Hi, Guy!
My tuppence:
Re-engineering the suspension for fun, or out of curiosity for whether it
can be done, is O.K. But I would imagine that re-engineering it to solve a
problem would be much more expensive and involved than it would be worth.
If the suspension is rebuilt with stock parts and kept lubricated properly,
I would think that the most anyone would have to put into it would be two
rebuilds per lifetime.
I don't have the problem with the washers that you seem to be having. Not
sure what your problem is, but my washers have stayed located in the slots
just fine for 125,000 miles. Maybe yours are bent?
Steve Byers
Havelock, NC USA
'73 Midget GAN5UD126009G "OO NINE"
"It is better to remain silent, and be thought a fool
than to speak, and remove all doubt" -- Mark Twain
----------
> From: GuyWeller@aol.com
> To: Spridgets@Autox.Team.Net
> Subject: Front suspension thoughts (again!)
> Date: Sunday, August 02, 1998 6:01 AM
>
> Spent some while recently lying under the front of my sprite, just
looking and
> thinking - as one does from time to time.
> Two ideas :
>
> Firstly is there a modification to replace that threaded bolt / grease
thing
> that pretends to be the outer lower pivot point. Could one machine the
hole
> in the bottom of the kingpin to take a stock needle roller bearing and
have a
> pivot bolt that was clamped into the wishbone somehow ? Perhaps needle
rollers
> wouldn't take the hammering from the suspension movement ? Any comments
?
>
> Also the inner wishbone pivots seem to rely on good luck and the fact
that
> they sieze up rather than any engineering principles, to stay fastened
> together. Two larger stepped washers (one attatched to the pivot bolt)
locate
> into the thin and flimsy chassis mounting points. On my car these seem
too
> bendy so that the stepped washer won't stay properly located in the hole.
It
> looks like an improvement would be to fit a larger washer (larger than
the
> hole) between the rubber bushes and the chassis mountings. This would
make
> sure that the stepped washers didn't pop out by sandwiching the cassis
bit
> between two larger washers, with the smaller stepped bit between.
Perhaps
> there is something misssing on my car here ?
> What do race spridgets use ? or do you just secure everything with spot
welds
> and grind off when you want to dismantle ?
>
> Guy
|