13/60 rear spring

[david lewis]

hi all,

compliments of the season.

i am thinking of fitting a new  courier rear spring from canleys with a 1 inch lowering block and renewing all the bushes to my 13/60/

the rear end crashes and bangs and hops about on over bumps so is in need of attention,the s/absorbers are new woodhead monroes but they made no difference

what does the panel think ?

cheeers

[Pete Lewis]

After a swinger which I found hopeless on the Vit6 we fitted courier witha 1"block

this put the car on rails in comparison

With any or the small chassis rear ends you must set the toe as per the manual with the 150lbs on each seat, if the toe is wrong it will side skip on pot holes and bump steer the rear end.

 

witha courier and block you need longer studs from canley, and the tin cover will foul on these so an alternative is needed , I used a thick truck mud flap with a few self tappers

 

pete

[Gary Flinn]

One thing to check is that your rear Trunnion Bushes haven't seized up?

 

If they have this will prevent the correct operation of the suspension and this may be the problem.

 

Merry Christmas!

[david lewis]

thanks for your comments ,the trunnions are not siezed and the shocks are new and working  but the rear end crashes over small bumps and potholes like there is no damping !.

cheers

[Clive]

Are the shocks working correctly? They should give firm resistance in both directions. Have to disconnect one end to check. 

 

Re courier spring, they are brilliant once settled. Had one on my old herald estate with the 1" lowering block, really good on autosolos!

 

Another thought, not so much crashing but more skipping, has the rear wheel alignment been checked? that can make a car horrible if wrong.

[david lewis]

i am not sure how to check alignment--any info please

[Clive]

You need 2 housebricks (or similar sized blocks) a tape measure, assistant and 2 stright (ie dead straight) bits of timber/metal etc about 2 feet long or so.

1. Make sure car is on level ground and in normal running condition, weights (or more assistants!) on seats to replicate front passenger and driver. Car must not have been just jacked up....

2.place bricks against bottom of each tyre

3. Place you straight bits of timber/metal on the bricks, with the centre central to the wheels, JUST touching the tyre at the front and back.

4. Measure the distance at the front and back of the timber. 

 

I reckon to set mine at 0 toe in. ie distance at front and back the same. If unsure (it is tricky) set if anything a tiny amount of toe in. No more than 1-2mm

 

Same applies at the front....

[Pete Lewis]

the workshop manual says 150lbs on each seat to satrt with , this sets the static ride height of the suspsension

 

get two lengths of decent timber thats straight. to use as a trammel  ( straight edge)

 

place against the tyre side wall, above the bulge at the bottom,  add two short legs or sit on a brick will work.to raise it a few inches

 

have a trammel against both rear tyres and with the other hand hook a nice bright tape measure over the timber in Front of the tyre,  with the other hand !!  run round to the opposite side and measure the distance between the two timbers, keeping them in place ( with more hands) 

 

note the dimension

 

now measure the dimension at the rear of the tyre 

 

the difference between the two readings is the amount of toe in or toe out you have

 

always do this after rolling car forwards  not backwards 

 

you can do same with the front tyres , with radials youre looking for parallel   0  to  a 3mm max toe in  .... no toe out 

 

so the front dimension should be slightly smaller than the rear or if zero parallel  both being the same  

 

always aim for 0 toe

 

rear toe is adjusted by adding shims to the tie rod or if on some GT6 they are adjustable if not seized

 

loading the car sets the suspension in its mid ride stance this is important as the toe changes with ride heights , some manuals do give an unladen toe

 

so do a bit of reading first may save getting sacks of coal or rent a crowd round for tea.

 

Pete

[david lewis]

thanks guys --great info.

cheers

[mishmosh]

so no votes for the swing spring ? 

[Pete Lewis]

Some love them some dont depends what its fitted to if you dont like body roll dont fit one.

on a spit with a low c of g its good

 

On my Vit6 Saloon my vote 10/10 for hateful , low , rolly , no load possible

 

the courier with the later thick ARB Made her on rails

 

pete so....... why did I sell her !!!!

[david lewis]

hi all, does anyone have the toe in figures for the 13/60 when it is unladen ?

i am gettting too old for hauling 150lbs sacks about and my back would not stand it and i do not think i could round up a bunch of guys and ask them how much they weigh.

cheers

[Pete Lewis]

Get the family round or rent a crowd sit them on the seats

 

 

I ll have a look , there are figs for some gt6 not published for herald/vitesse

 

pete

[david lewis]

thanks pete,to give you an idea of my families interest in cars when asked by our local garage what car it she was    booking in for a service my wife replied --its a blue one (honestly ) !!!! and the rest of the family similarly disinterested

so i have little chance of their interest or help.

cheers

[Pete Lewis]

David have a lookmat the chart Cookie posted under the gt6 geometry heading as thisnshows the relative diferences on gt6 and vitesse whilt these are all 6 cyl it makes similar basics for 4 cyl as well

Example front toe

laden shows as 1/32nd " with tolerance of 0.79mm

 

unladen 3 /32nd " tol 0.79mm

 

dont ask why imperial and metric are mixed

 

but you can see the unladen grows the toe in this is generally the way it changes on many a car.

 

what good old triumph dont tell you is this at the rim or the tyre perifery as this is important

 

if you aim at 0 laden then where you measure dosent matter as they are parallel.

 

Eg. 3/32 " at the tyre gives approx half the angle as if taken at the rim

 

One useful and cheap is

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gunson-G4008-Trakrite-Wheel-Alignment/dp/B0012M9KEC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452243122&sr=8-1&keywords=trakrite

 

just run over it with driver and a passenger and set to zero side slip simpluze !!! It measures angle of slip not width dimentions across the car

 

 

If you have excessive toe, there can be some horendous sideways drag over a mile and soon scrub off the rubber

have to dig out the the oldtrig tables

[david lewis]

thanks pete

[68vitesse]

I would also check the amount of travel left on the rear shock absorbers when the car is at normal ride hight. One of he major suppliers tried to sell me some which would have been nearly fully compressed, also at a show some new old stock being sold as suitable for Herald/Vitesse had the same problem.

 

Regards

 

Paul