Hawk front suspension parts

[peterc]

Hi guys
I'm just about to undertake a thorough recheck of all my suspension on the basis that it must have changed since build. Whilst I can't detect any slack but the front suspension bushes look a little tired at the edges so may well benefit from replacement. Do Gerry's tubular wishbones have bushes unique to his design or are they standard MGB. There is probably a difference between upper and lower due to the upper arms normally being the lever arm shocker on the original car.

Secondly any recommendations on ride heights? The race cars alway seem to have massive amount of ground clearance compared to mine.
I have 6.75" underside of the main chassis tube to ground at the rear but only 6.25" at the front ( approx in line with bulkhead) before the chassis bends up for the front suspension. Unfortunately the front spring mounting looks like it has no more adjustment so maybe new springs will be needed.
Any advice appreciated.
Peter C

[StewbieC]

Morning Peter,
Gerrys suspension takes standard MGB Spring plate arm bushes but you need two sets to do top and bottom as the top wishbones take the same bushes.
Ride height is down to preference, mine is slightly higher than other Hawks, but roads where I live require it. It's still a low rider in comparison to that stupid ally bodied monster discussed in other threads.
Hope that helps.

[peterc]

Hi Stu
Many thanks for the useful info of bushes being MGB and that they are duplicated.

Out of interest what is the dimension(s) of your chassis to ground.
Since re routing my exhaust the rear 2/3 rds usually clears most road bumps but the first 90degree bend attached to the down pipes takes a hit from sleeping policemen. Hence the desire to raise the front by 0.5" or so.
A quick check shows the car has definitely dropped 0.5" all round since the build which is not really surprising. It had a good workout in Wales last year!
Peter C

[amulheirn]

I think the Hawk kit specifies that they should be MGB V8 bushes, so perhaps roadster ones wouldn't be sufficient. I bought poly bushes from scparts.co.uk for mine.

Cheers,

Andrew

[StewbieC]

Hi Peter,
Never measured before just adjusted mine to get even spacing on the wheel arches. I measured and I have 6.25" clearance to the main tubes front and back. I measured at the front on the flat before they rise up.
Hope that helps.

[peterc]

Stu
Sounds like we worked to same plan. 2-3 fingers clear above each tyre to the outside of the arch.
Maybe I'll re think about raising it.

Andrew do you not find the polybushes transfer too much vibration.
Peter C

[catsx11]

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[clive]

I misread your last sentence as "the car's owner's weight."

[amulheirn]

.... Andrew do you not find the polybushes transfer too much vibration.
Peter C

Hi Peter,

Actually (as you can see below) the front suspension on my car is currently a bit of a hard ride. A wooden pallet and four castor wheels (unadjustable for toe, camber and castor unfortunately) are the current solution.

Andrew

pallet - 1.jpg

[Paul Blore]

The chassis should have a slight nose down attitude as per Alan's setup above.

So many people are missing out on the best from their cars because they're not properly setup. The difference between a DIY setup and a professional specialist (not your local tyre depot), can be enormous.

Paul