MadaboutKitcars

If it passes the Mot Gary, I surely will drive it, and the passengers
door is likely to NEVER ever get done!!

Passengers only tell you to slow down...

I think the £55 for tracking is probably cheap, but will it be done properly? Not straight forward on a Spit with swing arm suspension.

I would invest the £55 in a tracking plate.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gunson-G4008-Trakrite-Wheel-Alignment/dp/B0012M9KEC

It's not as good as the original tool I used to have which was stolen... (BASTARDS) But when your car setup is somewhat non standard (drastically lowered?) it allows you to get the optimum settings without a data book and very simple to use.

I first came across this type of gauge at Charlie Oats garage on the A6 at Yelland. They used to assemble new Lotus 7's, Elans, Europas and other Lotus's, it was their only way of setting the front and rear tracking accurately.

You simply drive or push the car straight over the plate on reasonably flat level ground. If the needle moves it needs adjustment in or out, it tells you which. It works just as well on front and back, either side. It automatically compensates for camber. All it does is measure the tyre scrub, you want zero tyre scrub.

Gary, its just struck me what you meant, when you said "get it done"

Its not the cost so much as the principle, this bloke charged £60 to do all the caster, camber and tracking, which is fair enough, as that is a lot of fiddly work, but I told him I have set the camber at what I want, and the caster in not adjustable on this car, so all he has to do is one job, the tracking.
So he chews his lip and knocks a fiver off!

I would rather drive round scrubbing out the tyres and re-newing them when they wear out, rather than give that bloke one 'kin
penny of my money!

Don't use that muppet again... you must know someone in the trade? or maybe one can be recommended on this forum.

£55 for tracking is going rate around my way for an independent with a hudson laser wheel alignment rig. To make you feel better I had some lower arm bushes replaced on my XF and Jag charged £144 for 4 wheel alignment! After replacing my shocks last weekend that in tomorrow with my local indy and back £55 for alignment.

As soon as you mention "Jaguar" you are in financial trouble jonsey! I've had enough of them to have leaned the hard way.

Yes Gary, I spoke to a chap yesterday, who I used to buy tyres from about 35 years ago, he has retired now, but his son now runs a place, and will do the tracking after I get an Mot, so that should sort that one out.

Isn't it odd how things like that just "happen"?


P.S. Thanks for the info Ed, as ever!

My pleasure Scottie, they aren't a gimmick, in your case they are WAY better than all that laser s**t. They work with any car.

I think my original one was made by Laycock, it was about 3 ft long and pretty heavy. I had two, both stolen. I know where there is another but the owner won't part with it.

BTW, I think the Castor IS adjustable, I have the manual somewhere... No matter!

I have spent the morning on the car again, and still cannot face having to do the nearside door again, so I have just left it for now, it won't fall off at least!

I have finished the mopping, and got busy with the Mer, the shine has improved and I suffered with "snow-blindness" and had to go and get some sun-glasses!

The temp repair to stop further crack-damage on the bonnet has worked and I have touched it up with paint.

After almost two years of hard work, I decided I would NOT re-spray the car, and would learn to live with the tiny imperfections in the paint-work, so that is why I went ahead with the polish.

Ed, you are most likely right about the castor adjustment, you seem to be right about everything else, and I would not argue with you!

All these companies that build "new" XKSS's, slavishly follow the tradition of the short-nose D Type route, possibly quite rightly, and it just occurred to me that I probably have the only long-nose version of an XKSS in the world!

(Which of course is what I wanted)

And after such a long hard slog have earned the right to a smug smile about that!

Curiosity got the better of me! Found the link...

http://www.scribd.com/doc/48540023/Group-4-Suspension-Steering

This is an invaluable bit of info for anybody working on Triumph chassis, steering and suspension. Anybody who finds it useful should download the PDF because you never know when these sources may disappear.

The castor settings are near the bottom of the document. Briefly you shim the bottom wishbone front or rear as appropriate to adjust the castor, but need to keep an eye on the camber at the same time.


PS. This link also takes you to other Triumph data.

Thanks for that Ed, I had a quick look and it looks to be all very good stuff. Some of the diagrams I have never seen before!

Very useful as you say.

[IMG][/IMG]

It's looking really good Scottie I'd love to see it in the flesh one day?
Ed is right about the castor settings I know cos mine are way out but decided to leave them until the car is built with the full weight of the body/frame etc. on the car

Hey deggsy, what are the down-sides of having the castor angle too far out?
This area is something I'm not too familiar with.

Where are you based?

If the castor is too steep (too vertical or past that) the steering won't self centre and at speed becomes (dangerously) unstable. If the castor is too great, the steering becomes too stable, heavy and less responsive.

The angle is relative to the road surface, so lowering the front or back relative to the other end can affect the castor quite a bit. That's why you should have the car in average trim, usual level of fuel and an average person weight in the drivers seat etc.

Scottie are those sidewindows fixed?
If so,where do you put your right arm??????

I may have got away with it then Ed, as I have lowered the front and rear about the same, so I should not have affected the castor too much?

Rene, the side windows are bolted to the door with six bolts.

Although it only takes a few minutes to take the window off, as Steve McQueen did, because he lived in California where it never rained much.

In England we usually put both hands on the steering wheel when we drive, but it sounds like in Holland you hang one arm out of the window? :-)

Usually put my elbow on the edge of the door,my hand can still reach the steering wheel.........must do something to look cool............

Looking cool is what its all about Rene, which is why McQueen had one of these cars!

Take a look at this pic, there is a really cool place to put that arm..........

[IMG][/IMG]

My guess is that the chassis is exactly level with the road in your case Scottie!

It's quite easy to check without any special gear, if you take a brake calliper off, and screw two bolts back where the calliper attaches, with the car level (or as it would be if it were on it's tyres), place a small plumb rule against the bolts, they should be vertical with the steering straight ahead.

Scottie Ed answered your question for me (clever s@d) that's why I am leaving setting mine up until its fully built as I've also lowered mine. any adjustments to the ride height will require the settings to be checked. I am based in South wales

LOL, On the rare occasions I know the answer to a question I can't keep my fingers off the keyboard!

I like the side window chrome trim exactly what I am planning to do to mine great minds think alike wot? though I am planning on using a different windscreen.

What screen are you going to use then?
All of the ones I thought of, or other people thought of, were about 5 or 6 inches too wide, which is why I had to make my own!