DETERMINING RIDE HEIGHT

LOWERING THE CENTER OF GRAVITY....

The time to consider ride height is drawing near. I installed lowering springs on the front suspension and a lowering kit on the rear. The car will have 15 inch Mini Lite wheels so it will be up to the height of the tires to determine the ride height. The only confusing part is that the ride height changes as the engine and transmission and the interior is installed. 

When the drive train installation is complete, the actual road clearance can be determined more easily.  As it stands now, it has almost 9 1/2 in clearance. Hopefully the engine and transmission should drop it about 2 inches.  That will equal the ride height of the Healey 3000...pretty cool.

The engine and transmission will probably be installed this weekend.

Stay tuned,

TD

TD

READY TO INSTALL THE FRONT SUSPENSION

                            

Now it's time to install the front suspension.  With the steering rack installed, care must be taken not to scratch the new paint.

We installed the front suspension by lifting it in place with the floor jack and tightening the four mounting bolts.  Next, break the connection between the king pin and the shock absorber.  This will allow the swivel axle assembly to be lowered exposing the spring pans.  Simply place the coil spring in the pans and raise the bottom pan with the floor jack., reconnect the king pin to the shock absorber and the front suspension is in place. 

 It is exciting to finally see the car begin to come together.  Having the car on it's wheels will tell us what size tires are required to achieve the desired ride height.

We will be installing the rear suspension soon.

Later,
TD