'74 TVR 2500M

In reply to TVR Scott (Forum Supporter) :

Umm... that means it's bigger?

TVR Scott made me go out and look at my sway bar.  Seems to be the stock (i.e. weird) bar with the threaded ends, and it is definitely 3/4 inch.

In reply to TVR Scott (Forum Supporter) :

It means you’re starting in a better place. 

   I think everything we've seen indicated that TVR Scott's TVR has been "enjoyed" a lot more than mine, in the sense that all the modifications (and wear/damage) indicates hard use. Unfortunately, most of the "improvements" have been bodged or insufficient to handle the hard use.  Mine, on the other hand, seems to be one of those rare, "unmolested" cars that has been left stock and never driven hard.  When it was driven.  But then it suffered a long period of serious neglect... I'm facing mostly damage from exposure to sun and moisture.  At this point Scott has had to replace a lot more metal, but fortunately he is a guy eminently capable of dealing with that issue.  Our ultimate goals for our two cars is a bit different. Neither of us is striving for a "correct, restored" car, but Scott obviously has the more serious motorsport ambition for his TVR.  We both plan on ending ujp with a capable autocross weapon, albeit at different levels of competition, while retaining street/touring comfort and usability. "Comfort" may be a relative term. Personally I'm both looking forward to and dreading getting past this chassis and suspension work,  but turning wrenches is harder to mess up than fiberglass bodywork, electrical, fuel, and interior details.  At least for me.  I'll either learn some new skills or pay more to farm out the work that prove to be beyond my abilities.  

I'm not sure many of the "upgrades" on my car were particularly a step forward.  Let's run thru them:

Weird turbo with pull-thru SU car set-up.  Nope.

Hacking of fenders to match.  Nope.

Smashing of frame and suspension parts into taller road-based object.  Not helpful.

Decent looking but totally inadequate roll bar / cage thingy.  Nope.

Delete of heater box.  Super-nope.

Hole cut in hood to clear SU carb.  Nope.

Car run hard, put away wet, and left to rust for a decade.  Not a big performance improvement there.

From my view, your car looks great!  Carry on!

   I really want to get the front hubs done and installed, but I'm pretty sure with the 16" x 7" wheels I'm planning on using there will need to be a spacer, hence the need for longer wheel studs.  I thought that would not be a problem, but it seems that it is.  The 7/16"-20 is no problem, but the knurled part seems to be different from any I've been able to find.  Even the Dorman's catalog doesn't agree with the empirical evidence (observed). I thought I'd found a solution when I found a listing for longer TR6 studs  at  a place called Wishbone Classics, but they seem to be unreachable... not to mention the bad Better Business Bureau reviews.  I talked to Richard Good, and he said he doesn't offer any standard fit studs because he can't find them  either.  Revington TR (in England) offers them, but at about $9 each, plus shipping!  So, back to Goodparts for their long ARP studs... I know that they are of superior quality, but was trying to avoid having to have the hubs drilled out to fit them.  Still, way cheaper than going with his alloy hubs, albeit without the added strength and weight savings. 

I think you can fit the 7” wheels without a spacer, as long as the extra inch of rim is added toward the inside. That’s +1/2” offset. That’s based on me remembering the T slot wheels as being 6J with zero offset. 

Of course, that will impact the turning radius. 

   Thanks for that info, Bernard, as well as the detailed anti-roll bar stuff.  I know I've seen that sway bar page before... TVRCCNA? Maybe Pistonheads? Thanks either way. As I said in the previous post, I've ordered the ARP long studs... they'll match my long back wheel studs, and I can use the spacers if need be.

I think the ARP studs are the right way to go.  Shouldn't be much trouble drilling out those hubs. 

Bri g them over! Ive got a pretty accurate drill press.

In reply to Dusterbd13-michael (Forum Supporter) :

   Thanks for the offer, Michael.  When I get the studs I'll drop by.

I'm curious about your trunnion bearing install and how it went.  Mine is already threatening to fight.

In reply to TVR Scott (Forum Supporter) :

I'm nor sure what you mean, Scott. Once I got the assembly sequence figured out it went well. Just remember to put the cupped washers (Moss calls it a "water shield") in place before you press the nylon bushings into the trunnion.Now I'm sorry I didn't get any pics of the process. It's straight-forward, but not clear in the manuals or catalog.

Well my issue is that nothing really seems to fit.  The bushings seem too big to go in the A-Arms.  The crush tubes only barely fit in the bushings - like press-fit tight.  And then the bolts don't go thru the trunnions.  So business as usual.

You bought your kit from Moss?  Maybe it's different/better than the one I got for Victoria.

Oh, and I very likely pitched the "custom spacers" that get used on the TVR front end.

   Oh oh.... there are custom spacers that TVR used? I didn't see anything non-Triumph when I took mine apart. Sorry you're having trouble. The nylon bushings and crush tubes are indeed a snug fit... as I found when I put them together wrong and then had to pull them out! The bolts should slip through the crush tubes easily enough, though. Are they bolts that came with the rebuild kit or ones you bought separately?  Also, my kit also came with 8 rubber bands that the catalog calls "sealing rings", and I have never found those on any Triumph I've taken apart. Either people don't use them or they "perish" as the Brits say. They fit in the water shields, around the shoulder of the bearing, and are held in place by the washer.

In reply to Stu Lasswell :

The spacers are only shown in the TVR exploded-view, not the TR-6 one.  The just look like thick washers - maybe not needed?

I'm honestly not totally clear what's supposed to slide and what's supposed to be fixed on this.  I guess the bolt, trunnion, and crush tubes are meant to be static, and the bushings are meant to slide.

I did get the little o-rings too.  I agree they look a bit tenuous.  I think there were some fairly ruined ones when I took out the old parts.

First I was wondering where you saw an exploded view of the TVR suspension, then remembered seeing one in the technical section at TVRCCNA.  I does list a "special washer" and gives dimensions, but the cross-reference just indicates the Triumph part that came with the rebuild kit. That exploded view is difficult to interpret, as it is redundant in describing some parts. Do you have a Triumph manual? If not, the Moss or TRF catalog is better than some manuals I've seen.

The TVR manual looks like this:

In the BOM it's listed as "Washer, Special".  It doesn't show the regular washer from the TR-6 kit.

This pic from the TR-6 repair manual makes it look like the bushings should go in the trunnion:

I'm sorry, I keep saying trunnion when I mean the A-arms. Nothing gets pressed into the trunnion... only the bolt passes through it. You just have to feed a washer onto the bolt, then through one assembled A-arm, another washer, then the trunnion, another washer, the other A-arm, another washer, then the castellated nut. That's assuming the "sealing rings" stay put in the backing washers. There... clear as mud, right? (I hope this is right. Seems right in my mind as I write it).

   Oh, and that illustration in the TR6 manual with the trunnion is completely bogus! That certainly would add to the confusion.

Some Triumphs do have the plastic bushings in the trunion. Mostly Heralds and Spitfires, but really any one with stamped sheet metal control arms. The cars with forged control arms have the bushings in the arms. Alford & Alders would sell anything to anyone, so mix and match! The square section seals can last up to 5 years in daily drivers, after that they're gone, regardless of mileage.

   Things are progressing, finally.  I got the ARP long wheel studs from Goodparts, and Dusterbd13 (Michael) was kind enough to drill out the holes and fit them to my hubs. And boy, are they long!  I'm ordering some open ended lug nuts, so I'll leave them long and cut them (maybe) later when I see if I need spacers for the wheel fit.

Just a trial fit for a photo, without the bearings installed.

   Then, the other night I saw a photo on the Facebook pre-80s TVR page of a Grantura or something, and noticed that the sway bar fitting was basically the same as on the 2500M, but different somehow.  Made me go out and look at my A-arms and the sway bar mount... see anything wrong?  Scott?

Yup... I got the lower A-arms reversed.  I knew the sway bar mounted on the back arm, and below the arms, but forgot that the drop link extended down below. So, tomorrow I'll be taking apart the front suspension (again) and swapping the lower A-arm assemblies side to side.  Now I think I've officially made the wrong 50/50 choice every time regarding this build, at least as far as the front suspension goes!  One step forward, two steps back!

In reply to Stu Lasswell :

You got a laugh out of me on that one.

Lucky for me I have evidence of damage from the shocks on my lower a-arms.  Because everything on my car has evidence of damage.

Here's some additional weirdness - on the driver's side there are two mounting holes for the shock - both on the frame and the LCA.  On the p/s, there's only one on both parts.  WHY!?!

In reply to TVR Scott (Forum Supporter) :

You've got to remember, my TVR had NO shocks on the front when I got it, only 2x4s! 

Im still glad me and my odd menagerie of old tools can be a help! 

And those studs will probably look pretty neat sticking out of the wheels. At least in my mind!

In reply to Dusterbd13-michael (Forum Supporter) :

If you want a unique project - even more unique than a neon acr and more like this thread and mine - I can fill you in.  It's not far from you...