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My Roadster has IRS and is in need of new shocks. Presently it has coilover shocks. Real hard to find , not sure if I need to get coilover or will a standard VW shock work ? Got to get it up on a lift, not sure what’s involved with replacing the rear shocks.
Thanks in advance if anyone can give some advice.
Dick
Dick,
I believe the common wisdom is that standard VW shocks will work best for VW based TD Replica.
Coil-overs will only add stiffness to the suspention where you don’t need it!
PMOSSBERG40749.5417824074
Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica RoadsterIf you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)
Hey Dick, I’m not trying to contradict Paul’s advice,but if I remember correctly, your London Roadster is one of the rare ones using the VW engine and transaxle but built on a custom chassis with coilover shocks on all four wheels. If that’s the setup,the shocks may not be typical VW type and you would need to replace them with shocks designed to fit your car.The length and design may be very critical to the handling and ride quality.
If I am wrong about the chassis design and you have a VW pan and suspension, Paul’s advice is right on target.
Good point Larry.
Yes, I was thinking VW pan, VW suspension.
Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica RoadsterIf you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)
Thank you for your input. It does have a metal crafter’s chassis. How do I find out what to buy, or do I have to pull one out to see ? Has anyone pulled the rear shock out ? What all is involved ? Can’t hardly see the top of the rear shock to see how it is mounted. Don’t have any equipment to get it in the air.
Dick
Hi Dick,
What is IRS? I have a London Roadster, too, and am learning about it each week.
Mark
IRS is Independant Rear Suspension. It makes certain that the tires are flat on the road and not leaning to one side does top the crown or bank of the road. At least that’s how I remeber it being explained. I had a cool picture that shows the difference between how the rear tires contact the road with a swing axle transmission compared to the IRS. I’ll see if I can track it down and post it.
Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackVWs made befor 1968 have swing rear axles, The axles are enclosed within a larger tube and only have the ability to pivot at the end near the transaxle.This results in the wheel leaning in at the top when the rear of the car is loaded and out at the top when the car is carrying less weight.
VWs made in 1968 and later have a rear suspension with u-joints at each end of the exposed axles which allows the wheel to remain in a near verticle position regardless of the load in the car. This type is referred to as IRS.
Maybe the shock bodies have a part number or manufacturer’s name stamped on them?
If you know the shock dimensions and an get the car “scaled” at a race shop, there are many “coil over” shock manufacturers and a “zillion” spring rates to choose from to “dial in” your car’s ride and handling. Most of these are adjustable for ride height or “wedge” too.
IRS eliminated extreme camber changes in the rear suspension verus the Swing Axle design. on VW’s.
The first Swing Axle designed 1960-64 Covair is what Ralph Nader based his famous book “Unsafe at Any Speed”. Later corrected in 1965, they were actually great handling little cars, but Nader had already killed them.
VW’s are easy to spot the IRS/Swing Axle difference…count the lug nuts….wide 5 is Swing Axle, 4 lug is IRS.
Pink MG40750.4769560185
The term “IRS” does not only refer to post ’67 rear suspension. It refers to how the wheels are sprung, and not to rear axle articulation.
John Muir differentiates the two rear suspension designs as “swing axle” and “double jointed”. Both can be defined as IRS. Independent Rear Suspension is defined as having the rear wheels independently sprung as opposed to a solid axle where moving one wheel moves the other. Since the front wheels are already independently sprung, a Beetle has “fully independent suspension”.
I owned a ’60 Corvair back in the day. The build plate showed that it was built in ’59. An early model with 80 hp, a 2 speed Powerglide and a gas heater. It was a great station car for NY winters. Once you learned to initiate oversteer when you wanted it handling was quite predictable. It looked really strange from the outside when the inside wheel jacked up though.
The Corvair “Skonk Works” built a 2 seat research vehicle with the engine in front of the rear axle, 300 cubic inches and double overhead cams on a Corvair crankcase. It was a Porsche beater. The Corvette crowd wouldn’t tolerate it. It was a Vette beater too.
Nice drawing, explains it well, even to dummies. Like they say, a picture is worth 1000 words.
Got the car up on the lift yesterday and to my suprise, it has coil springs on the rear with a chock in the middle. So now I have to find just a standard shock, not a coilover. The front has a coilover shock.
The code on the shock was C6024 which I am having a hard time finding out what it is. Got to match it to something as one shock is broke. The shock is also stamped USA. Probably not a VW shock. It has the treaded ends top and bottom. Not the slide thru bolt ends.
Anyone have any info on a C6024 shock ?
thank you,
Dick
Hmmm…so far I’ve learned that part number C6024 is a front brake drum for a Jaguar XK120 when equipped with wire wheels! Seriously. Look…
http://www.jagspares.co.uk/Manners/Pricelists/XK140.htm
Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica RoadsterIf you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)
Best I can tell, c6024 MAY be an out of production Gabriel Gas Ryder shock absorber.
There has been lots of debate here as to the best shocks for our VW based TD replicas. And the common wisdom is standard oem equivalent oil-filled shocks.
Here is the thread with the most comprehensive VW suspension discussion on our forum:
https://tdreplica.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=15&PN =1
Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica RoadsterIf you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)
Also, a comment on the IRS comments posted by BDriver and GunFighter.
Everything you guys said is correct. Technically the old VW swing axle suspensions are “independent” because the rear wheels move independently of each other.
But…and this is a big but…
In air-cooled VW circles, IRS will always mean the non-swing axle suspension. So if you are looking for advice in any VW forums, swing-axle is swing axle. And the later “CV joint suspension” is the IRS suspension.
Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica RoadsterIf you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)
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