Hello all, Winston the 1970 13/60 Herald broke the LH vertical link the third day I owned him. I have since aquired new one$ from Rimmer Bro$. As you all have experienced, once you start disassembling you find other parts that need attention. In my case the front spring/damper assembly was a mess. In the lower damper/shock absorber bushing the metal tube/bush had migrated upwards crushing the rubber portion. I suspect that had changed the geometry of the lower A-arms as the faces where one mounts the trunnion and damper are no longer parallel nor plumb. Probably the reason the vert. link broke, twice since I found a solid rod where the grease passage should be.
Replacement parts for the Herald are not available here in Peru and one has to adapt parts from other cars. I could not find shocks so I have to use the originals which seen OK still. I visited about 8 different shops till I found one where the gentleman was willing to help. He had worked in the Gabriel Shock assembly plant here in Lima way back when. He pulled out his boxes full of bits and pieces he had accumulated during the years and we were able to adapt, with the help of a grinder, the lower shock bush. I had disassembled the spring/shock using a press where I work (Otis Elevator). The PO had replaced the upper shock absorber bushes with about 8 circular layers of inner tube rubber the diameter of the upper spring seat plate (the one with the 3 studs popping out the top) and an aluminum disk spacer. The nylock nuts on the 3 studs were barely hanging on. The was no sign of the original bushes on this side, LH, and one very crushed one on the RH. The dished washers on the LH upper spring seat had come loose and I have since welded them back on. The kind gentleman mentioned above supplied me with 4 new bushes and washer/caps. The bushes, I believe, are of greater diameter than stock so I will be grinding the down to fit. Questions: What is the correct diameter of the stock upper shock absorber bushes? What is their thickness? Are they shaped to fit into the dished washer/caps attached to the spring plate? The edges of the ones I have are square cut. Should they be rounded or beveled to fit? Would it be OK to swap the shocks and springs from side to side to compensate for any sag caused by driver weight on this LH drive car? Thanks in advance for any help. Javier __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? U2 on LAUNCH - Exclusive greatest hits videos http://launch.yahoo.com/u2 /// [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailing list /// Send admin requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] /// or try http://www.team.net/cgi-bin/majorcool /// Archives at http://www.team.net/archive /// Send list postings to [EMAIL PROTECTED] /// Edit your replies! If they include this trailer, they will NOT be sent.
