Rear suspension setup/mods

[bmcecosse]

The standard lever arm dampers have enough extra travel to cover that 1.5" cut off - however they will be damaged if there is NO bump stop present and the suspension can over travel to the point where the axle hits the chassis!

[chrisryder]

Of course I see the need for them, but I still can't think why they were made to be taller than necessary if it meant the poor ride that they cause.

I can only think they may have been made 'too tall' to reduce peak roll?

[bmcecosse]

Remember when the cars were new - they sat a bit higher than they do now - on saggy old springs........... But why was anything set as it is - same brains as put in a bypass hose, and two screws in the brake drums I expect! And the very strange geometry of the front suspension........

[daveyl]

As said the Minor rear is quite rigid and fitting too hard a damper will make it impossible to drive unless on the softest setting.

A good quality anti-tramp system is very useful if you have lots of power and torque. It will reduce the excessive movement of the axle and in the 'diff' flange which tends to 'buck' about when under heavy acceleration. I'm not sure a fairly standard 1275 will cause too much of a problem though.

[bmcecosse]

The 'damper' should not make the ride any harder - that's the job of the spring - and as standard they are very soft -cars that are 'hard' are sitting on the stops! Even the 7 leaf Trav spring is soft! The damper is there to damp out oscillations - thats all. Some only damp in one direction - others damp in both directions. The standard lever damper works in both directions......with suitable oil inside, it works very well. Note the new legislation that's coming through requires Historic cars to be 'standard' - so add-ons like tele dampers and disc brakes etc will cause problems for the owners...... Keep it looking' standard to avoid the trouble....!

[linearaudio]

What is the standard amount of free space from the top of the bump stop to the chassis? How do you cut down and reshape the bump stop? With a hacksaw?

Regards

John

2" seems to be the unladen figure bandied about by people as a new condition, it doesn't take much to lose that when you hit an undulating road surface/speed bump/pothole, so shortening and reshaping the bumpstops with a hacksaw is not such a bad idea!

[Roni]

I have a question regarding bump stops. I have seen reference made to softening the action of the bump stop by drilling holes in from the tip. I suppose the theory is "less rubber, less stiffness." The bump stops remain the same length. Depending on the size and depth of the holes, the effect would be to allow more travel in a more progressive manner.
Has anyone done this and if so, does it work?

[bmcecosse]

Suppose so - easier to just shorten them.