mention that the Mark
II Tiger and the very late SV have more similarities that any of the other
Alpines and Tigers.
Well, I've finished my thoughts and realize that I really haven't asked a
question. I have to decide for myself what makes sense for me. But, if
anyone knows any of the information to fill in the holes above, fire a
away.
Jay
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Tue Sep 05 2000 - 10:36:07 CDT