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Spitfire spit - odd looking front suspension

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cutlass29

cutlass29

Senior Member
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what am i seeing here ?

got the back end all done and now am ready to start on the front end. seen lots of pictures of spit front suspension but nothing like this.

2 aluminum plates at the top about 1/8" thick each and bottom of springs look "over compressed" (rings all sitting on each other).

susp2.jpg


i have all new parts to put back together/replace but am i really gonna get this new spring in there ? i know it looks big 'cos it's closer to the camera but i really don't believe it is ever gonna go in there. i do have a set of spring compressors but this looks impossible.

the mark you can see on the spring is purple paint which i believe indicates it is the correct spring for a late mk3. the new spring will be going over a new spax adjustable.

susp3.jpg


has something be modified here ? will the new stuff fit?
 
I agree that the perspective of the camera does make the new spring look HUGE compared to the old one. But if the outer diameter is approximately the same, you should have no real problems...IF you ditch those silly spacers. I've no idea what someone had in mind in putting them in, unless they were compensating somehow for either some badly bent bits (A-arms, chassis, ????) or wanted to raise the ride height (again, why???)!
 
Andy,

thanks for your input...i'll go measure the spring dia.

is the spring compression you can see at the botttom normal....can't imagine "squeezing" the spring will make it compress more at the base ?
 
It is probably impossible to tell exactly what you have but: springs with non-constant spacing are made for special purposes. They have a non-constant spring rate. They normally would be used for something like a trailer or a truck where there is heavy loading sometimes and at other times very light loading. I would not be surprised if this is what is installed on your car.

Some DPO probably didn't want to spend the money to get the correct springs and just found something with sort of the correct diameter and forced them in. Those spacers probably are there because the spring is the wrong size, and the front end of the car was to low.

The suspension bits don't appear (as well as can be told from a picture) to be modified or damaged, but it would not be a bad idea to make sure they are not bent. The factory manual has very clear diagrams and explains how to check the suspension parts for accident damage.


Where did you get the new spring? If it came from a reliable supplier, it should fit.
 
An old low budget trick. How to lower a car - Heat a couple of coils with a torch so that they collapse. Presto - car lowered, don't even have to remove the springs. ---- If it drops more than intended, put spacers under the top. Or it can be raised by placing rubber or metal wedges between the remaining coils.

It's hard to tell from the pic, but both springs appear to have the same total number of coils. Is the spring wire itself the same diameter on both?
D
 
Ah, red-neck engineering at its best.

The spring in the car has been collapsed with a torch. At first I thought it was a progressively wound replacement, but then I looked at it more, and realized it's simply been heated and collapsed at the bottom.

To compensate, the good-ole-boy then put shim stock under the top to help hold the front end up. Triumph did this to, but with a nicer looking piece of aluminum (look at the left front of many a GT-6).

Replace the current springs, and be done with it.
 
thanks everyone for your input

new and old spring diameters are the same...checked last night

springs are from spitbits and i remember reading somewhere the "purple" mark indicated the correct size and strength for a mark 3 spit

nothing appears to be bent or misaligned...everything is in pretty good shape considering the vintage...it drives and steers very well.

will get stuck in this weekend and make them fit...and if i understand right the aluminum plates shouldn't be required ??
 
cutlass29 said:
will get stuck in this weekend and make them fit...and if i understand right the aluminum plates shouldn't be required ??
Click to expand...
Right. As "foxtrapper" noted: "...Triumph did this...with a nicer looking piece of aluminum (look at the left front of many a GT-6)." But the GT6 and Herald (where the spacers can be found on the LH side of LH steering cars) had fuel tanks mounted towards the left side of the car. Add a driver on that side, and the spacer was needed on that side. Spitfires do not need such spacers, since the fuel tank is "centered."
 
both sides are identical on my spit...same two aluminum plates and same spring compression at the bottom!!
 
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