[Spridgets] Spridgetly update

[Weslake1330]

Hi List,

No news on hoses - I guess it will need a personal visit that won't happen
for a couple of months.

This update then is about my Sprite's rear suspension.  I've always had it
lowered with lower springs and lowering blocks.  However, more years ago
then I care to remember I began making some front spring hangers that put
the spring eye about an inch higher.  I also had, thanks to a friend, some
lowering blocks turned down from the standard inch (if not slightly more
than that) to half an inch.  So, all things being equal the ride height
would be the same but with very slightly better handling.

Except the leaf springs were old and I didn't see the point of doing a
whole load of ride height critical work and then have to re-work stuff in
the near future when I swapped the springs, and I had to wait an age to get
some new ones to a similar spec.  They arrived last week and I did the
install to one side last Saturday and the other side this Saturday.  I
rushed last weeks install and didn't wire brush or paint the axle housing.
I also found that I still hated the polyurethane bushes that never were a
great fit and squished out to the point of being almost non-existent.

So today, I took my time and cleaned and painted the axle housing where the
u-bolts will sit.  I have new Polybush brand leaf spring pads in
polyurethane in their harder option.  However, install didn't go as well
and either there is a slight misalignment in one of the front hanger
captive bolts or the thread isn't great but that can wait until next week
for rectification (I'm not driving it anywhere!).

Today I found the measured ride height isn't the same from side to side and
while I suspect this is simply the different in the poly bush spring pads I
won't be 100% certain until I redo the first side I did.

One thing I'm aware of is that while the ride height will be the same
(eventually on both sides) as it was before (I did take a measurement) the
axle position is slightly different - by that half inch difference in the
lowering block.  So I will have to modify the Panhard rod mounting on the
damper bracket and that will be a trip to someone with a welder.  I think
that also rather than have a solid block with a thick wall tube for the
bolt welded to it, it will make sense to have to pieces of thick wall tube
on top of each other to provide an alternative height if I find I change
something else (a pity I never thought of that in the first place).  Yes,
it would be easier to make the change on the body bracket of the Panhard
rod but that will very slightly adversely effect the handling so I don't
plan on doing that, even for half an inch.

Since my Sprite has a Frontline telescopic conversion I also need to check
that the half inch difference doesn't cause the dampers to bottom out or
ever extend (the current setting might have been on the limit other way.

After sorting all of that out I then need to fit new Anti-tramp bars that
are designed to pick up on my new front hanger bracket rather than use a
bracket bolted to it.  I've also made the new ones with much larger rubber
bushes to make the arc they will move in when the axle goes up and down, a
little easier.

I figure I have at least 3 more days work to get all this finished, longer
depending on how the brackets work out.

I'm also hoping for a total weight saving of at least 2.2 pounds, if not
nearer double that.

Regards

Daniel
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