Henry Boler

So you now have a completely bump free ride on your car with the Spax units fitted? Have you driven with the car loaded? Passengers and luggage and gone over any dips on the road yet? Henry

Sounds like a good idea to me! I spent hours turning the workshop upside down and cannot find the shims I was after. However... I found these...

That is basically the issue, whether of not I pop the silencers on for the trip. Looking like I should at the moment so I'll add that to the to do list!

I will go on another shim hunt toonight then and see if I have more luck than last time!

I will do lots of digging! I have a couple of questions, 'GB' Badge, I assume I have to have one, does it have to conform to any standards or can I just pu my old aluminium AA one on? Noise is still a concern, my car doesn't have silencers, I have driven it like that in england for about 5 years, I've been pulled over for a spot check and not had a problem and she goes through MOTs no problem (the MOT guy did have to phone the DLVA to double check it was okay to). Are any of the above countries aggressive on loud cars? Obviously it is subject to driving and I can make it fairly quiet by being gentle etc. but there is a limit of course without stopping the car! Henry

Yeah, it could go lower, it's funny as I expected the car to drop on the floor when I lowered it down onto the new springs! I like the idea of the camber setting board! Quirky! Just got to find somewhere level to do it! Henry

Please excuse how filthy and neglected she is!

Okay, so the springs Markus sent are now fitted. They are much shorter than the ones I took out, I had to fit spacers to get them to work and they don't require spring compressors like the others do for installation. Having said that, Markus reckons they are 500 lb springs, they are perfectly comfortable to drive with, the car looks perfect now height-wise, the front matches the rear ride height. It drives fine, no fouling on anything anywhere and the full lock seems to work better, steering is easier at full lock. Need to sort the tracking now though as she is a little unstable. ​ I would post a photo, but apparently the forum is having a bad day... Henry

Excellent, thanks all for the replies! I am going to start making a check list of everything I need to remember to do/take with me I think. Interesting thing about spares, my car never fails with fixable faults... Always gearboxes and drive shafts etc... I have redundancy in the ignition system as it is hybrid so can be switched between standard ignition and electronic at the flick of a switch if either fail. Before I leave I will take the fuel pump to bits for a check over as that has caused me more problems than anything else, well, my old one did anyway! John - Waiting is not an option as a lot of the holiday is already booked, that is the accommodation. This holiday is long planned to celebrate my girlfriends return from her long degree in Manchester and she's got a lot of plans already. One thing we have looked at is the Spa classic weekend in Belgium is going to be the beginning of our holiday. Regarding race tracks like Nurburgring, we'll be driving right past it. I can't make my mind up as to whether or not I want to take the car on a track, especially with it being at the beginning of the holiday. Also Lancaster insurance explicitly state you're not insured on The Nurburgring, and from what I understand, if anything goes wrong there your bank is gonna break! Spa might be an option as it is fuelled up for classics that weekend so less millionaire maniacs in Nissan GTRs etc. than that of the Nurburgring! Part of me wants to, but it makes me nervous. Henry

I guess it's just a case of putting some decent time to it! Getting very close now with the rear suspension. The latest revision on the brackets is working very nicely now, even with a full car and heavy people!! Also, Markus has very kindly sent me a set of front springs he had spare to try out and see what the results are like, so I'm looking forward to doing that! Henry

Hi All, I'm after a bit of advice about driving through Europe. Namely Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Italy, France and (albeit not in the EU) Switzerland. At the end of June, my girlfriend and I are making the above trip over three weeks in the GT6 for a laugh! I know what things I legally have to carry in the car etc. Are there any rules for Classic cars I should be aware of? What is Europe like on loud cars? Can't find anywhere that mentions that one... Henry P.S. Oops, I posted this in the wrong chat room! Can it be moved? (Thanks!)

Looks like it's all pretty well confirmed then! I've no idea what I did with all the spare shims, gotta keep hunting. Car is definitely on positive front camber though at the moment. Right old dark art this suspension malarky! H

Also, shorter springs are easier to adjust later with spacers, long ones aren't...

Well, I'll have a look at the camber this weekend anyway as I thing it is positive at the moment. And extra shims will add weight to the front end . Are there any views on the Canley Spring option at all? Henry

So it looks like I need to get new springs and have a look at the camber then. Henry

So, my coil springs measure around 8.75", a bit more than the 8.06" specified! Henry

Okay, on the wishbones, I only have one shim per bracket on all four. I did, however, buy lots of them for when I got round to doing it properly, and they are all stainless so no rust issues. Adding shims would definitely work out a lot cheaper if that is what needs doing! Henry

I've got the car with me at work, so I'll pop out and measure the springs at some point. It might be possible that the wheels need pushing out at the bottom a bit. Need to have a good look on level ground to be sure. There were some crude spacers and things, not matching on either side before I rebuilt the car, but now nothing but the spring in there. Shock absorber plate at the bottom is touching the spring, then theres the top plate on the sping which is bolted straight to the suspension turret. Henry

I'll dig out an old standard spitfire one and check the measurements, I believe they are the same. Interesting thought about the camber and tracking, the answer is I don't really know. I think the tracking is good, I did it myself 2 years ago with string etc. and tyre wear has been good since, but camber, never really got round to doing that... How much of a difference are we talking? Henry

As I said above, the damping is adjustable, the height is not. I have a small knob on the bottom of my shock, that is all. Henry

On another note, does anyone know if it's possible to dismantle GAZ shocks for servicing? I've never looked. Henry