Alucard7002 - Mk2b 820Si Fastback - Pic Heavy!

[scoobyh123]

Did you win the ploughing competition then?

Looks a lot better now it's not head-butting adventurous snails though! Might have to look at doing something with mine to level it up for the same reason, the lights already need tweaking down a tad with a full-ish tank of gas. Might go for a set of those rubber donuts to fit between the spring coils for now........

Took your advice and didn't go for the full timer relay set-up by the way - works well enough so might just leave as is :



Must say i'm amazed at those pads catching fire - must have stopped pretty quick to generate enough friction to go above the flash-point!

[CHR15E]

Looks a lot better now it's not head-butting adventurous snails though! Might have to look at doing something with mine to level it up for the same reason, the lights already need tweaking down a tad with a full-ish tank of gas. Might go for a set of those rubber donuts to fit between the spring coils for now........

Would you not be better swapping to self levellers?

[scoobyh123]

Unless a new set of self-levelling springs and shocks come along for pennies Chris, i doubt it - the coupé had new rear springs and shocks less than 2 years ago. Besides, i'm not sure they would bring the ride height back up to normal at the back and even if they did, they're horrendously expensive by comparison to a set of those donut things.
The other alternative would be a set of the higher ride height springs, i think they raise the ride height by about 20mm but trying to find a pair these days would be like trying to find a hens dentist!

[Alucard7002]

Nope! Speak to your local motor factors and they can order them direct from Lesjofors for £16 each.

I'll dig out the part number shortly

[CHR15E]

The uprated springs do help, I bought some years ago. Can't for the life of me think what I let them go on now.

I'm hoping I don't ever need to replace the shocks on my Mondeo. £400 each for the rears!

[scoobyh123]

Nope! Speak to your local motor factors and they can order them direct from Lesjofors for £16 each.

I'll dig out the part number shortly

I forgot you had unearthed some including the part number! Thanks for that!

The uprated springs do help, I bought some years ago. Can't for the life of me think what I let them go on now.

I'm hoping I don't ever need to replace the shocks on my Mondeo. £400 each for the rears!

I've only ever owned one Mondeo and the whole car only cost £400! Mind you, the whole rear suspension was shot and the front wasn't far behind! Just to rub it in, the clutch had more slip than a Teflon coated ice cube on a skating rink!

Out of interest Chris, did you have an LPG powered 800 at any time?

[CHR15E]

I've only ever owned one Mondeo and the whole car only cost £400! Mind you, the whole rear suspension was shot and the front wasn't far behind! Just to rub it in, the clutch had more slip than a Teflon coated ice cube on a skating rink!

Out of interest Chris, did you have an LPG powered 800 at any time?

I've been lucky so far, aside a broken front spring it's had no other suspension work required in 2 years and passed its test 2 weeks ago without any advisories.

I had 2 LPG'd cars, 1 827 and 1 820 though only ran the 820 daily. Ended up replacing almost everything on that and eventually scrapped it as I'd had enough of it.

[scoobyh123]

In that case, did you ever have the heavy duty springs on the back of either of those?

I've just converted my coupé to LPG and the back sits a bit low now, not that much lower as i fitted new springs a couple of years back but i'd like to get the standard ride height back if possible although it does sit more level in general now so i'm kind of torn between leaving as is and getting it looking like standard again.

[CHR15E]

Don't think I did no, I used them mainly for towing.

I think I'd give them a go at that price. I'm sure I paid a fair bit more 10 years ago.

[scoobyh123]

I was just trying to get a comparison Chris - i've seen Dusans car with the HD springs and it sits nicely (or does now he's sorted the fronts as well ) but i also know he's got a huge (105L from memory) tank underslung from a false floor. As the tank is a lot heavier than mine which is only 59L and sits in the spare wheel well.
I don't want to go from one extreme to the other and find it sits too high with the higher HD springs.

[Alucard7002]

I'm currently on holiday Dave, I'll dig out the part number for you when I'm back.

My tank is a 77l one, I did have a 96l tank available but it was so deep it would have needed an even thicker false floor to clear the anti roll bar.

The HD springs also stiffen the rear end nicely and work well with the Vitesse ARB to nudge the 800 towards a more neutral handling machine. It's less of a plough in more ways than one now

[scoobyh123]

Thanks Dusan - are they standard ride height or raised HD springs?

I thought you had a huge, ex-Range Rover tank but i either got it wrong or you went for a smaller one! I do need to fit the Vitesse ARB as the extra weight of the tank (28kg empty, 50kg full) is noticeable through the corners with slightly increased roll, tempered somewhat by the front 26mm bar.

[Alucard7002]

It is an ex Range Rover front end kit. The 96l tank that came with that kit went in my brothers X308 Super V8!

I nabbed his 77l tank that came with his kit.

The sprigs are "standard" ride height however If yours are a little tired it will seem to raise the rear slightly ~15mm

Part number is 4275720 from Lesjofors - your local motor factors can order them in. I last purchased a set in 2011/12 for the princely sum of £16 each

[scoobyh123]

It is an ex Range Rover front end kit. The 96l tank that came with that kit went in my brothers X308 Super V8!

I nabbed his 77l tank that came with his kit.

The sprigs are "standard" ride height however If yours are a little tired it will seem to raise the rear slightly ~15mm

Part number is 4275720 from Lesjofors - your local motor factors can order them in. I last purchased a set in 2011/12 for the princely sum of £16 each

I knew there would be a simple explanation!

Thanks for the springs part number, mine were "New Old Stock" a year or two back and haven't had many miles since so shouldn't be tired at all. The only thing it might do is reinstate the ride height to cope with the LPG tank.
I'll have a measure up of the current ride height and check it against the specs - after i renewed the springs the ride height was spot on against them so will tell me what, if any droop the back end is suffering.
The tape measure says 365-370mm against a spec of 389 +/- 10mm for standard and 369 for sports (aka Vitesse) so to all intents and purposes the LPG tank has dropped the back end by 20mm ish. That's put me in a quandary to be honest.
The empty tank is 28kg and when full it's about 50kg for the tank and gas. The tank is fairly full at the moment so is on pretty much "full droop" so i think the HD springs are going to be the way to go.

Just found the Lesjofors website and online catalogue

http://ows-cdn.tecdoc.net/lesjofors/hom ... 4a94f205fa

and the standard and HD rear springs are still available but the fronts aren't.
I'll give the local place a call tomorrow and if they reply with a grunt then i'll try someone like EuroCarPrats instead. If all else fails i'll contact Lesjofors direct and take it from there.

[Alucard7002]

Small update time!

Finally got those Roversport Alloys refurbished and wrapped in a brand new set of 205/55 Vredestein Ultrac Centros.

These new tyres are scary sticky in the dry. Fantastic in the wet, good stiff sidewall unlike the old Uniroyal Rainsports.
They put Toyo T1R's and Goodyear Eagle F1's to shame.

I may have gone a little overboard on colour though...







All done in 2 pack epoxy primer/paint

1 coat Etch primer
2 coats primer
2 coats filler primer
Hand finished
2 coats ultra metallic Light Gold
2 coats Lacquer

Fantastic job by the boys locally at Morley Bros Ltd. Cambridge

Thoughts & opinions please? I was aiming for the old British racing colours of BRG, Gold and black.