Specs on C.A.T. Club front and rear competion springs.
- Thread starter fjohn49
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In 2002 I had an engine problem that prompted me to pull the 5-bolt 289 and figure out some kind of replacement. As part of that process, I removed the front crossmember and it became obvious that some kind of attention there was going to be necessary also.
My Tiger had suffered an apparent lower balljoint failure on the right side at some point; the outboard end of the right lower control arm was ground flat parallel to the ground, and the upper control arm appeared to also have some kind of twist. After I removed the control arms it became obvious that both upper arm mounts (on the crossmember) were twisted to the right as well.
On top of all that I was not that happy about the way the (CAT) springs sat in the crossmember and on the control arms; it seemed like stuff just didn't quite fit right.
So, I scoured the interwebs and found a pair of Aldan single-adjustable coilover shocks with 450 pound springs. I cut the upper control arm mounts off the crossmember, then used a large hole saw to cut clearance holes for the coilovers in the lower control arms and in the crossmember 'hats' where the upper control arm mount perches used to be. I fabricated new upper control arm / shock mounts from steel plate and welded them into place; for the lower end of the coilovers I made an H shaped piece that locates the lower eye on the control arm.
My Tiger came to me with a 1 inch anti-roll bar that a previous owner had bent up. It more-or-less fit the stock mounting on the control arms, but there is a lot of friction there that contributes to harsh ride and it also has a preload effect on the lower control arm location.
I decided that what I wanted was to go to a more conventional arrangement where the anti roll bar has bearings that locate it on the car chassis, with drop links going from the bar ends to the lower crossmember. I made some 1 x 3 steel tubing extensions on the crossmember to anchor the roll bar bushings. I made the roll bar bushings out of some UHMW plastic. For the drop links I used some 3/8 inch bolts with shock bushings for compliance. I drilled and ground the ends of the bar to accommodate the drop links.
Lastly, I had read lots about the occasional occurrence of lower fulcrum pin failure. Since I was intending to run larger than stock tires and wheels, I figured that if I could do something to maybe mitigate the possibility of failure and/or limit the consequences, that would be good. I made some brackets and welded them onto the back side of the crossmember, so that I could mount 1 x 2 tubing braces that effectively capture the rear free end of the fulcrum pin and places it in double shear. This would hopefully reduce the stress on the rear end of the fulcrum pin, and if it were to crack, it would at least provide a bit of support for enough time to bring the car to a safe stop. I looked a bit and can't immediately find pictures of that.