MadaboutKitcars

Hi,
Would anybody offer advice on my post above, please?

Cheers, D.

Anybody......?

Thanks.

Nobody.....?

Hi Deni,
I don't visit the site very often and hardly ever post anything these days as I seemed to be talking to myself when I did !
However, in response to your question I would suggest the arms are near the limit of travel, especially the steering track rod end. An easy way to check is to note the current position, remove the coil over and see how much travel is left when you raise the assembly further by hand. Its not ideal at this angle but you might be ok if nothing goes tight, you'll still want a few inches of travel at the wheel from your starting point . You want to check the suspension arm bolts haven't been tightened at an earlier stage before your lowered coil overs were fitted otherwise the bushes will wear out really quickly as this position is your new neutral position .

Hello Paul,

Thank you so much for your response, I have already given up. Sadly, it seems that the future of this forum doesn't look promising ...
Unfortunately things do change...It's a shame, but I'm grateful to have received advice and guidance from experienced car builders in the past, and got so far not having any experience at all.
Especially with Miglia builds, not many people are posting for some reason, and if it wasn't for a couple of old blogs it would be quite challenging, at least for me, to build this car.
Anyway, I have learned much building this car and I hope I will muddle through and reach the finish line soon.

Thank you again for your advice, it is much appreciated. Thanks for confirming what I already suspected, that the position of the steering rack rod and the arms is not really good.
I'm not sure I quite understand the last bit, where you mention the suspension arm bolts being tightened before the swap. I'm guessing that they were, as the old spring were fitted prior the swap.

I think that the only good solution would be to buy and fit longer springs? I hope doing that would result in more acceptable suspension setup.
Unless there is a possibility to adjust the ride height independently from the spring height, which I'm not aware of?
I'm not sure if this is possible with the GAZ shocks I bought...???

I hope you are still keeping busy building the cars.

Cheers, Deni

deni those shocks look like they have adjustable perches, and looks like you are not at the limit of those. Have you adjusted those to your liking?
T

PS I'm looking for those photo instructions and will post some more of my pics when i find them. Photo bucket kind of died on me.

T

Hi Tim,

Yes, they are adjustable,I just wasn't sure am I to wind the spring seats up all the way to raise the car. I tried to research but didn't find out if that is the correct way to lover the car, i.e.use short springs (which I did), but I don't know is it safe, or is it normal to wind the spring seats all the way up.
Or, if I have to raise them all the way up, is it necessary or better to use a bit longer springs?

The way they are adjusted now is not my adjustment yet,I only raised spring seats enough so that the springs didn't move or rattle when the wheels are off the ground.

Regarding the posting of the photos, there is an explanation in my blog on page 13.

Thank you for your comment Tim.

Cheers,D.

Deni – Apologies, whilst I can’t help with the technical suspension questions, I should have said how good all your panel work is looking.



Also, whilst I can’t find the bonding paste I used on my car any more, it was something like this.

https://www.ecfibreglasssupplies.co.uk/freefix-6470-w-2

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/174567458755?var=473775894331

Finally, if the rain every stops for a week or more, I’m still game for meeting up & taking you for a drive.

Good luck, Paul.

Hi Paul,

Thanks for the comment on my paneling, I'm pleased how it turned out.
I'm not going to permanently install the panels yet, to avoid obstructing the access for fibreglassing and bonding the body to the subframe in those areas. But I'm done with making all the panels and they just need to be fitted later on.

I already bought the bonding paste, just like the one you used I think. I ordered it from fibreglass direct.

Going for a drive!!!! Mate that would be amazing, it's great you're still up for it!!!
I hope we can find a gap when we're both free and the weather is good. I'm away for the whole month in August though.

Also, I can come closer to yours, no problem, just let me know.

Cheers,D.

Hi Deni, I’ve been a bit quiet for a while, but finally stumbled on your question. You need to wind up (ie compress) the springs a bit more to raise the ride height - it looks quite low. The reference to the bushes above was - before you set your ride height by adjusting the springs, you need to slacken all of the pinch bolts for the wishbones. Then, once adjustments are done to your satisfaction and the car is sitting fully on its wheels, tighten to the appropriate torque. This sets the bushes' neutral position at normal ride height, and will prevent the rubber elements of the bushes from being twisted too much as the suspension moves up and down and tearing them.
Btw if you find you have to compress the springs too much to achieve the ride height you need, ie the springs are in danger of being totally compressed when you hit a bump, you need to consider longer or stronger springs, or both. At that point, I would be on the phone to a supplier such as Faulkner springs or Merlin Motorsport for advice. Hope this helps. Keep on keeping on with the build!

Hi Biggles,

Thank you for the explanation, it is much appreciated! This makes it clearer to me. I thought about this and did a bit of research, but your explanation is spot on and I get it now, so thanks a lot.

I will try to do this and post the update once I've done it.

Cheers, D.

More thoughts on adjustments of ride height etc
1/ it’s a light car, so remember it will settle a fair bit once the car is fully finished. Seats etc weigh a fair bit. Also in the final adjustments you ideally need to adjust for occupants as well, so use weights on the seats. If you weigh, say, 100kg and the normal passenger 50kg, simulate this. If you normally drive alone, simulate that, plus have 2/3 tank of fuel and the spare on board if you have one.
2/ If it’s not to far on in the build, try and distribute the various weights evenly and as close to the axles as possible, so don’t have the spare, battery, fuel tank all on one side, unless you are setting up for solo occupancy and you are using them to balance your weight. Having masses close to the axles helps reduce pendulum effect and encourages neutral handling.
3/ don’t run the car too low - a good rule of thumb is to start with the bottom front wishbone level and work from there. When making handling adjustments, always only change one parameter at once, so you can be clear whether an improvement or detriment has occurred. Locostbuilders forum and also the Westfield Eleven register has some useful info one tweaking setups, but remember for a road car, safety of handling comes first - you want plenty of warning from the chassis that you are pushing too hard, so don’t use sticky or overly wide tyres and for tyre pressures, probably start around 20 - 22 psi and go from there. Best of luck.

Hi Biggles,

How do you know I weigh 100 kg !!!! only kidding.

Some really great tips there. It makes sense taking the weight of the fuel tank, spare tyre and the passenger into consideration.

I think my weight distribution is as good as I could get.

Also,great advice on height setup and what to look for, as well as checking out Westfield and Locost builder forums . I will do more reading on this, it's quite interesting topic.

Very helpful advice,thanks a lot Biggles.

Cheers, D.

Deni - I'll try to contact you sometime next week so arrange a suitable date to meet up (sorry things are hectic here at the minute). Cheers, Paul.

Hi Paul,

No worries, looking forward to it.

Cheers,D.