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lowering my car

Posted: Thu May 13, 2010 11:22 pm
by GDL
toying with the idea of lowering my car, can anyone suggest/recommend where i can the bits required for the front & rear?

And how would i do the rear?

Re: lowering my car

Posted: Fri May 14, 2010 12:05 am
by bmcecosse
You must not lower it too much - so that it 'sits' on the bump stops! It will soon wreck the chassis if you do. The minor suspension is relatively 'soft' - it is important to keep it off the stops. Check what clearance you have now - and indeed - check the bump stops are present front and back! The front suspension height is adjustable - simply move the rear part of the lower suspension arm one spline round on the torsion bar to lower it ~ 1.5" . Most Minors sit low at the rear anyway - due to springs that are past their best! If your's is sitting high - you can fit lowering blocks between the axle and the spring seat - but be warned - this makes the tendency to 'tramp' the axle even worse than before!

Re: lowering my car

Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2010 10:55 pm
by lukedauvergne
sorry to sound silly but what does tramp mean?
and where it says rear part of the lower suspention arm around 1 spline to lower 1.5". when you say rear part do you mean the "leaver" arm bit that bolts to the chassis?

Re: lowering my car

Posted: Mon Sep 20, 2010 12:30 pm
by charlie_morris_minor
lukedauvergne wrote:sorry to sound silly but what does tramp mean?
not a silly question.. Axle tramp is when a wheel moves up and down very very violently, with such force that it actually leaves the ground – like a car hopping.
lukedauvergne wrote:and where it says rear part of the lower suspention arm around 1 spline to lower 1.5". when you say rear part do you mean the "leaver" arm bit that bolts to the chassis?
yes

if you are doing this mod as roy says make sure you leave enough suspension travel or you will damage your car..

Re: lowering my car

Posted: Mon Sep 20, 2010 12:55 pm
by rayofleamington
when you say rear part do you mean the "leaver" arm bit that bolts to the chassis?
in short - yes

on the front suspension, the top 'arm' is part of the damper assembly.
The lower arm is in 2 pieces - the front piece is a thinner pressed metal part. The rear part is much thicker and this part fits to the torsion bar.

Taking the assembly apart can be a hassle if it has not been apart for 20+ years, but when all parts are freed up it is not so bad. You need to support the rear lower arm (e.g. with jack) and remove the upright (kingpin) - then you can lower the arm to remove the spring pre-load.
Thwe one good thing is that when it is changed (to lower the suspension) there will be a lot less pre-load!

Re: lowering my car

Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 12:49 pm
by NicholEvans
i fitted the lowering blocks to my morris on the rear and it handles excellently, i used to sit unbelievably high and if you went round a corner it felt like the car was going to roll over.... i would for sure advise the blocks. im going to lower the front also, i already have damage to the inside of my front passenger side interior wheel arch due to a old shock. my idea is to lower it on the splines and then fit dampers that will hopefully reduce the travel? any suggestions?

Re: lowering my car

Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 6:58 pm
by bmcecosse
Dampers just damp - they don't 'reduce the travel'.........