Front Suspension A35 Renewal / Upgrade ?

Technical questions and Maintenance advice post in here please
Post Reply
Nikki&Austin
Posts: 89
Joined: Tue Dec 20, 2016 8:39 am

Front Suspension A35 Renewal / Upgrade ?

Post by Nikki&Austin »

Forgive my ignorance, but another NOVICE question.

Having adjusted the brakes, and then again just in case, they pull to the left a lot less now, but the car 'wriggles' at the front end under hard braking and when braking in a turn, particularly left turn; so I am wondering if there is something amiss with the front suspension such as bushes, geometry etc.

After being used to a very stiff race set up TR3, this behaviour is a little unnerving.

We have a MG / MIDGET / SPRITE MOGG specialist near us, so am thinking of getting them to do the front disc conversion for us.

What should we also consider getting done at the same time, I have seen mention of stiffer / lower springs?

If the spring is changed, does the damper need upgrading too ? Trying to avoid the domino £ £ £ effect of upgrading part after part, but want the car to be ready to take an upgrade to the 948.

Obviously the garage can check the soundness of what is there, condition of bushes etc, but is there any recommended updates/improvements that could go in at the same time as the disc brake conversion is done.

I would love to have a go myself and someone kindly posted a list of parts on the FB page, but (i) I rarely finish anything I start and (ii) really don't want to make pigs ear of anything such as brakes !!!

As always, TVM.
Edosan
Posts: 1406
Joined: Sat Jan 30, 2010 3:04 pm
Location: Dronfield, Sheffield
x 1

Re: Front Suspension A35 Renewal / Upgrade ?

Post by Edosan »

Your Midget specialist will be able to check it all out for you, brakes pulling badly is usually a sign of seized cylinders or a leak and contaminated linings so assume you have checked inside drum as well. If your disc conversion is imminent I would just focus on that and seeing what your specialist finds. Uprated Midget springs and dampers can be fitted and dampers are certainly very worthwhile in my opinion but you don't necessarily need these if you are only going to be running a standard 948cc engine. :wave:
Chris T
Posts: 984
Joined: Thu May 08, 2008 4:12 pm
Location: Wiltshire
x 5
x 4

Re: Front Suspension A35 Renewal / Upgrade ?

Post by Chris T »

I imagine the Midget specialist will be very keen to replace the entire front suspension & brakes for you.
You could instead take it for an MOT and ask the tester to identify the specific problems so that you can target just those individual faults. He's unlikely to recommend replacement of the entire front end.
Chris T.
400,000+ A30 miles in 40 years
Austins <=> sustAin
User avatar
Countryboy
Posts: 4377
Joined: Fri Nov 12, 2010 11:45 pm
Location: Leafy North Hampshire

Re: Front Suspension A35 Renewal / Upgrade ?

Post by Countryboy »

This is a slippery slope !

I have been very impressed with springs from Peter may :wow:

These are rated at 400 lb and will lower the car. If your dampers are shot, I would go for Spridget ones and make sure they have been properly reconditioned.

If you would like to experience this set up, PM me and I will take you out for a spin

As Ed and Chris have said, it's all about what you are looking to achieve :wave:
Rest Home for rusty vehicles
User avatar
Neil Evans
Posts: 12179
Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 1:06 am
Committee Role: Technical Officer
Location: Boston, Lincolnshire
x 11
x 25

Re: Front Suspension A35 Renewal / Upgrade ?

Post by Neil Evans »

Chris T wrote:I imagine the Midget specialist will be very keen to replace the entire front suspension & brakes for you.
You could instead take it for an MOT and ask the tester to identify the specific problems so that you can target just those individual faults. He's unlikely to recommend replacement of the entire front end.
Chris T.
:iagree: ... to a point, but with the proviso that the MOT is only to 'minimum standards' and applicable to it's condition on that day only...
Club Technical Information Officer
A30/A35 Club Member A191 (since 1972)

Father of the club's only love child
Bill
Posts: 729
Joined: Tue Jan 07, 2014 5:37 pm
Location: Taunton

Re: Front Suspension A35 Renewal / Upgrade ?

Post by Bill »

This may be of interest to you.

eBay item number:172564599173
User avatar
A40FARINAGURU
Posts: 16413
Joined: Tue Mar 30, 2010 8:14 am
Committee Role: A35 Registrar
Location: Birmingham (Home of the Austin)
x 21

Re: Front Suspension A35 Renewal / Upgrade ?

Post by A40FARINAGURU »

Bill wrote:This may be of interest to you.

eBay item number:172564599173
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Austin-A35-Su ... Sw5cNYlhRW
Nick Bayliss

Club's A35 (Saloon) Registrar, South Midlands Area Contact

Email, a35@austina30a35ownersclub.co.uk

Connected with A30/A35's for 63 years

A30/A35 Member A1372 (since 1981)
User avatar
gazza82
Site Admin
Posts: 5585
Joined: Sun Nov 24, 2013 3:39 pm
Committee Role: WebEditor
Location: Buckinghamshire
x 2
x 17
Contact:

Re: Front Suspension A35 Renewal / Upgrade ?

Post by gazza82 »

They can do this with one if you try hard enough ....
RacingCountryman.jpg
RacingCountryman.jpg (116.29 KiB) Viewed 674 times
I love the "Bonnet safety straps" ..



"Probably just needs a front anti-roll bar .... "
"If you're driving on the edge ... you're leaving too much room!"

Club WebEditor.

Cars: "Project 757" '59 A35 2-door bought in 1971 & Subaru BRZ SE LUX Auto plus "family fleet": Alfa MiTo, Peugeot 206, (Ex '98 Alfa Romeo 156 2.0 TS)
Post Reply