Simon,
My first approach would be to check steering alignment - both front and
rear. Any decent tyre place can do this for you - many will check for free,
then charge you for adjustment if it is necessary. However, they are
unlikely to have the specs for a Spitfire handy, so bring along your
handbook or Haynes manual for the specs!
If the rear alignment is out, it is unlikely the tyre shop will be able to
fix it, as the fix involves adding or removing shims from under the front
bracket for the radius arms. Also, it is highly likely this bracket hasn't
been moved in 25 years (oops, more like 35, I just noticed how old your car
is), so it may not come off too easily.
If you need shims removed, and the tyre shop manages to get the brackets
off, they can do this for you there and then; if you need shims added, they
can be purchased (I believe, never had to buy any myself) from the usual
suppliers, or you could probably make them up easily enough yourself, after
all they are nothing more than a steel plate with a couple of holes for the
bolts to pass through.
Have you noticed any excess wear on the inside or outside of your tyres?
This can be pretty indicative of out-of-alignment tyres. Equally, it could
just be indicative of suspension sag, not unknown on old Spitfires...
Richard & Daffy
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Important Notice:
The information in this email is confidential and may be legally-privileged.
If you have reason to believe you are not the intended recipient, any
disclosure,
copying, distribution or any action taken or omitted to be taken in reliance on
it is prohibited and may be unlawful and you are requested to contact the
sender
urgently and dispose of this email
-----------------------------------------------------------exp.
/// spitfires@autox.team.net mailing list
/// or try http://www.team.net/cgi-bin/majorcool
/// Archives at http://www.team.net/archive
|