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Triumph TR6 - Is tube shock conversion worth it ?

Hi Folks. Have any of you done a conversion to tube shocks? I've bounced around the web & it seems that it's about 60/40 between rebuild the old ones / do the conversion. If I did the conversion I'd be looking at the frame mounted Moss kit & not one of the cheaper kits. If i stayed with the lever shocks I guess I'd wanna go with the upgraded ones from Apple Hydraulics. Thanks for any advice!

Jim C
jac clayton

It depends on the conversion kit set up. Hopefully the really bad ones that sandwiched the wheel well sheet metal and transferred the load there have all gone away but it doesn't sound like you would be going for that anyway.

Moss has two kits, one that uses a cantilever mount that is bolted to the origianl damper mount point. Those appear to be relatively robust, but I've always wondered if there is more flex there than I imagine since I have no first hand knowledge of them. The other kit uses a three peice bracket set up, where one piece goes from the original damper mount to the bottom of the fuel shelf, the next is mounted to the top of the fuel shelf and fixed to the lower piece with fastenrs with theother side going against the inner side of the wheel well. The third piece is then mounted in the wheel well to the middle piece with fasteners. This one seems to be reasonable as the loads should be carried by the mounts and the fasteners between the mounts. Here, hole preparation and fastener pattern alignment would be critical for effective load transfer between the three mount bracket components and not into the sheet metal itself. I would also think that either of these systems would be a bit more restrictive with respect to the tire size that could be run.

There is another alternative for a tube damper conversion, but it is a bit more involved. it involves welding and modification of the trailing arms. They offer two versions now, one with spherical bearings and one with polyurethane bushings.

http://www.revingtontr.com/shop/product_display.asp?mscssid=8AMMB5AVXW7P8HEQDF4SAVXGS8FD0650&CarType=TR6&ProductID=RTR3003SPK

I have the version with the spherical bearings on my car as it was the only one available when I decided to go the Revington route along with their high mount adjustable anti-roll bar. Downsides are the coast, having to get it out of the UK and it is definitely a more "involved" bit of work that the others.

The hardware that came with the Revington kit was not all that great, but folks here already know that I complain about the hardware supplied by most of the vendors with any of their stuff. I use the supplied stuff as a guide and replace it with AN/MS/NAS hardware that you can get from outfits like Aircraft Spruce, Pegasus Racing, Coast Fab, etc.

I've also used the heavy duty version of the Apple lever damper rebuilds and found that they work reasonably well. Unless you are going with either a marshmallow or a real kidney buster of a spring, the damping rate is such that it will be a decent match for the springs.

While you're in there, I'd also recommend a set of Richard Good's adjustable trailing arm brackets. Life will be much easier at alignment time with those fitted. Again, the only caveat that I offer on those is that I swap out the hardware as indicated above.
SteveP1

Whether or not this is worth your while and money, depends on how you plan on driving the car. If you do just regular driving around, it might not be worth while, unless you just want another project. I've started autocrossing my car, so I went with Spax adjustables from BPNW. If you don't want expesive shocks but still want to convert, Tony at RATCO sells a kit that uses Monroe tube shocks. The only problem with that kit is, it uses only the Monroe shocks, you couldn't use a differant brand if you wanted.

Rob
rw loftus

Found some pictures that were taken when the conversion was in work. The top portion gives a better view of the high mount anti-roll bar while the lower shows the bottom portion of the brackets that are fitted to the trailing arm for the lower mount points.

One of the welded in pieces at the spring pan that serves as the upper damper mount is visible in the top portion of the picture. There are also a couple of gussets that are welded in on each side at the spring pan that don't show up here.

RW, on your BPNW conversion, there is no picture of the Spax kit on their website. Is the mount like that of the KYB dampered kit and if so, what have you noted in the way of tire size limitations?




SteveP1

Jim

I have no experience with the tube shock conversion but I have no complaints with the lever shock ride. When I rebuilt the frame I really beefed up the frame member where the trailing arms go so it is pretty stiff and I only bottom out if I really hit a bumpy road or railway track and am going too fast. I kind of like it when the car dips back when I shift. I use the car for cruising and I do drive fast but do watch the speed into sharp bends and corners something I think the tube shocks would handle better.

I also tried to keep the car as original as possible so didn't want to do the tube shock conversion for that reason.

I have heard a lot of people swear by the tube shocks so I don't think it is wrong if you want to spend the money.
Michael Petryschuk

Jim:
I used the basic Moss kit that has a single bracket bolted to the original lever shock mount. I heard a few bad things about that kit after I installed it but on the original install I had my welder reinforce the original mount where it met the big frame rail. Later, after viewing Bobby D's site I fabricated and added the extra brackets exactly as he described them on his excellent web site. While he used the Blind Moose kit and mine was the Moss they are virtually identical in configuration with the Blind Moose probably being a little more robust. In any case, with the extra welding and the added bracket/brace as described by Bobby D I have had no problems whatsoever after about 4 years of spirited driving. Follow the link to Bob's site for a complete overview with pics.
Cheers,
Bob




http://tr6.danielsonfamily.org/BlindMoose.htm
Bob Evans

Steve, I havn't looked at BPNW's site for a while, but I'm surprised the Spax shocks aren't there any more. I only put them on the winter of '11 '12. They were kind of pricey, maybe they weren't selling enough to justify keeping them. If you want a set, maybe call them. When I bolted on the brackets, which were originally designed by HVDA, I gave them a good tug, having read about the issues Bobby D talks about. I could wiggle the top of the mount, probably over an 1/8", and my frame is good. That covinced my of the need for the added bracket. After its install, the whole thing was rock solid. As for tires, I am running 16x7 Panasports with 205 65 Falken 912 zx tires.I also have RG's lowered suspension, so tire limitations might not be restricted only by the shock kit. I think though a 215 tire might fit. Some guy's have them. It would be real tight though. So tight I'm not sure I'd want to gamble the money to find out. Sure would look good though.

Rob
rw loftus

I wouldn't do it unless you pull the body and do all the strengthening the area needs
ASK an old poster Rod...now what happen to those pics??
DON KELLY

I remember those pics. I've always wondered though how much of that problem was the result of the crappy welding that was done when our cars were built in Coventry in the first place. I know the welding on my frame is awful. I've had mine since the fall of '90 and done pretty much all of the mechanical that's needed to be done.I bought a new house just a year ago and built a 24x24 garage. I hope to be taking the body off of mine in 2 years. I think it's quite good, the car came from BC. I'll be doing all the requisite frame work then, but a far as I know the frame is rust free.

Rob
rw loftus

This thread was discussed between 14/04/2013 and 17/04/2013

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