Hi All,

The MKII Escort Ranger kit car is currently fitted with some 'heavy
duty' front springs (ready for the Pinto) but I'm gonna stick with the
XFlow for a while so need some 'suitable' springs in there again.

The stock Ford saloon springs were 'ok' all be they offering a
slightly low ride height due to the extra weight of the kit over the
std Escort.

I think I can still get some 'stock' Escort springs but someone has
suggested a 'coilover' conversion might offer both a greater range of
springs plus an adjustable ride height?

So, is there any sort of 'kit' that one can get to do this or are we
talking a bespoke conversion etc? What sort of money are we talking
about?

FWIW I fitted new damper inserts when I replaced the springs recently
(and welded the lower spring cups) (I replaced the springs because one
was broken).

All the best ..

T i m

In article <2g0r439vmg0tspkrkm9ngk1ta11ahim1tl (AT) 4ax (DOT) com>, T i m says...
the spring seat and welding a threaded tube in its place. Retro Ford
covered it in depth a few months ago.

Burton Power do a kit. It's £31 a side and then you'll need springs
which are about the same price so roughly around £60 a corner.



--
Conor

Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright
until you hear them speak.........

On Fri, 18 May 2007 22:46:56 +0100, Conor <conor.turton (AT) gmail (DOT) com>
wrote:


Ok thanks.
So (after a quick Google) and as you say, I remove the bottom spring
cups (I repaired them when I changed the springs last so I know where
I am there) and weld the threaded tubes to the old leg (after taking
the inserts out etc).

Then I assume I screw on a couple of rings (so I can lock one against
the other), some form of lower spring carrier, the spring and the top
spring carrier. The top of the damper shaft threads through the
existing rubber top mount and locking washer and nut goes on the top?

The whole lot then get's bolted back up into the turret (1/8" plate
steel on this kit <g>) and onto the TCA?

Jobs a goodun?

What about the self centering (previously done by the twisting tension
(torsion) on the coil springs) do I loose that would you know Conor
and is that an issue (MOT etc)?

Are there any other things doing this will affect do you know (in case
I've missed anything)?

All the best ..

T i m

On Sat, 19 May 2007 00:43:24 +0100, T i m <news (AT) spaced (DOT) me.uk> wrote:

That's not what self centres your steerimng:-)

In article <9ids431jdbf6onvuoa86egce0kcvlh84u1 (AT) 4ax (DOT) com>, T i m says...

Pretty much. If I get time this weekend, I'll scan the article in and
e-mail it to you. It's probably the most relevent one you'll find
seeing as it was done on an Essie. E-mail me at conor.turton (AT) gmail (DOT) com
with a valid address and also to remind me to do it.

Steering doesn't self center until you're moving and unless you're
running a car with a permanent LSD, it'll not get a road test during
the MOT.


--
Conor

Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright
until you hear them speak.........

On Sat, 19 May 2007 08:03:45 +0100, "Duncan Wood"
<newsto (AT) dmx512 (DOT) co.uk> wrote:


Hi Duncan,

Ok, on this Escort anyway the bottom coil of the spring sits in a seat
with a coil shape and 'notch' for the end of the coil wire. The same
with the top cup, which is anchored rigidly to the damper rod and top
mount (so none of those rotate). So when you steer you rotate the leg
on the damper rod and turn the bottom of the spring with respect to
the top, hence twisting or untwisting the coil.

So when you tighten the top nut it is essential you position the top
cup with respect to the car, and do both sides equally (so they
balance in the centre).

If you fit a roller top bearing you loose this effect completely (as
reported by the Rickman drivers that have done so).

I'm not saying that this mechanism does *all* the self centering but
it certainly plays a very big part and especially at slow speeds. Set
either top cup in the wrong position and the car will not centre (been
there, did that right the second time). ;-)

Looking closer at these coilover kits the spring could rotate on both
top and bottom cup so I'm not sure how it would work (if you might get
strange centering effects) if you *didn't* have a roller top mount?

(Bottom cup locked to strut / thread, top cup locked to damper shaft
via D shaped hole and hence non rotating std rubber top mount. If the
spring was twisted / untwisted whilst steering, if It didn't want to
it might be allowed to slip at either end and could wear the cup
(unless the spring pressure is sufficient to stop it from doing so).
If it didn't slip then it must wind-up and I'm not sure how much that
type of closed / tight spring would like that, in comparison with the
fairly light 'open' std 4.75" OD Ford spring anyway)?

Just thinking out loud etc ....

All the best ..

T i m

On Sat, 19 May 2007 10:28:33 +0100, Conor <conor.turton (AT) gmail (DOT) com>
wrote:

Brilliant, thanks Conor (my addy works but I'll email you anyway).
Ok ..

Ok, but as per my previous reply to Duncan, if you lift the front
wheels off the ground on this Ranger they *try* to self centre [1](due
to the spring torsion)?

All the best ..

T i m

[1] But can't quite because of the steering rack / other frictions
<weg>. Take the steering ball joint off and the leg springs straight
;-)

In article <salt43d3f2envuabutg1g5pn2gt0ceeueb (AT) 4ax (DOT) com>, T i m says...
strut top bearings as most cars do, they use a large rubber bush.

--
Conor

Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright
until you hear them speak.........

On Sat, 19 May 2007 11:45:01 +0100, T i m <news (AT) spaced (DOT) me.uk> wrote:

The windup in the spring isn't particularly helpfull though, when you hit
a bump it also tries to turn the steering, that's why people fit roller
bearing top bushes.

On Sat, 19 May 2007 16:23:20 +0100, "Duncan Wood"
<newsto (AT) dmx512 (DOT) co.uk> wrote:


Ok .. (other than positive slow speed self centering you mean)?

Ah ..

You are probably right where motorsport or 'performance cars' are
concerned but I can't imagine that ever bothering the millions (?) of
ordinary car drivers out there with the same setup? <shrug>

If I fitted roller bearing top bushes it would be to overcome other
issues not deal with bump-steer (in fact that would be the last of my
worries!) ;-)

All the best ..

T i m