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Sagging Springs?

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Upland

Upland

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The sorting out continues...I was watching a vid on tire sizes on Midget Mania and noticed that none of the tire sizes shown are covered by the lip of the rear fender the way my 155X80R13's are as shown in the attached pix. Does this look OK for the tire size or are my springs really sagging that much. Thanks.
Stephen
 

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The wheel arch does cover the top of the tire. Perhaps showing a picture of the entire side of the car or the car from the rear may be helpful. A lot of Spridgets suffer from "Bachelor Lean" where the left side spring wears faster than the right.
 
Got real busy for a while, here is a full side pix. When I checked the leaf springs I saw that the bushings are shot. I ordered new springs and the super pro poly bushings.
 

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While you have things apart, install a set of Peter Caldwell's rebuilt Lever Arm Shocks Front and Rear. That will also help to improve things. More important with handling, has the Front End of thins car ever received a front End Major Suspension Kit, Rebuilt Shocks, and Wishbones checked for wear and cracking. If you don't know who Peter C. is just ask. The front suspension in a Sprite is it's weak point and you can change from boy this handles nice to Go Cart / Point and Go Handling and eliminate the constant steering corrections needed at highway speeds. A Front Sway Bar helps as well.
 
Based upon the photographs provided, I personally see nothing wrong or unusual with the ride height of that car.
 
Scargo said:
Based upon the photographs provided, I personally see nothing wrong or unusual with the ride height of that car.
Click to expand...

Nor do I. Hard urethane shackle bushings will tighten up handling though. I like Prothane.

Kurt
 
Gentlemen, thank you for your observations. I'm waiting on some parts and will replace the bushings with poly. Since I will have it apart, I'm thinking I should also replace the 50 year old springs. Any thoughts?
 
Don't replace them. You will find that replacement springs are not the quality of the originals and will be WAY to high in the back. If you do anything with them, rebuild them. I think I have posted on that a few times and you should be able to find that discussion in the archives. I've rebuilt several sets for Spridget's and MGB's.

Kurt
 
Well, since the ride height is good and the springs look fine, it appears that the shackle bushings are the only part in need of replacement, can I replace these and the spring pads with poly while the spring is still attached to the front mount or do I need to remove the whole spring to do the job? And is replacing these parts with poly parts the way to go. I use the car for spirited back road drives.
Thanks,
Upland
 
Left the springs and replaced the shackle bushings and spring pads with superpro poly, definite improvement back end doesn't feel sloppy. Have new shocks and sway bar up front. I want to tighten the rest, what's the best way to proceed?
 
Next you start spending money!:grin: Panhard bar in the back and have you checked the play on your bottom front A frames? Inside bushings and wear in the trunnion commonly needs addressing.

Kurt
 
Be sure and get torque wrench/I use a 16” Breaker Bar and tighten up the nuts on the Spring U Bolts. They need to be really tight. And I was serious about rebuilt shocks from Peter Caldwell both Front and Rear. I rebuilt the Front and Rear Suspension on my first ‘68 Sprite and upgrading the shocks is a major, major source of improvement I discovered. That along front shackle bushings need to be checked for wear. The bolts For front spring mounting plate on my 68 were loose and rear axle Was shifting 3/4” when I made a right turn.

The other major wear issue is front wishbone and worn fulcrum pins And front shocks. It’s a pita to take apart but after doing it 4 times so far it’s not bad once you learn the tricks. But I went from a car that changed lane when hitting a tar strip to absolute point and go handling. 4 rebuilts from Peter Caldwell at World Wide Imports and you won’t believe the difference it makes.
 
What torque setting do you recommend on the spring U bolts? Does Peter Caldwell take your shocks on trade in? Cause my fronts are new.
Thanks for the voice of experience.
 
Upland said:
What torque setting do you recommend on the spring U bolts? Does Peter Caldwell take your shocks on trade in? Cause my fronts are new.
Thanks for the voice of experience.
Click to expand...

I just did very tight with a socket - so far so good.

Peter has a $30 core charge, but if your front shocks are new, there is no need to replace them.

Probably bushings and maybe some rear spring work <maybe you can get them re-arched> and replace the rears if necessary should be all you need.

These are great little roller skates but the ride is never going to be the same as a modern car.
 
Major suspension kit from Moss, wishbones for new, sometimes you can find on sale for 99.95 ea and they come with fulcrum pins. Call Peter, give him your cc # and a few days late a box with prepaid return label will show up at your house. Put old shocks back in the box, drop off, credit card will be credited with core charge. Simple.

if you don’t have a sway bar look into getting one. Even stick one is an upgrade and improves handling. It all goes together to get the car dialed in and tracking where you want to go.
 
When Jim talks about tightening springs he is talking about a BE with quarter eliptic's which are not the same as what you are dealing with. I never used a torque wrench on the half eliptic's but I never tightened them excessively. Too tight can affect the rubber or urethane pads negatively I believe. Yes fit at least a 11/16 sway bar. Any heavier and you will want to re-enforce where the frame mounts are or the frame will break.

Kurt
 
Stock sway bar was 9/16 so if you fit an 11/16 keep an eye on your frame rails. A 3/4 bar will definitely brake the mounts but will really cut down on body roll.

Kurt
 
In the midst of all our advice, you need to be clear about what you want to do with the car. Most of us use our cars for recreational driving. An occasional twisty road and lots of ice cream. When I redid my suspension I just stuck with rubber. It has given me all the zip and all the 'comfort' I need.

An analogy: when we were shopping for a hot tub, the dealer asked what we planned on using it for. He said 'if you plan to use it for muscle relief after workouts, get lots of jets. If you plan to use it for parties get the fountains and sound system. If you plan to sit in it at the end of the day and have a glass of wine get one with just enough jets - that you can sit in it and talk in normal tones.' We got the last one. (and saved a couple grand in the process)

As I was doing my car I came to the point where I realized that each additional mod (5 speed/ dual carbs/ etc) was going to be another 6 months and another $1000. Got to the point where I just buttoned it up and drove and have had all the fun I ever need. My 2 cents. :cheers:
 
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