Morris Minor Owners Club

Hello everyone,

Back to the old issue of eyebolts.

When I dismantled the front suspension I noticed that the offside eyebolt had a thick washer/spacer between the eyebolt and chassis leg. However, the nearside did not have such a spacer.

Both chassis legs have been replaced and I am ready to rebuild the front suspension.

I have brand new eyebolts for both sides. My question and concern is:
a) should i fit the two new eyebolts just as they are with no spacer washer. or b) should I put the spacer back on the offside eyebolt. I feel that is a waste of time as both legs have been replaced. My own thinking is to put them on without any spacers.

Any thoughts, suggestions and help much welcomed.

thanks
Ty

the washers behind the eye bolts affect the camber i beleive

3 choices really :
1) fit it back however you like
2) rebuild and get the car on very level ground, then measure the camber of the wheels (offset from vertical top and bottom) and adjust to the desired figure using mods to the eyebolts
3) spend some money getting an accurate geometry measurement.


Most folks follow #1 (even when the suspension geometry is visibly faulty)

Some specialists will take a lot of care during a rebuild and follow #2 as a final setting check

option #3 is almost unheard of on a Minor unless someone wants to sue a restorer after a faulty rebuild.

If the geometry has been disturbed ,due to dismantling or restoration work then, Ray's option 3 should be performed by all professional restorers before a car is returned to its owner.
Unfortunately the phrase 'it'll do' is too often applied to the Minor and its welding and mechanical perameters. Okay if the work is performed by the owner who may not be bothered or does not have the knowledge or equipment to perform the setting up, but this ommission is inexcusable from a professional point of view, in my opinion.
So many minor owners miss out on this cars excellent original handling, just through the ommision of the geometry checks and set up.

If the geometry has been disturbed ,due to dismantling or restoration work then, Ray's option 3 should be performed by all professional restorers before a car is returned to its owner.

I wish all car restorers thought like that!!


I spent many many many £thousands at a Porsche specialist for some every day work. During this, they accidentally crashed my 911 whilst in their possession, and then they gave my car back in a dreadful state.
After complaining they told me that I should talk to their subcontracted bodyshop directly as it was nothing to do with them!

Needless to say the bodyshop did some of the things I asked but were not interested in most of it, saying it was probably pre-existing issues. I assured them it wasn't as I'd spent a LOT of money the year before having all the defects and paintwork issues sorted.

The only choice left was a court case and by that time I just wanted rid of the car and any memory of it.

From my (limited) experience, most repairs, and even a lot of crash damage is fixed without taking any interest in checking alignment.

Sorry for the rant, and we probably agree Jonathon, but words in the same sentence 'proffessionals' and 'geometry' in the same sentence sparked some unpleasant flashbacks ;-)

Leyland - I fitted 5/16" steel plates on the chassis members and then fitted the eyebolts - but they must 'appear' at the inside so don't overdo this. This takes away the standard +ve camber and maybe gives just a wee bit of negative. then you can assemble the suspension - set the ride height - track the wheels and let the suspension settle down. A home-made way to check the camber is to get the car on a dead level surface - and hold a domestic spirit level against the wheel and compare the result both sides. This will show if one side is leaning in or out more than the other. For a road car i suggest dead straight up and down will be ok - for a competition car a wee bit of -ve camber helps the cornering no end, but it will wear the inside edge of the tyres if high mileages are the norm.

The spirit level method of geometry set up is pretty basic and will only tell you that you either have neg or positive camber. For a good compromise 1/2-1degree negative camber is going to give much better turn in and grip, much over this will as BM say's cause more wear on the inside edge of the tyre but will give even better cornering abilities, but really suitable for track days only. My point here is that okay set up a car basicallly with a level then get it properly set up , there is very little adjustment on the eyebolt to induce 1/2 -21/2 neg camber, as a result just using the level method is very hit and miss, and could cause some weird handling abilities when driving on both straight or bendy roads.
Another point, don't buy instant neg camber kits, always measure and adjust each side, do not rely on both legs being parallel or vertical.

Wise words indeed - but I did point out this is a simple home-made way to check what you get. If they are not the same - or not as expected, then either add or remove washers/plates until it is what's required. That plus wheel tracking should give pretty good handling (tele dampers help too!) - if the car seems to pull to one side or the other then the castor angle may need adjusting, and this is difficult at home other than by trial and error with washers in the tie-bar front mounts. And each time you need to re-track the wheels - not too difficult with home-made tracking gauge!
Yes Jonathan - I do have quite noticeable -ve camber on my Traveller (and had even more on my Rally Minor 40 years ago) - but it does wear the inner edges of the tyres and for most on here this will not be a good thing!