SpitfireGeorge Posted November 1, 2020 Report Share Posted November 1, 2020 Hi Guys, Looking at my Autopress WM for Spitfire Mk3 & 4 1969 to 72, pages 78/79, it shows the swing spring has a small centre bolt that fits in a recess in the diff housing presumably securing the plate to the bottom leaf. The Rimmer's catalogue does not show this nor does it include it in the component list under the exploded diagram. Is it still required or was it dropped as unnecessary.? I am going to fit a new swing spring to my Mk3 during the new lockdown and I have all the bits except that and its nut. Cheers, George Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NonMember Posted November 1, 2020 Report Share Posted November 1, 2020 Your description sounds a little muddled to me. There is no "centre bolt" into the diff. There's a locating stud on the bottom leaf, which is important for locating purposes but not for securing. The spring is held in place by the cage clamping down on it from the corners. Early (fixed spring) cars had six bolts clamping a plate down on the top leaf with a dowel through all the leaves. The swing spring has a cage which clamps the bottom leaf and includes a horizontal (front to back) pivot tube that the other leaves rest on. The Rimmers drawing may not explicitly show this, as it's drawn from a top view, but if you look at the photos of the springs you will see the stud on the bottom leaf. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted November 2, 2020 Report Share Posted November 2, 2020 Canleys say that 'rather than having a rigidly-mounted transverse leaf spring, only the lower leaf of the spring is bolted onto the differential. The remaining leaves are mounted in a box with a pivot through it so that the upper leaves are ‘floating’. So: they appear to state that it's bolted and indeed it does look like a bolt, but it's actually not completely threaded, and just sits in the hole on top of the diff. Only the top is threaded and the nut just keeps it in place once pushed upwards through the spring; the stud section being thicker than the threaded top portion. I've managed to find a clearer photo of one of my own and it's clear it's just a stud, fastened to the bottom leaf by a threaded upper section and nut, and the pivot bolt and tube passes through above it. The entire box is bolted to the diff, not the spring as you would believe from the wording on Canleys site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted November 2, 2020 Report Share Posted November 2, 2020 and the off centre clamp is removed its just for transit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteH Posted November 2, 2020 Report Share Posted November 2, 2020 Hi My 13/60, is slightly different?, having a plate interposed between the lowest (fixed) leaf and the others above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted November 2, 2020 Report Share Posted November 2, 2020 9 minutes ago, PeteH said: Hi My 13/60, is slightly different?, having a plate interposed between the lowest (fixed) leaf and the others above. That is an aftermarket swingspring, with te plate in the usual place. Colins pic is missing the plate, it would be very i=odd to fit that style of spring without. (I expect it is not in Colins pic so the bolt can be seen) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted November 2, 2020 Report Share Posted November 2, 2020 53 minutes ago, clive said: (I expect it is not in Colins pic so the bolt can be seen) Top of the class, Clive - the plate obscures the nut / stud head so I prised it out before the photo. The bottom leaf fits into the groove on top of the diff and the plate then fits flat across the screw holes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NonMember Posted November 2, 2020 Report Share Posted November 2, 2020 1 hour ago, PeteH said: My 13/60, is slightly different?, having a plate interposed between the lowest (fixed) leaf and the others above. As Clive says, the plate is part of the cage, just missing in Colin's photo. The bit sticking up in the middle of your diff would normally be attached to the bottom leaf - either the nut thread has stripped or it's rusted into the diff casing (or both). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteH Posted November 2, 2020 Report Share Posted November 2, 2020 29 minutes ago, NonMember said: As Clive says, the plate is part of the cage, just missing in Colin's photo. The bit sticking up in the middle of your diff would normally be attached to the bottom leaf - either the nut thread has stripped or it's rusted into the diff casing (or both). That`s quite interesting, as when I had it stripped, because it appeared to be a stud screwed into the casing I did not attempt it`s removal, I just removed the nut with a slim spanner, cleaned the leaves up and reassembled it. Pete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpitfireGeorge Posted November 2, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2020 Thanks Guys, I will contact Rimmers or Canley and get it and nut ordered. Cheers, George Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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