Freestyle front susoension mod

R

Ross_B

Member
Hi all

I have started the suspension mod on the front with the GP1 Gaz shocks....

I have added some photos to make sure that I have......

1) firstly assembled the shocks with the springs correctly by leaving out the top spring retainer collar and fitting the spring as shown below.

DSCF3595.JPG

2) does the original holes that the shocks pass through have to be widened or removed as the GP1 shock doesn't seem to pass through with the spring attached so what is the usual cure for this?

DSCF3589.JPG

3) Do you just cut off the original mounts for the shocks and not worry about original measurements and just go for a bit of 50 x 50 or 50 x 75 channel and just mark and fix it down as required when both shocks are clear in the chassis, fitted together and sit where seems 'natural'? and is that when the chassis is complete with all 4 wheels down and then set it up in position?

DSCF3585.JPG

I thin that's it for now I will add a few more photos for clarity

DSCF3590.JPGDSCF3593.JPG

Thanks for the help!

Ross
 
R

Ross_B

Member
Hi Alan

That's great thanks for the help!

It was as I suspected I will take those chassis parts off mine and get some angle ordered and give it ago!

Ross
 
R

Ross_B

Member
Hi All

I am looking for another bit of wisdom regarding the bracket for the front suspension

I have misplaced (lost!) the bracket template so I am having to make it from scratch.....

Can anyone remember if the height of the centre bolt is approx. 32mm/1 1/4 as that's what makes the most sense to me? and this is what I measured before cutting off the original brackets from the chassis

Can I ask, even if it sounds stupid, why the side of the bracket away from the spring/shock is angled? can I get away with just cutting the spring side down for clearance or once the car is down on the ground does it need clearance on the angled side for something that I can't yet see?

Then do I need to put in spacers between the bracket and the shock to get them as straight as possible when looking at the shock from the wheel hub side across the chassis?

Thanks for the help hopefully after this is done then I can get on with the rest of the front end ready for sorting the subframe

Thanks again!

Ross
 
R

Ross_B

Member
I wish I knew! It's definitely "somewhere safe"

If anyone can give me an idea that the hole height would be the same as the original mounts would be great as I think I can work out the rest by trial and error

Thanks!
 
Phaeton

Phaeton

Moderator
Staff member
So these are all 'I thinks' rather than 'I knows' as it was such a long time ago, 5 years is a long time in my memory, I don't even remember having breakfast.

Measurement I really don't have a clue, but you must be in the right ballpark looking at the images, don't think it's too critical.

Pretty sure that unless you take off the extra meat you'll get contact issues, but if you're only bolting it on like I did it can soon me taken off again.

I think it was more a question of clearance & getting it all as square as possible, I have something in the back of my mind that if I did it again I would consider rose joints, but I cannot for the life of me think where or for what reason.
 
R

Ross_B

Member
No worries that's all the things that I suspected as well and with making up a temporary template which I did yesterday....

I will go with what makes the most sense and go from there I was going to bolt on so if I needed to make modifications it wouldn't be too difficult

thanks for the help
 
Danny

Danny

Administrator
Ross_B said:
I wish I knew! It's definitely "somewhere safe"

If anyone can give me an idea that the hole height would be the same as the original mounts would be great as I think I can work out the rest by trial and error

Thanks!
Click to expand...

If your stuck I am sure I can find the template file somewhere :D
 
250buggys

250buggys

Well-known member
You don't really need a template, just find a piece of heavy gauge channel that is wide enough to take both the shock ends, bolt through the eyes and take any slop up with washers, bolt the channel to the bulkhead and then remove enough material so the shock body clears the channel when fixed at the other end when it swings.

There are at least 3 of us that have done this mod and plenty of good pics in each of our build threads to get the idea 😃



Before

Screenshot_20250114-213220670.jpg


Middle

Screenshot_20250114-213158285.jpg

After

Screenshot_20250114-213136645.jpg
 
250buggys

250buggys

Well-known member
You can see the material to take off from the pic, enough for the lock and adjust collars to clear the channel.

Remember to get thick gauge channel, the forces here are substantial!
 
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