John Gillis wrote:
Here is another one from one of our club members. He has just finished a
body off restoration on his 1500 Spit. Everything was overhauled, running
gear, chassis and a full body re-build. When the time came to place the
body back on the chassis, the finishe car had a very odd stature. The front
of the car seems to be sitting very high (according to him, I have not seen
it). He claims he can fit a closed fist between the top of the tyre and the
bonnet wheel arch, in turn, at the back there is only an inch or two
clearance (about normal I guess). Before everyone suggests the coil
springs, these are the original ones replaced and the same goes for the
rear leafspring. Anyone come accross this one
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John - I had a similar problem with my 1964 Mk I Spitfire which I did a
full body off restoration, complete overhaul, etc. You didn't state
whether your friend has driven the vehicle yet, however, in my case I
noticed that after about 50 miles of driving, the front end settled quite
nicely and the car has a "normal" stance. The same applies to the rear end
as well. The swing axle suspension allows quite a bit of "jacking" to
remain after the rear of the car has been lifted for any reason (both, when
the restoration was complete and in another case it was to repair a flat
tire). However, once again, after driving a mile or so it settled down to
its normal position. If your friend has driven it and it still has a high
profile, perhaps there is some "binding" in the front A-arm bushings (or in
the upper ball joint and lower trunnion bushings) which prevents the A-arms
from full movement (in this case "up").
Ross D. Vincenti - Costa Mesa, CA
64 Spitfire 4
64 Porsche 356C Coupe
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