One of my plans for the new year is to rebuild the front and rear suspensions
on my TR-6, but before I rip the poor car apart I thought I'd see if anyone
has any suggestions or advice. I intend to start with the rear end, and
the reasons I believe it needs work are that:
- The rear wheels don't track the front, and
- There's quite a bit of squat on acceleration.
The obvious items to replace are the trailing arm bushings and springs, but
I figured that I might as well do the shocks and odd rubber bits while I'm
in the area. I've perused catalogues from TRF, Moss, and Victoria British
and resigned myself to spending close to $300 for parts to do this, but I
still have a few questions regarding the overall job. For instance:
1) TRF and Victoria British offer "competition" grade springs for a few
bucks more. I assume that they are stiffer, but I don't know how much
that buys a daily driver car -- are they worth it?
2) I seem to remember someone recommending nylon bushings for the trailing
arms, but I didn't see them listed anywhere. Again, what's the concensus
on their value?
3) What about shocks? New lever arms seem to run about $80 each, and the
conversion kits for telescopic shocks aren't any cheaper. Should I go
with new lever arms, try and find some rebuilt ones, or make the switch
to telescopic?
4) I'm hoping to avoid messing with the bazillion U-joints in the rear end
when I do this job -- is this a reasonable hope?
5) Once I get everything put back together I need to have the whole mess
aligned, but haven't a clue as to where to get it done. Has anyone had
any success getting this job done at Joe's Really Good Alignment Shop,
or should I plan on taking it to an LBC guru?
6) Any words of wisdom from someone who's been down this road before?
Thanks for all the sage advice -- if I don't destroy the car this time around
I'll be back with more questions about the front end.
Ron
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Ronald C. Hood U S WEST Advanced Technologies
hood@uswest.com Boulder, Colorado
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