Thanks a lot guys....good information. Sounds like the subject has become a bit of a moving target.... with no wrong answers....

 

Thanks Ian, I do feel like I'm in the crosshairs once in a while, think I will stick to the shock tower and hope it's a success for all.

 

I’ve got to admit, I never once gave thought to the gaiter and bump stop arrangement. I’m going to leave them like I currently have them because I’m almost done and want to get this car on the road.

I’ll be finishing on Sunday. I didn’t touch the car today on account of having to go shopping for a suit to wear for my fiancée’s Pharmacy School prom that will be held tomorrow night. I have to be look dapper for that event. I’m sorry for the small delay, but I don’t want to anger the lady. Hehe

 

Gian, don't worry about the gaiter, they have been in all kind of different arrangements over the last 20 so years. Many cars over the years have run without any at all.
Have fun at the Prom, you and the misses are going to be OK and glad you are stopping to enjoy the moments. Make her happy and you will be too.

 

Small update: Everything is mounted and torqued. Tomorrow I will get it aligned and take the first test drive.

 

Hi Gian, I know this has been a trying time for you, so thanks for your effort and get some rest.
We all look forward to your reports, sure hope the stance is good..

 

Wayne graciously forwarded a couple of his candidate materials to play 'Science!' with. They arrived today, and I immediately applied the 'Shore A' test.

One that looks almost exactly like those candied apple rings they forced us to eat as children, measured (average of 5) 81.6 +/- 0.5 A. This did not decrease (relax) over 15 seconds.

The second material is brown and flat. It started at about 75A, but relaxed to 66 +-/ 0 A over 15 seconds. I don't know the detailed effect of the relaxation.

The red one is a bit stiffer. Both are quite a bit stiffer than the originals (35-40A, higher is stiffer), so it will be very interesting to see what Gian thinks in the 'torture test'.


Candied apple ring on the left, brown flat material on right. Hopefully this is obvious...

 

Thank you Dale, I'm sure there are those that were interested as you and I were.
Not only do we now know, we have a place to start if there is a issue.
Thanks you for the contribution.

 

Speaking of finding a few things that might help, working on something that would help with the clamping of the bell unit.
I went through all (3), well 6 really and the place for the rivets varied for 1/8 inch to 3/16, I think, didn't have the box handy and had to run to the house, storm on the way. Storm over 3/16 5MM, that should hold my efforts in this thriller.
It sure looked like the larger of the two was a perfect fit and should hold much better. So I would drill it out for that if I were doing it again.
Let's hope so.

 

I gave the car its first drive today and took it for an alignment and I have a few things to report:

1. The left side wheel arch to wheel-center height is 14 1/2 inches. On the right side, it's 14 3/4 inches.
2. The suspension feels amazing. The new shock mounts feel no stiffer than the Welsh units. In fact, I would say ride quality is improved, although that could be because of everything else I fixed as well.
3. The steering also feels excellent, and the handling is improved, possibly due to the worn components I replaced.
4. There are no noises, squeaks, clunks, or other sounds coming from the suspension.
5. The car feels stable and responsive at high speeds.
6. The shock mounts survived the first round of potholes without so much as shifting a millimeter.
7. However, the alignment guy claims my camber is off: 0.2 degrees of excess negative camber on the left, and 0.6 degrees of excess on the right. He claimed that the car would pull to the right. It does not. Caster and toe are however perfectly in spec. I asked him for a printout of the alignment to which he replied that the printer is not functioning at the moment. C'est la vie.

Here's a before picture of the shock mount's position before the first drive.




I will keep all of you posted. So far, the results have been positive. I think the camber issue is pre-existent since the ride height measurements either stayed the same or increased 1/4 of an inch.

 

Gain, that's some great information.
I must ask if you have the old mounts and what they look like? Trying to establish if the 1/8 inch difference in my mounts is making that much difference. The spring seat should have put things back to the right height, just looking for something that will tell us where we are.
Do you have lowering springs?
Sorry for the questions, but you already know I might be a little OCD.
So glad they feel good and solid.
Thanks and keep us informed.

 

1. Well, I already packed them for you, but sure, I'll snap a couple of pictures for you. I did compare yours to the old mounts and found that the outer donut height was nearly the same. The difference was about 2 or 3 mm.
2. I don't have lowering springs, but I do have the original 17 y/o, 80k mile springs, which might be sagging. Last year when I did the shock mounts I did in fact have the right bottom white spring seat packer perish. It shattered into a million pieces on the passenger side and I had to distribute the black spacers between both strut assemblies to have a more or less equal height. I could not find a part number in order to source a replacement. That is probably affecting my ride height and camber.

The alignment tech seems to think that an eccentric bolt could solve my camber. To my knowledge, the eccentric bolts available for these cars do next to nothing. I could source some of the black bottom spring seat spacers to make up for the ride height and try to improve my camber that way. I do not think the problem lies with your shock mounts. I think it's a pre-existing problem. The inner edge of my tires is a little more worn than the rest of it.


The thickness of the outer donut bushes of the old shock mounts is the following:

• Left side: 10.7 mm at its thickest point, 10.1 mm. at its thinnest area
• Right side: 10.7 at its thickest point, 10.0 mm at its thinnest area

The thickness of each shock mount from the upper metal plate to urethane spring seat is:

• Left: 24.6 mm at its thickest point, 23.3 mm at its thinnest area
• Right: 24.2 mm at its thickest point, 23.4 mm at its thinnest area

I took these measurements using a dental Boley Gauge that is calibrated to 0.1 mm of accuracy.

 

Thank you Gian, the larger mount looks to be intact, but a bit crushed, so the lowering may be in the springs and lower seats as you surmise.
That the new bushings in the bell held up on the first run really makes me happy.
As we discussed in the PM's, lets give it a week before I order the first batch for other members.
I think team bushing is a success, thanks to a lot of members input. Hoping that its not premature on my part.

 

Day 2, the mounts are still holding up perfectly.

Here are a few pictures of the roads they succesfully conquered this morning:





In the afternoon they survived doing 70+ mph on the highway which is also littered with potholes, patches, and areas where the concrete has caved in.

 

Looks like the prototype bushings are really going to get a good workout Wayne........

 

My poor little bushings. LOL
About a week of that will be a years worth in my area. Lets look at the centering at the top after that punishment in a week.
Looks like we might be dealing with compromised springs also, what a test for that top area.
OH< THANKS GIAN>

 

Drawings of the unmodified 'donut' measured from my unused parts. Note that the total height is ~28 mm, and the height from the bottom to the 'first ledge' is ~18 mm. Foam, however, is squishy.

STL, dwg and f3d drawings in the zip file below for whatever purpose you cannot hold me responsible for.

Note: zip file would not attach for some reason, drop box link might work?

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/7r11s5evg...6KnlLBEZa?dl=0

 

Dale, I'll get with what I have on the next one I make, thanks for the information.
On most of the ones I could get in good condition after some wear they were 5/8 inch or 16MM after being flattened.
I do think I'll look into a bottom Energy Suspension bushing. Need to check with Ian, thinking he has one apart and could tell what size would fit. We do know the plastic ones are available, so just trying to keep to the same system material.
For some reason I can't get the pictures to open, I'll try something different later.
What a lot of work for such a simple function.

 

No luck with Ian, he already has his together.
You won't believe this but I think I found the perfect bottom seat. Went under mine to get a idea of what is needed.
Need the measurement for the bottom shelf housing. I know it's near 4 inches outside and needs a clearance for the shock and the drop in the housing, so the main measurement I need is the diameter of the outside of the shelf.
Bushing I found is 4 1/8 including the lip and 3 15/16 for the spring to set in, should be real close. The inside shows 2 3/4 inch and we only need 2 inches to clear the shock, so if the drop only takes up anywhere near 3/4 inch, we have a upgraded seat.
I know we can get the standard one from a few places and the price for this upgrade is right at the cost of a flat one.
So, anybody got a bottom shock retainer laying around to measure? Thanks.

 

Day #3, the mounts are still intact.