Hello listers,
'Nother newbie here. I've been lurking for about 3 months and feel very
fortunate to have found a very nice BRG Mk 1. I has the LAT options I had
hoped for (Minilites, hood, TMs, valve covers, 3.07:1 LSD), no rust I could
find (been owned in Texas for a long time), nice streetable but built-up
289, pretty stock in appearance from what I can tell from my limited
exposure, but with some upgrades where a newer and better solution exists
(not counting an alternator). Plus a well-engineered a/c (pretty nice to
have here in central TX) and a brake booster. No sign of overheating, good,
fairly stock looking interior, ok older paint (but clearly a bit of bondo
here and there). Shock towers have been rewelded, but I don't think the
other X-member reinforcements have been done. PO (Joe Jordan of Carrollton,
TX) drove it regularly and handed me a mountain of receipts. I received the
maintenance handbook, Chittenden's Clymer Publications performance Tuning
book, and some back issues of tech tips from CAT to look through.
After browsing through the publications (1987 edition) I'm wondering what
the current wisdom is on how best to improve handling. It seems to have
initial understeer followed by something more neutral once the chassis takes
a set. I haven't come close to flogging it yet, so I'm not sure what to
expect. I am familiar with the bass-ackwards ackerman geometry. One
article said a rear anti-roll bar didn't make that much difference. The
a/c, and perhaps the larger radiator core, has surely added some unwelcome
weight to the front end. I assume aluminum heads might help (but this is
not in the immediate future, not wanting to open up an engine with only 5000
miles on it). Currently I've got 185/65-14's on the front and 195/65-14
rear off-brand tires on the car. 335# springs are mounted in the front.
Anybody running the Spax adjustable shocks? I haven't had much opportunity
to investigate high-speed handling, but it seems a little dodgy over 85 or
so and I wonder if different shocks might help the bob and weave I felt or
if the short wheelbase/live axle/ackerman creates this. The car has Monroe
gas shocks on it the rear now, but I'm not sure what's on the front yet.
The PO didn't like Konis when he was drag racing and took swapped them out.
While I have read some alignment suggestions for autocrossing, I haven't
come across any tire pressure information for modern tires. I assume the
tires ("Classic" brand) are pretty marginal for serious handling -- they
have a treadwear rating of (gasp!) 480.
Thanks ahead of time for any suggestions.
Duncan Charlton
charlton@flash.net
B9473116
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