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Front Wheel Clearing of BN7

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BN6_2197

BN6_2197

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Gents,

I have a question on the front wheel clearing of my BN6. By "front wheel clearing" I mean the distance between the lower part of the front wing and the upper part of the wheel. In my car (a BN6) this is 12 cm (i.e. 4,72 inches). From my point of view this is too much. When I refurbished the front suspension, I put a 2 inches instance pieve according to Fig. L.7 of the workshop manual. When the car is on the wheels the distance reduces from 2 inches to 1,6 inches (i.e. 4 cm).

In the back the distance between the rear wing and the wheels is 2,76 inches. Which seems to be ok.

Has any one an idea what could be wrong? Might it be due to a wrong coil spring?

The huge distance between the lower part of the front wing and the upper part of the wheel does not look very well (see attached picture) and the car it highter as expected in the front.

Thanks,

Volker

FRONT_WHEEL.jpg
 

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From my point of view this is too much.

Yep,don't look right.

SO:????
"Is the engine in the car"
Didi the distance piece fall out as it should have when you put the wheels on the ground
Did you purchase new springs when you refurbished the front end
 
The engine is in the car, of course ;-)

No, the distance piece did not fall out when I put the wheel on the ground. I had to push down the car with my full weight in order to remove the distance pieces.

The car looks like this from the day I bought it. The refurbishment of the front suspension did not chenge that. I did noth change the springs during refurbishment. How can I check if the springs are correct for that car? What is the expected length of the springs when they are removed?

Is 2,76 inches for the rear wheels ok?
 
"The car looks like this from the day I bought it"-

-Sounds like wrong springs to me??
SO:
Lets see if we can get some of these BN6 forum fellas in here who know what the specifications for these springs should be.
 
Moss shows two springs available. The first type for all the models through mid-BN7 & BT7; the latter through the end of the BJ8s.
Looks like you have BJ8 springs or incorrect aftermarket springs.

FWIW, my BN6 measures, center point of knockoff to wheel arch: F = 14-7/8"; R = 15-1/8"
(Taking tire size out of the equation)
 
Volker, One thing I would say for sure is that the car is too high. The ground clearance on these cars is 4-1/2". I don't know that i remember measuring mine, but I would say that that distance should be right about at the back of the muffler. or at the rear outrigger since that is usually the lowest part of the car.
I would also guess that you have the wrong springs. But also, maybe you have the bottom spring pans in upside down. I don't know that that would do it but I'm just trying to figure where you are gaining the height. Another idea is that maybe if you are not experienced with the front suspension geometry, Maybe you missed that someone may have added a spring shim or bushing on top of the bottom spring plate. I'm just saying maybe it has been there a long time and you just reinstalled it as you found it.
 
I suspect that the springs you have are not actually Healey springs. Healeys used many different springs throughout production. The earlier springs were longer with smaller wire and had lower spring rates. The last iteration of spring in the BJ8 was shorter and had the stiffest spring rate of all. In any case, no Healey spring would have your car sitting that high. The easy fix is to make some spacers out of aluminum and use longer bolts in order to lower the spring pan. You could also stack a bunch of steel washers and work your way up (or down) to the look you want. If the ride is too stiff with the springs you have you may want to replace them with some corrrect Healey springs.
 
The distance piece is used to ensure that the metallastic bushes are not under stress when the car is travelling on an even surface. They will not stop the car from settling when the wheels are on the ground. That car seems to be sitting very high. Did you install new coils?
 
According to my supplier there are two coil springs for the BN6:

* one for the early ones (BN4 and BN6 to 35076 (LHD) and to 35826 (RHD))
* one for the late ones (BN4 and BN6 from 35077 (LHD) and from 35827 (RHD)). This also includes BN7, BT7, BJ7 and BJ8.

According to the supplier the size of the later ones is about 10 inches. The cuurently check the size of the early ones.
 
This is BN6L/942, still with its original front springs, though tires are 195/65 x 15 (lower profile/aspect ratio).

IMG_7620.jpg
 
Randy--

I didn't know you had snow this year in Bradenton!

I will be at the SVRA races this coming weekend at Sebring. As always I would enjoy seeing you--give me a call or send an email if you'd like to come over and I will be happy to put you on my crew list. Feel free to bring a friend or two. I'm driving the Ginetta G4 this year (see pic).
 

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Before buying new springs, you may want to try lowering the front spring pans by inserting some spacers between the A arms and the pans. Our resident photojournalist of all things Healey, Randy Forbes, has an excellent series of photos on how to remove the springs : https://www.ahexp.com/phorum/read.php?3,176669 Buy some Grade 8 bolts of the same size as the originals, but longer as well as 24 matching nuts. When you reassemble the springs insert two nuts on each bolt where the yellow arrow is on the attached picture. This will lower the front end and with the stiffer springs you have, may actually improve your handling

randy.jpg
 
Michael Oritt said:
Randy--

I didn't know you had snow this year in Bradenton!

I will be at the SVRA races this coming weekend at Sebring. As always I would enjoy seeing you--give me a call or send an email if you'd like to come over and I will be happy to put you on my crew list. Feel free to bring a friend or two. I'm driving the Ginetta G4 this year (see pic).
Click to expand...
Haha, no, just was the easiest side-profile pic I could find! It has been a lousy winter down here this year, but we stopped short of having snow (we judge "winter" by how many long-sleeve shirts my wife has to wash :p).

Saturday could work, are you still in Group 3? I see qualifying at 8:50 AM and a race at 2:20 PM. I've never taken a close look at a Ginetta, so I welcome the opportunity. I'll see if anyone around wants to go, and I will let you know.

Thanks!!
 
Randy--

Yes, group 3. I will be registering by 11:00 AM on Thursday and I will put your name on the crew list in any case. If it turns out someone else is coming with you I can add them in at a later time.
 
Seems like lowering the spring pan by two inches is an awful lot. Might as well put in the correct springs while you are at it.
 
Michael Oritt said:
Randy--

Yes, group 3. I will be registering by 11:00 AM on Thursday and I will put your name on the crew list in any case. If it turns out someone else is coming with you I can add them in at a later time.
Click to expand...
Thanks Michael! I'm going to see if my neighbor with the Grand Sport wants to go; there were 2 or 3 there last year, so maybe he'll be inspired to finish his!
 
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