Sprite front end rebuild: bushings, A-arms, springs and more

Update by Tim Suddard to the Austin-Healey Sprite project car
May 15, 2023 | Austin-Healey, Moss Motors, Sprite, Bugeye Sprite, Austin-Healey Sprite, Winner's Circle

Now that our freshly painted Sprite had its rear suspension installed, we could turn our attention to the front.

First, we cleaned any threads of fresh paint. Then we installed the new shock and A-arm rubber bump stops that we sourced from Moss Motors.

Then we installed the offset lower A-arms bushings sourced from The Winner’s Circle. While we will have to go back in and adjust them at the alignment shop, we got them roughly fit–thin part of the bushing towards the center of the car in order to gain max negative camber.

We then bolted in the lower A-arms with new Grade 8 hardware.

With the A-arm dropping, we could slide in the coil springs–but it took a bit of work as the lever shock doubles as the upper control arm. (It might sound weird, but dozens of SCCA H Production national titles says that it works pretty well.)

We used a floor jack to lift the A-arm into place. We got close, but the entire car started to rise off the jack stands.

Our solution: We had someone sit on the inner fender well. That added enough weight so we could slip in the bolts and finish installing the front suspension.

Our final step was to bolt the steering rack into place and attach the tie rods. We aimed for zero toe so the car easily rolls around the shop–final alignment to come later.

The final step: Fitting the anti-roll bar we sourced from The Winner’s Circle would come later once we got the car on the lift

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