Coil over conversions

[Dan B]

[Dan B]

[Dan B]

[Dan B]

[Dan B]

[MGBV8]

Dan,

Glad you "got 'er done", even though we see who's gettin' dirty.  

Your brother, Jim,  reminds me of someone I used to know that was famous for saying "It's do-able", then he would proceed to actually do it.

[Dan B]

Somebody had to take the pictures!

Seriously, Jim can do about anything.

[74ls1tr6]

"Awesome" I'm glad it all worked out. Jim you did that with stick weld? That's talent I must say.

Question?    Did you do triangle pieces for both sides of the tower (front and back) or just the front?

OK Dan "How does the ride feel now"?

It's always nice to have a brother that can help :-)

The squirter is next.

[Dan B]

Ride is waaay better now.  We only put the gussets in the front.  It would have been a teeny triangle in the back, and if it needs it we can put that in without taking it all apart.
As far as the shocks go, I got a cheap set of Gabriels at AutoZone,  The problem there is they have about an inch to 1.5" of extra extended length, so when I go airborne, the half shafts will hit the frame.  Gotta remember not to go airborne until I get shorter shocks.

[BlownMGB-V8]

It came out pretty good. Naturally there are always small improvements you discover after the design is set, for instance rotating the top plate with the hole as far to the rear as possible would give more spring clearance and allow larger diameter shocks (which would also need more clearance through the bottom  mount) but we were pretty pleased with the outcome, especially the quality of the ride with a $17 shock. Pretty hard to beat that.

Thanks for the kind words btw,
Jim

[Moderator]

This is a particularly cool photo... and it definitely qualifies for our "People Having Fun with Performance-Modified British Sports Cars" photo contest!

[Dan B]

Cool!  
It was fun!  It is always a blast to hang out in Jim's shop.  
If anybody gets the chance, they should do a Roadmaster weekend.

[IaTR6]

Dan,
I'm interested in a little more detail on this shock-in-coil conversion. Does the centering lip for the spring on the top differential bridge need to be removed for clearance to the top shock donut? Also, could you elaborate a little on the lower shock mount? I see how the Revington design works, but yours seems different. How did the shock mount attach to the circular plate?
Thanks,
Dennis

[Dan B]

We used a shock that has the ears on the lower mount.  There are two holes in the plate we installed that the shock bolts to.  We actually used a holesaw to cut the donut pieces, and the center section was re-used on the top mount.  It is welded in place.  We did not cut the lip on the top or modify the bridge at all except to weld the round pieces in, which we drilled to accept the stud mount of the shock.  We did have to offset the hole for the stud a little for it to clear the body.  This created a tighter fit for the  tube shock inside the spring.  I had a part number for a Bilstein shock that should have the correct travel, but I think the diameter might be a little large.  We just bought some Gabriels at Advance Auto and installed them.  They have too much travel, so it is best not to go airborne for the time being, until a shock with an appropriate limit can be installed.
The purpose for the plates on the bottom are to strengthen the aluminum trailing arms and provide a solid mount for the ears of the shock.  We did have to enlarge the hole in the trailing arm for the shock to fit through.  The trailing arm is sandwiched between two 1/4" steel donuts.  You may not need the top one.  It does raise the ride height 1/4"
Oh, and we did weld a trianglular brace on the bridge too.

[IaTR6]

Dan,
Aha! That explains it. I was looking for the lower shock mounting to be an "eye" like the Revington kit. I don't particularly care for the mount that revington used that projected so far below the trailing arm. This gives me something else to think about.
Thanks,
Dennis

[Dan B]

I think Ratco has a kit for shocks inside the coil as well