Jerry Mitchell

The new spring mount has now been fitted & I'm thinking about adjustable radius arms as my forward end mounts to the body may be some way off compared to the original, so I wonder if anyone could help me out by giving measurements for reference points to get me as close as possible - namely ground to front end mountings & also mountings to chassis - if I can get it pretty close in these 2 planes (vertical & horizontal) then I might be in with a better chance:) Thanks.

Hi all & thanks for the very welcome input so far - there are certainly things to try out moving ahead - firstly I'll address the spring mount as mentioned earlier, then check through tracking & camber again to see where that takes it - front radius arm locations may need looking at again, even hardtailing & adjustable height uprights are worthy of further investigation too! I'll come back with a progress report asap - btw does anyone happen to live remotely near W. Sx.? Thanks🙂

Agreed! - that's the ver 1 mount - ver 2 will be a fair bit lower, just clear of the diff casing - it looks in theory as though the rear diff mount could be lowered by about 1" but there may be issues with propshaft alignment, so that's on hold & yes bike motor although originally shaft drive very annoyingly rotates the wrong way - if only it was a 2-stroke................! I'll get the ver 2 fitted ASAP & see what that does & then post again. N.B. in case you hadn't noticed, stock chassis is totally unmutilated & everything I've done around it has been done via the original body & other major component mounting points - thus it could be restored as a stock 1500 anytime in the future if my proposals don't work out:)

These were taken earlier - still on stock rubber & with ver 1 spring mount - will upload fresh as soon as ver 2 mount fitted:)

No! def neg camber initially tending to 0 with CF wheels now fitted, but was neg before with original wheels - due to weight loss presumably? - currently worsening on acceleration from standstill - Spring mounting on plate attached by short vertical lugs to 3 diff case bolts at front & 2 at rear to the 2 conveniently located holes in chassis rear x-member - bolted through but spaced to allow some 'give' - ver 2 plate now being made lower to get spring to sit as low to diff case as possible! Last time out tried with first long leaf spring removed, but not conclusive with other issues to cover first! Still have new set of stock steel wheels & 155's on hand to refit if necessary.................. Have thought about the hardtail idea – would be willing to give it a try to assess outcome – may even consider living with it if makes a BIG improvement, would just need an inner tube to sit on though Aerodynamics non-existent! – would go with adding weight if it becomes necessary – did try before & may have been going the right way – just have to consider clutch if needing to add quite a lot more though!

Hi, thanks for the response - briefly I have excess negative camber due to lack of weight - (picture stock '78 spit 1500 rolling chassis with Morris Minor Pick-up cab - don't ask! - Triumph motorcycle powerunit - stock diff flipped 180, alloys with 185 x 15's front & 205 x 15 rear - to try & improve contact patch/grip! - exhibiting excess suspension movement during any cornering, certainly not fast! The weight reduction from stock is extreme, near enough 0 weight on back suspension. Can't add too much weight due to being very wary of overloading the bike clutch. Currently working on ver. 2 of rear spring mount before further roadtest - all ideas very welcome:) Could I call you? - I'm very slow at typing:( regards, Jerry.

Hi, I'm a complete newbie to this but I'm hoping some knowledgeable person among you may be willing or brave enough to help me:) I'm using a Spitfire 1500 chassis as the basis for a motorcycle engined road car & have inevitably come up against several issues the latest of which relates to handling problems 😞 I wonder if there is anyone within striking distance of RH16 who would be able to cast an eye over it for me, as I'm running out of ideas? Front end issues may have been mostly overcome, but the back end certainly isn't behaving as it should, or indeed needs to! As a follow up I'll see if I can post any photos that may help - that will probably have most of you sending round the men in white coats to sedate me & lead me off to the funny farm! I suspect someone with experience of competition build & use may well be able to assist, but I'm open to all offers! Many thanks, Jerry M.