Hello to everyone in Spitfire list land! I've been reading the list for
almost a year now be this is my first post.
Over the winter I decided that it was time to refresh the suspension on my
1980 Canadian import Spitfire. All of the suspension was factory original.
The car was undercoated very early in its life and all of the suspension
parts have the undercoat on them so I am assuming they were never changed.
I got Spax shocks for the front and a set of springs from a friend that also
has a Spitfire. Here is the problem I ended up with:
Before changing anything, the measurement from the ground to the top of the
wheel well was 23.5". I installed the new shocks and springs and the
measurement is now 22". That is a drop of 1.5" which results in tire rub on
the fender.
Now comes some of the weird parts: The springs that I installed have
markings of white/pink/white. They were the same free length as a set of
MkIII springs with purple marks. However I can't find any information about
the white/pink/white springs. There is a sticker that says they were made in
England. I can't see the markings on the original springs as they are
covered in undercoat, but their free length is almost 13.5" (no typo, that
is 13.5)
Does anyone know anything about springs with the white/pink/white markings?
Does anyone know why the original springs are so much longer than what is
documented? I am going to try the MkIII purple springs and see if that
raises the car a little to avoid the tire rub. Everything I have read
indicates that when the 75+ springs are replaced with pre-75 springs that
the ride height should only drop ~0.5", not the 1.5 that I got.
Any thoughts or ideas on this would be appreciated.
Happy Motoring
Chad Edwards
La Salle, Manitoba, Canada
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