Hi , I have been asked to modify an Austin 7 chassis frame to accommodate parallel rear springs . Obviously the rear axle mountings will need to be altered and new bracketry made for the rear of the chassis . I know this modification was carried out by Gordon England , but does anyone have any pictures/drawings/sketches of an original 1920's chassis modified in this way ? Or is it a case of do it as I think it should be ?! Thanks in advance , Simon

Simon,
Sorry, I can't help with a GE replica but can offer my experiences of doing something similar for the Speedex I'm building. Being 6' I prefer cars that I sit 'in', many specials with the floor ontop of the chassis rails make me feel like I'm riding them like a jockey. Building the Speedex I decided to have the floor under the chassis rails which also became the lowest part with tubular cross members between the rails.

Even with the floor under the chassis there isn't really room to get a seat down between the spring mounting and transmission tunnel. So I decided to make it harder again by opening out the rails at the back end, coincidentally just fitting inside the body frame.

My solution was to leave the springs in their normal place in the ends of the chassis rails but fit into the normal axle mountings by having the spring bushes drilled at an angle. I got this idea from the first Mallock U2 that used A7 springs with worn bushes, the springs could be splayed apart to the desired angle.

I had quite a struggle getting the bush holes at the right angle, spring bushes tend to be tight on one side and loose on the other, one tended to spin when being drilled. It occured to me (at the end of this - all the best ideas come too late) that the way the 750 Formula cars were lowered in the sixties may have been a better idea. They had a link between the normal spring eye and axle mounting. This could accomodate parallel springs by having a slight twist, they also offer the potential for easier lowering in the future with longer links. The down side is that the axle is normally located sideways on corners by the springs. Some Formula cars were successful without any extra lateral support like a panhard rod so your solution may be in very short links, just long enough to join all the components together with a twist to incorporate the parallel springs but short enough to retain lateral stiffness.

Hope of use, I'd be interested in other's views.

Dave

Sorry I can't help with the springs , but must mention to everyone to take a look at your website Simon - the Ruby body rebuild is well worth a look !! Happy New Year to all , John

I have include some pictures showing the method used by George Vallender to obtain a very low floor line in his Special. The car is currently owned by Paul Gaynor in the States. I had not seen this method used before.
Bryan

Perhaps a wider rear crossmember could be substituted for the original and some scrap chassis rear sections suitably mounted on this and tied into the original chassis??

Steve.

p.s Bryan , love the racer
. Where on earth do you sit?? .
Like the ashtray on the right hand side of cockpit

Thanks for your help ! Regards , Simon