troid
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| posted on 8/6/05 at 07:51 PM |
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rear shocks
hi all
can anyone help, am building the car as per ron champions book, just recieved my shocks today, just lined the back up to weld the brackets in place,
but the shocks seem too long they are 14 inch at full length and 10 inch compressed. the axle is as far down as it will go (touching frame) should you
need to compress the shocks to fit them in or is their something wrong.
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britishtrident
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| posted on 8/6/05 at 09:38 PM |
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Who did you get them from ?
For a dimensioned drawing follow this link to the Darrens site http://www.gtscougar.freeserve.co.uk/locost.pdf
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ray.h.
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| posted on 8/6/05 at 10:17 PM |
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I bet they were lolocost. They changed the length of the shocks to suit their own car but they are too long for a book locost.I found this out myself
the hard way.oops...
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pk
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| posted on 9/6/05 at 12:16 PM |
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Oh dear!
If I was still in the early stages I’d have to consider starting again using either a ready made chassis or using a set of corrected plans from
somewhere like GTS. The book is full of errors and you won’t find them until it’s too late! The other thing to bear in mind is that the panels you
use will only fit if the supplier’s interpretation of the book is the same as yours.
I used 13” shocks on the back of mine but these were not long enough. From what I have gathered if you mount the top and bottom as per the book 13”
is correct but if you mount the bottom using the top link are mounting bolt and add another plate to make it “double shear” 14” is correct. But the
top mounting in the book is horrid, better to use 1” box and box it in, this takes another 1” off the shock length so some people have used 12”
shocks. As I said if you use corrected plans the errors will have been corrected.
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pbura
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| posted on 9/6/05 at 01:20 PM |
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If the amount you need to compress is less than 1", you should be OK as 3" is sufficient travel (2" bump and 1" droop).
You may need to switch to a shorter spring to get your ride height, especially if you went on the high side of Uncle Ron's recommended spring
range of 180-200 pounds per inch. 160-180 is probably more typical. There is absolutely no hurry to alter springs unless your build is otherwise
complete. IMO, it's best to wait until the car's fully built to make spring changes, when you can get proper weights and measure
distances. You can even stick a piece of RHS in the shock's position while you proceed.
Now please don't be offended by this question, but funny oversights do happen: Are your spring collars wound all the way down?
BOL,
Pete
Pete
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troid
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| posted on 9/6/05 at 05:17 PM |
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i will try to answear all the questions because i have looked again tonight and its doing me head in
i got the shocks from a grass tracking friend he was going to use them on his special so from an unknow source.
i have measured the springs and they are 9 inch long, i tried the spring wound up and down but to no avail
i have just looked at mounts and there is about 1/2 inch from the top of the shock mount and the bracket, this is the same at both ends
is it possilbe to shorten the brackets so the gap is not as big, with a quick measure i think it will give me about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch extra
also looking at the drawing in the book for the bottom bracket are in line with top but in the pictures of some that have been done the bracket is
lower.
if i alter all these points i think they will fit but the axle will be very close to the chasis, will this be a problem?
sorry to go on but 2 weeks in and my first real problem and am running out of beer.
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pbura
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| posted on 9/6/05 at 06:43 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by troid
if i alter all these points i think they will fit but the axle will be very close to the chasis, will this be a problem?
The weight of car, fuel, and passengers ought to compress the springs about 2", depending on spring rating, actual weights, etc. I think it
will be all right. You can still go with a shorter or weaker spring, depending on what you need, to give you more clearance.
Pete
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troid
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| posted on 9/6/05 at 08:07 PM |
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thanks for all the info gonna make some new brackets tommorrow and try to sort at the weekend
thanks again
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