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If it moved the rear of the body up and down relative to the pan, would that correct my body height issue on the passenger side. I should have taken some before and after photos, as I think you are correct. The passenger side did sit lower and now sits higher.
I hate to revive an old post, but I believe a couple of the most active members on the thread are still on the forum. I have finally installed the coils and the ride is fanastic! 😛 The harshness I worried about is non-existent and the car is nimble on the roads. The only problem I face now is that somehow the driver’s side still sits lower than the passenger. This is baffling, as I know I have taken the load off the torsion bars and there is equal load on both sides. 😕 Aside from that, I now have positive camber on passenger side as well. The springs come from the factory at the lowest point. They can be turned counterclockwise as an adjustment. This would compress the spring and, if I’m not mistaken, increase the load on it while shortening the length on the spring slightly. Would this fix my issue regardless of the comfort of the ride? Aside from that, there is also a threaded rod that runs from the frame of the Duchess to the top of the shock tower. Would an adjustment forward or backward adjust for camber as well? Thanks for any answers.
A fellow Rhode Islander, Royal! Congrats on escaping. LOL What I wouldn’t give to find one of those hardtops in a garage somewhere. Of course, the person that assembled my car figured that heat was unnecessary and removed all the components. That would probably be a good first step to fall driving.
Thanks, JuneyBug. Although I appreciate the help, my vehicle having IRS and having everything blocked off makes things a whole different animal. As an update, I decided to simulate correct spring positioning by jacking the right side of the vehicle up to be even with left. When I did, it seems that my camber issue resolved itself. Does that make sense?
I thought of the coil overs almost as a helper spring that would only take so much of the load until the torsion bar suspension kicks in. This mentality comes my history with helper springs in leaf suspensions on Jeeps, which of course are a completely different animal. I still don’t understand how the torsion bars have anything to do with my camber. Considering that my ’71 chassis has the spring covers blocked by fiberglass of the kit car body, can I achieve enough adjustment by elongating the holes? When the car is jacked up, the camber does correct itself. Does anyone have any pictures of a modified spring arm and the adjustment they made to fix a negative camber issue?
I don’t think that the Gas-Adjust shocks would remedy my passenger side sag issue though, would they? After talking with you Royal, I was considering the set up that you have. I’m just not sure that I would have clearance for the top cup with my set up. Would correcting the height effect my camber? Has anyone done any adjustments to rear camber? After hours of research, I still have no clear answers.BIGBAND392013-07-09 11:32:55
Which size do you run on your Duchess, PMossberg? Mine have the original 6.00×15 tires. I just don’t want them to rub.
Looking at the picture of the Duchess suspended in the air, where was your hoisting point on the fiberglass body?
The thing I’m wondering is how wipers blowing a fuse would shut down the entire vehicle. I was thinking possibly the voltage regulator?
For those searching the web for answers, I have found by searching that unfortunately, I would have to lift the fiberglass body off my car in order to access and adjust the torque bars.
Considering that I have to do the floors in the future anyway, I may just run the car for the summer as is and make all necessary repairs during the winter months.I tried to buy a set of tires at WalMart today. They wouldn’t put them on my car! They can only mount O.E.M. equipment and there are no records apparently for a ’71 Beetle. Just wanted to let everyone know before ordering them online.
It seems the rear shocks are bad. Trailing arms don’t seem to be bent. Has anyone here adjusted the splines on the spring arm in order to lift their vehicle? Any suggestions with camber adjustment? If the rear end is sagging by a couple inches on the passenger side, wouldn’t that in itself due to the geometry of the axle cause negative camber on the left? BIGBAND392013-06-27 17:23:35
The tires I have on mine now are 6.00 X15L. I sourced out a set of 165/80R15s from WalMart which were also Nexens. Are reading that you have 185s on yours, will these tires be too small? I’d rather have a larger tire if possible for handling reasons.
BIGBAND392013-06-24 13:24:04After a month of night of getting a few hours at a time at the garage, I finally was able to get my Duchess out on the road! Here is what she looks like now in comparison to the sad garage pick I posted earlier. She still needs replacement tires, the rear suspension feels loose, floor patching, and I want to find some chrome trim rings and baby moons for the rims. Still, not bad for the money. 😀
Although less evident in the picture, you can definitely see that the tire is tilting to the right. Pressure was a low on the rear passenger side tire, which could have contributed to some of the sloppiness. Even after properly inflating it, the car seems to sag on the right hand side. It’s times like this that I had a better grasp on geometry.
I’m sorry to pose such an open ended question. I just figured I would get an idea of what some other people have done to gauge different costs, successes, and the best route to take in the future. I realize that I could rattle can it or spend $10,000 dismantling the body and giving her a three stage. I appreciate some of the suggestions. As for the welts, I assume the fenders would need to be removed to replace them? Thanks for the heads up on not painting them. Did the Duchess come with a gel coat? The body is in great shape with no cracks or damage.BIGBAND392013-06-23 02:27:45
So will the heat of the pans burn the fiberglass? As for authenticity, I’m not particularly concerned for now. I just want the car to be solid enough to tool around in for the summer. If I can finagle some garage space in the winter, I might tackle the project of removing the body. How difficult is it? How many mounting points on the body to release?
BIGBAND392013-06-14 12:09:49
Does the whole body really need to be pulled to work on the floors? Every thread I see regarding floor patching and replacement references removing the body. Seems like quite the undertaking.
After dismantling the brakes, I found that wheel cylinders have no leaks and they and brake shoes are new. Still, they are 30 years old. Should they still be replaced? The brakes hardware was rusted, broken, and will be replaced. I’m also replacing flex lines and the master cylinder due to the fluid color. Are lines from the external reservoir to the master just standard rubber hose?
Because of the different shape of the body and fenders of the MG, does this change the way or make the replacement brake components any more difficult? Any suggestions to a newbie? I have everything coming in tomorrow (shoes, cylinders, master, flex hoses). Hoping to complete the job within the week. 😀 BIGBAND392013-06-06 12:50:37
For anyone new like myself and reading this thread, this video is awesome pertaining to valve adjustments!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3MgWSXTwWQ
Still can’t find a picture or description of a full flow filter. 🙁
I can’t even figure out where the valve cover is on this thing yet. LOL Any advice with valve adjustment? Also trying to figure out if my engine has been converted to a full flow filter and, if so, where the filter would be located. I have already done some research about the draining of oil and replacement of factory filters.
BIGBAND392013-06-05 23:16:42It’s alive! 😮 What a $10 siphon pump from Harbor Freight can do! I used the pump to make sure the line was clear to the gas tank. A few pumps and it was bubbling away. Next I made sure the motor was good by pumping gas into the carb from a gas can. A few cranks later and she started right up! 😛 The motor seems to run well, but I believe it has an exhaust leak from somewhere as it seems to be abnormally loud. Has a regular tick to it, but doesn’t sound bad. Difficult to imagine cruising down the highway at 65mph and 3K rpm. When the fuel in the bowl ran dry, I filled it again and restarted the motor. I hooked up my connections to the pump and the tank in hopes that the pump would come back to life. It did, but started to leak badly. I took my Airtek pump out of the box and attempted to install it. Who designed the pump input and output??? They weren’t anywhere near where the originals were located. I didn’t see any possible way for the hoses to be attached and not severely kinked when bent. I pulled the pump, took the top off the old pump, cleaned it up and repositioned the gasket, reinstalled it, and now it is working fine. The entire system is pumping from the tank as it should and the motor runs surprisingly smooth. Once I can get it out of the garage and to my place, I plan to remove and refurbish the tank. I’ll also replace all soft lines, change the oil, change the filer, and give her some new plugs, rotor, cap, condenser, and points. Now onto getting the brakes to work properly! Thanks for the help everyone!
LOL
You can never have too much advice. The only issue is with keeping track of it, acknowledging it was received, and letting people know that you appreciate it.
If I were to use a lawnmower tank (can I buy one of these are Harbor Freight or Tractor Supply) and gas was gravity fed into the bowl, wouldn’t it overflow the bowl from the pressure of the incoming gas?
BIGBAND392013-06-04 13:58:03
Considering I am somewhat new to this, I did crank the engine before changing the oil.
I made sure that the oil was up to level though. The motor turns
freely. If I’m understanding correctly. what you are all suggesting is
that I pre-feed a length of rubber line with gasoline and then put the
other end into small gas tank? Will the vacuum from the carb pull the
gas from the tank into the carb? Does it need to be a lawn mower tank
or will a small red gas can do? Sorry if these questions are making me
sound like a newbie. After all though, I am. LOLQuote:Look at your other thread. Before starting this engine I’d do a few nice
things for it, starting with a few drops of oil in the plug holes and a
hand crank-over.I guess if you’ve been cranking it that’s moot.Did you douse your carb with gumout or similar? Cause it’s probably about as full of varnish as the tank was.I didn’t do anything with the carb as of yet considering I couldn’t get gas to it. Are you suggesting to opened the butterfly and douse the throat?
Thanks for all the suggestions on cleaning the inside of the tank. As soon as I get the engine at least running, I will drill out the rivets and working on refinishing the tank and replacing all the soft lines.
BIGBAND392013-06-04 13:10:41
