For those of you with a long memory, a lot of patience and an above average ability to assimilate multiple message threads I’m happy to report that the Sprint is finally back on the road here in Western Australia. After some great help here on the forum and the attention of a local exhaust specialist it now has a custom downpipe that both doesn’t knock and will be more easily serviceable in the future should the need arise. I got to a classic car and coffee event last Sunday – here’s a link for general interest
http://classiccarsandcoffee.com/
It’s a good event because its monthly and only lasts a couple of hours rather than tying up the whole day unable to leave a “show” for safety or other reasons. And I met up with another owner in the process of rebuilding which was good.
In terms of status overall the Sprint goes fairly well considering it hasn’t had a tune up since it was shipped here
. The jury is still out on whether the rear axle seal replacement actually worked but it needs a few miles and some time to confirm that. It sits level and looks good even though I know one adjustable shock is cranked up a little higher than the other; that’s just something I have to live with at this point.
The two remaining issues are a significant lack of caster in the steering and a couple of noises. It stays in a straight line as well as any old car – it’s not bad really at all – but does need to be steered everywhere ie into corner and then out as well. That’s a subject for another day.
But there are two noises that I’d appreciate some feedback on. The first are various clunks that come from the front suspension. They tend to be noticeable when pulling off or cornering but not when driving along in primarily a straight line. Ignoring the AR bar most of the suspension has been re-bushed although sitting here right now I couldn’t state which locations are not new. That said even older stuff will mostly be poly with very few miles on it although the bushings will be getting on a bit since the rebuild was 2002. Again though I’ve refreshed much of it recently.
The AR bar has never had any attention to my knowledge. I can completely imagine that these noises might be a result of needing to replace all the bushes in the AR bar. But perhaps not. Thoughts?
The second noise is a kind of lightweight higher pitched gear-like rattle that is most noticeable at idle. Changing the engine speed can make it go away. It doesn’t sound like an engine bay noise and we sense it more from the dashboard area. I’m thinking the speedo drive shaft? Thoughts?
Thanks