Other Technical Articles:

Issue 7

Mitchell, Peter. Restoring An E-type - Not For The Faint-Hearted Part 4

Issue 9

Mitchell, Peter. Restoring An E-type - Not for the Faint-Hearted Part 6

Issue 9

Andrew Turvey's Technical Topics

Issue 20

Issue 30

Issue 30

CMC Colume by Andrew Turvey, 'The Low-down'

All Fixed-head E-types carry more weight in the rear, especially on trips. For these I would recommend running the static ride height a little higher. Use new replacement springs to lift the rear and packers for a little extra height.

Shock absorbers with adjustable spring pans are another alternative on the rear end. However I would only recommend using them with the original diameter springs. Also, do not be fooled into thinking that you only need very stiff shock absorbers to stop the back end grounding. Standard shocks do a good job if the springs are doing theirs. The shock absorbers are a damping device rather than a prop to hold the spring up. If the shock absorbers are set too stiff with standard springs, the car may 'jack itself

down', i.e. the springs will not be able to recover from bumps due to the resistance of the shock absorbers. This is very tough to diagnose! When shockers are adjustable, check them against a standard unit: pull and push the rods by hand as you fit them, make a comparison and set the new ones only a little stiffer than the standard ones. External adjusters make re-setting the shockers very straightforward. The rear ride height of all E-types should be 7.9in measured from the base of the rear frame to the floor.

Cars which carry their exhaust system a little low must check that it is mounted correctly. It is very common for V12 centre exhaust mounts to be fitted upside-down. The O-rings also perish and stretch to twice their correct length. The rear mount of a six-cylinder car is also a very inexact piece of kit. Spacers can be fitted to lift the rear section where it hangs on the boot floor. These problems are easily remedied during a service.

Again, at the front of the car the exhaust is usually the first thing to get damaged in a grounding incident. The V12 engine often sinks very low in the chassis on old rubber engine mounts, causing the downpipes to protrude below the car. Six-cylinder downpipes seem to be a little over-generous in length and hang below the car in nearly all cases. The remedy is to lift the engine a little at the front using new engine mounts and spacers for a V12 or the taller heavy duty mounts on a six cylinder car.

Front suspension

The front ground clearance is generally set %in lower than the rear, giving a nose-down attitude. This is mainly for aerodynamic reasons as the E-type does not have a front spoiler. I do not recommend setting the front ride height of a V12 E-type any lower than the standard 6.25in, measured below the front chassis member to the floor. On a car with low front suspension, the front shock absorbers will quite often bottom out, hitting the bump stops. This will give a very harsh ride and cause handling problems.

The consequences of the front suspension reaching full travel without a bump stop are most severe. If the exhaust or engine does not hit the road, the suspension will go solid on full compression. The shock absorbers may also receive internal damage or even break.

To raise the front suspension we must re-set the front torsion bars. A setting link is used in place of the front shock absorber and the torsion bar is carefully pushed into its spline. The Series I and II cars can be adjusted half a spline up and down quite easily. However, V12/SIII cars require a special tool to pre-tension the torsion bars before they are bolted up, further fine adjustment of the SIM is available on the snail cams situated on the lower suspension arms.

If you insist on lowering the front suspension or you are suffering from nose­diving under heavy braking, you will need to fit uprated front torsion bars. You will need a shorter dimension for the setting link, this will be provided by the torsion bar supplier. Inevitably the ride quality will suffer with uprated torsion bars. Again, hang on to the original torsion bars (springs) just in case. It is also important to remember that the front torsion bars (springs) are handed left and right. They are either marked with paint or stamped on the ends. Mixing these up will also cause grounding problems.

The front ride height of a six-cylinder car should be 8.75in measured in the centre of the inner TCA bush to the floor, although they will accept being a little lower - unlike theV12.

Tyres

It may not be obvious, but the fitting of low-profile tyres will bring the underside of the car closer to the road. Raising the suspension to compensate for this will prevent damage to the undercarriage, but it may also cancel out any advantage sought in the tyre department.

Notes for lowered cars

Cars that are used on track days and circuits often come across strange handling phenomena such as the suspension snapping into oversteer or feeling like there is something loose moving from side to side at the rear. Quite often this can be put down to not enough suspension travel or the car hitting the bump stops. Cars that are lowered for track use etc should make advantage of aftermarket tapered bump stops. These fit on to the shafts of the shock absorbers as normal, but they give a much more progressive deformation when they come into action.

Issue 33

Issue 33

Issue 32

Issue 31

Issue 34

Issue 36

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Issue 37

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