At 05:46 PM 5/22/2001 -0400, BrYarboro@aol.com wrote:
> If there's any
>further input from the list about rubber & poly, let me know.
Brian,
I don't know if this was mentioned, but there is a consensus that the
rubber bushes available as replacement parts are inferior to the
originals. They often go bad in a few thousand miles.
Increase their chances of longevity by adhering to the shop manual's
direction to tighten the suspension bolts with the weight of two people in
the car. This reduces the deflection on the rubber. Mine are still OK
after 3 yrs and 8,000 miles.
>Several other questions:
>--I need to rebuild the frnt brake calipers and I might as well replace the
>rotors. Are slotted and drilled rotors worth the extra bucks for "spirited"
>street driving?
No. Slots and drillings reduce the effects of pad gassing during severe use
(as at a track) and only result in vibration during street use. (They _do_
look cool, though)
>--Same thing for regular vs. braided brake hoses, worth the extra $?
If your Spit's rubber hose is original, you are well advised to replace the
hoses. The SS lines look cool, again, but remember, there is a nylon line
under the braid so you really won't get a benefit in pedal feel or
performance just from SS vs. new rubber lines.
>--When I repalce the rack any tips re: aligning the wheels after attaching
>the tie rod ends?
I got a full 4 wheel alignment after rebuilding my Spit's front and rear
suspensions. Note the number of tie-rod threads visible before
disassembling, then set the new parts to the same dimension. That should
get you to the alignment shop safely.
If you are a true do-it-yourselfer, there is an article on home alignment
on the VTR web pages
http://www.vtr.org/maintain/diy-alignment.html
I've never tried it, though.
BTW look through the archives for the alignment specs. You may want to
run a bit of negative camber in the front, this really improves the handling.
Regards,
Atwell Haines
'79 Spitfire
Succasunna, NJ USA
///
/// spitfires@autox.team.net mailing list
/// To unsubscribe send a plain text message to majordomo@autox.team.net
/// with nothing in it but
///
/// unsubscribe spitfires
///
///
|