RUK - Project Recommission 1972 'Dolomite' Auto

[dollyman]

Unfortunatly i have severe spinal problems which limit the time i can spend sitting down An hour at most without suffering severe pain. If i could i would
I could navigate for someone if they had an ambulance In the mean time i enjoy my triumphs as and when i can, and just follow everyones escapades

Tony.

[yorkshire_spam]

Unfortunatly i have severe spinal problems which limit the time i can spend sitting down An hour at most without suffering severe pain. If i could i would
I could navigate for someone if they had an ambulance In the mean time i enjoy my triumphs as and when i can, and just follow everyones escapades

Tony.

Sorry Tony, I misunderstood, I thought it was the driving that was the problem... if it's the sitting in the car that's the issue then this is not the event for you!
Cheers, Sam

[yorkshire_spam]

On the subject of previous worries about water loss....
At the end of the first day of the event it took about 100ml to restore the level in the header tank to what it was when I set off.
At the end of the second day 0 water loss. So I'm hopeful that the loss on the first day was it getting rid of any last bit of trapped air in the system.

Fingers crossed that's the end of water issues and I don't find any in the filter housing when I change the oil/filter.
No oil used either for the 600 or so miles covered since last week. ATF also seems unchanged. Although the underside has a few wet patches, clearly any oil leaks are not serious.

[James467]

With the way that I plumbed the volvo header tank I would say that it's probably just air so it sounds good to me.

[yorkshire_spam]

Anyone got any top-tips for wangling the shock/spring assembly into place on these cars?

[Karlos]

Arms like an Orang-Utan always help .

It should be just a case of taking the weight with one arm and reaching up and over the wing to get a nut on one of the 3 threads poking through the top of the turret. Or fasten the shock to the wishbone/top joint with the shock in the turret/body, then lift the hub with a jack or us some blocks to take the weight so that you can position the shock to locate the studs into the top of the turret.

BTW the brake pipe looks a bit dodgy, maybe it is the pic though, also it looks like one of the triangular plates is missing that mounts the shock and upper ball joint to the wishbone arms - but again it may be the pic is not clear to show both of them (or you have already taken it off to replace the shocks).

Hope that helps.

[yorkshire_spam]

Arms like an Orang-Utan always help .

It should be just a case of taking the weight with one arm and reaching up and over the wing to get a nut on one of the 3 threads poking through the top of the turret. Or fasten the shock to the wishbone/top joint with the shock in the turret/body, then lift the hub with a jack or us some blocks to take the weight so that you can position the shock to locate the studs into the top of the turret.

BTW the brake pipe looks a bit dodgy, maybe it is the pic though, also it looks like one of the triangular plates is missing that mounts the shock and upper ball joint to the wishbone arms - but again it may be the pic is not clear to show both of them (or you have already taken it off to replace the shocks).

Hope that helps.

Thanks! I've managed to wriggle the replacement into place, but then came in and read your reply.... so I'll go back out this evening and check the triangle plate and the brake line. I think the brake pipe is just covered in cack and verdigris, but worth checking anyway.

[yorkshire_spam]

Triangular plates all present and correct! And the pipe is just covered in cack and a bit of verdigris.

Both sides fitted now, bolt shanks greased, fresh nylocs all round.

Ride height before:


Ride height after:


So that's about 1/2" higher than before, but let's see how it settles after a bit of usage.
Each corner feels much firmer as well.

[yorkshire_spam]

So, another 150 or so miles added today. Lower ambient temperature and no matter what I did I couldn't get the temp to rise above the middle of the gauge.
I've leaned off the carbs a little more and will check the plug colour now she's had a good run out. (Last time I checked the plugs were a bit dark, which is why I tweaked the carbs slightly)

The handling is much improved by the replacement front springs and shocks, but the scraping from the mud flaps is just as bad, if not worse. So I'm guessing that now it's settled the " 3 up" ride height is slightly lower than before. Nowhere near as much rock and roll under braking/cornering though.

I'll get the rears fitted and see where we stand.

Here's a photo of the stereo I fitted... it looks a bit naff and the sound quality is hardly blaupunkt but it does the job.

[yorkshire_spam]

I've been out and measured the ride height, it seems that the settling after the 3up run out yesterday is really significant.
The front height at the top of the wheel arch is now 23 1/4", before I changed the shocks/springs it was 24".
My guess is that the mystery springs that came already fitted to the shocks were 1" lowering springs. (Assuming the originals had sagged by around 1/4")



Short term plan is to fit the rear springs/shocks and see if I get a nice "even" ride height all round (even if it is a little too low)
For the RBRR I'll remove the mudflaps - that should give us the handling we are after without having to listen to the flaps dragging for 48 hrs!

After that I'll save up some of my pocket money and buy some original ride height springs.

Next job is to fit the MGF seats in the front ready for the event.

[dollyman]

Could you not just trim the mudflaps or move them up a bit Sam?

Tony.

[yorkshire_spam]

Could you not just trim the mudflaps or move them up a bit Sam?

Tony.

Both possible options Tony. I'm loathe to cut them. Ultimately I'd like a fairly standard ride height with a little more damping... I've got lower ride height and better damping so far. One step forward, one step back!

[yorkshire_spam]

A few bits and bobs done but still loads to do before the RBRR
Done:
Rear springs and shocks replaced.
Retaining clips for rear trim replaced.
Started removing the surplus bits from the MG TF seat runners.

To Do:
Air filters to change
Spark Plugs to change
Oil filter to change
Oil change
Front Springs to change (which means taking the sodding front shocks off again)
Finish mod'ing the MG TF seats and get them fitted
Fit the USB charging socket in the rear.

Photos and more info later!
Cheers, Sam

[yorkshire_spam]

First run out on the new suspension this morning and I'm very pleased.
I went for Rimmer's heavy duty standard height springs with the ride adjustable shocks (spax)
She coped really well with the speed bumps etc. on the way to work. Only briefly scraped the OS front mud flap once (cornering hard on a fast roundabout)
The only fly in the ointment was that I had to do some fettling to get the rear springs to fit - I've notified Rimmers that their HD rear springs are about 1 to 2 mm to large (diameter) to fit properly into the standard rear top spring plates. If I wasn't in a rush to get things ready for the RBRR they'd have gone back.

I might be tempted to tweak the dampers up by 1 or 2 clicks - it's by no means bouncy but not quite as I'd like it. (But maybe that's because I'm used to the Spitfire in terms of handling and ride)

[dollyman]

Well done Sam.... Not long now to the RBRR. Did you get to the Gaydon meeting? A mate of mine did'nt as he nearly lost a rear wheel on the motorway

Tony.