Wallowing rear end?

[Jeepster]

When my BJ8 wallowed in the rear it was caused by old original bent wheels???

New wheels are on the shopping list eventually.

 

[petnatcar]

I installed new dampers, 3 extra leaves in each spring and a 5/8" sway bar on the rear with solid links and HEIM Joints.
In the 43 years I've owned the car it has never handled better and is much more predictable. I also run Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS 195-65 R15 tires with 32 lbs. of air pressure in all the tires.
Take the spare tire out and throw that away (or put it in the garage), you should see an immediate improvement in handling.

 

[Keoke]

" Take the spare tire out and throw that away (or put it in the garage) "

N Be sure you have your cell phone and AAA/credit card,otherwise you be left on the side of the road.-:highly_amused:

 

[Bob_Spidell]

Disagree on chucking the spare, at least if you venture out of urban areas and off the main roads. Have a flat on the 'Extraterrestrial Highway' halfway between Caliente, NV and Tonopah and you'll be waiting a couple hours or more for a tow truck--if you can even get one to come out there--in the desert sun with no shade anywhere (and I don't think there's any cell coverage anyway).

 

[Gearhead_Garage]

I installed new dampers, 3 extra leaves in each spring and a 5/8" sway bar on the rear with solid links and HEIM Joints.
In the 43 years I've owned the car it has never handled better and is much more predictable. I also run Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS 195-65 R15 tires with 32 lbs. of air pressure in all the tires.
Take the spare tire out and throw that away (or put it in the garage), you should see an immediate improvement in handling.

I guess it depends on your definition of better handling. That prescription would dramatically stiffen the rear to the point of shaking your fillings. It would also make the car very eager to rotate, which might be considered an improvement by some but scary by others. It would certainly be a compromise away from comfort.

With a stock engine/transmission, stock frame, and leaf springs, a Healey is never going to handle like a modern sportscar with a unibody, coil shocks, and A-arms and personally, I don't want it to. If the car is right, you can drive it fast and tidy enough to keep up with almost anyone but you will know it is an old car. My Healey is a time machine that transports me to a different age. If I want to drive really fast, I take the Miata.

 

[Bob_Spidell]

I put a fatter front roll bar--3/4" IIRC--on the front of my otherwise stock BJ8 which lessened body roll, with no discernible downside.

 

[Jeepster]

I put a fatter front roll bar--3/4" IIRC--on the front of my otherwise stock BJ8 which lessened body roll, with no discernible downside.

I did consider an up rated anti roll bar on the front, but as the front suspension feels pretty good and the softness is in the rear, I felt this wouldn't improve on my problem.

 

[bob hughes]

Joe Brown - British pop singer of the Healey era always said that a bag of cement in the trunk would fix the handling problems.



Bob