It is normal for the swing axles to drop when you lift the car, and the wheels do normally 'tuck in' as you describe. I just replaced the rear spring in my Spitfire and the swing axles don't drop all the way to the frame, so your spring is sagging more than when it was new. Do you need to replace it? Not necessarily. I replaced mine because I'm doing a complete restoration, but also because the wheels displayed a slight negative camber when the car was empty and a pronounced negative camber when I sat in the car.
I have yet to get to the point of setting up the suspension geometry, but this seems to be a good site for describing the variables and settings. http://auskellian.com/paul/links_files/performance_enhancements.htm Check out the Rear Suspension part of the page. Charles Reid 1980 Triumph Spitfire > Date: Fri, 2 Jul 2010 17:09:38 -0700 > From: [email protected] > To: [email protected] > Subject: [Spits] Rear Height > > Fellow Listers; > This afternoon, I attempted to adjust the rear brakes on my '77 Spit. When I > jacked up one side, I noticed that the wheel "tucked in" rather dramatically > (i.e., the bottom of the tire angled in toward the center of the > car...positive camber I believe). This was so dramatic that the half-shaft > actually touched the frame and the wheel wouldn't spin properly. > Is this normal...or is this the classic sign of a sagging rear spring? > I have worked on the rear suspension recently (over the winter), in which I > installed a used differential. While that was a long and involved repair, > nothing untoward happened with that. > Any advice/opinions would be appreciated. > Thanks, > Matt Milkevitch'77 SpitfireWillow Grove, PA > _______________________________________________ > > [email protected] > Donate: http://www.team.net/donate.html > Suggested annual donation $11.47 > Archive: http://www.team.net/archive > Forums: http://www.team.net/forums > Unsubscribe/Manage: http://autox.team.net/mailman/options/spitfires/[email protected] _________________________________________________________________ The New Busy is not the too busy. Combine all your e-mail accounts with Hotmail. http://www.windowslive.com/campaign/thenewbusy?tile=multiaccount&ocid=PID2832 6::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-US:WM_HMP:042010_4 _______________________________________________ [email protected] Donate: http://www.team.net/donate.html Suggested annual donation $11.47 Archive: http://www.team.net/archive Forums: http://www.team.net/forums Unsubscribe/Manage: http://autox.team.net/mailman/options/spitfires/[email protected]
