Bristol 412 Suspension

[GOFFJASON]

I have recently completed a refurbishment of the front suspension and brakes on my 1976 412 S1. As someone who has benefitted greatly from the resources and experiences contained within this forum, I thought it only fair that I document my experience for others to review.

Please feel free to ask if your require further photos, descriptions or parts lists

I am now in the process of doing the rear suspension and brakes, so will post the results in due course.

Jason

Bristol 412 Front Suspension.pdf

[peter dowdle]

Great post just the sort of thing the forum needs more of. Would love a photo and details of the car.

[Kevin H]

Hear, hear! Thanks for the post and the PDF Jason.

For what it's worth I posted a thread back in 09 which might add a little more to your contribution, you can find it here http://www.bristolcars.info/forums/8...uspension.html

Unfortunately threads get somewhat buried over time. I'll have to think of an unobtrusive way to make such threads easier to find.

[penman]

Hi Kevin
Would it be possible to copy such attachments over to the "Resources" area in the appropriate model section???

[Kevin H]

Originally Posted by penman

Hi Kevin
Would it be possible to copy such attachments over to the "Resources" area in the appropriate model section???

Done!

Jason, in your PDF you mentioned sourcing parts listings /drawings - are the ones you obtained the same as the ones in the Resources section of this site, here ?

If you have better drawings perhaps we could have them on this site also?

It would also be useful to know what, if anything, was not available from Bristol. Were you able to get the coil spring spacers and insulation pieces from (the parts shown in this post). Or perhaps the turret nuts which fit on the end of the bolts that go through the lower wishbone bushes?

Kevin

[GOFFJASON]

Kevin, I will check through the drawings and parts lists in Resources and if I have any additional to add I will scan and post.

From memory, everything I requested of Bristol was available as at October last year. As I mentioned, I machined new lower spring seats out of nylon, as the original steel ones had the shock absorber mounting bracket bolts, corroded into them. They also seemed to be ridiculously heavy for what they were doing. Of your parts shown, I only replaced the soft rubber top pad and the urethane lower pad that was being held firmly by the corroded fixings. The angled top spacer was in good condition.

In regard turret nuts, my inner wishbone fixings were all of the self locking type nut. The turret nuts were on the top and bottom suspension joints and steering. All the turret nuts had split pins solidly corroded into them and I gave up breaking drill bits trying to drill them out (despite having sourced replacement nuts from my local engineering fixing supplier). I made the decision at that point to switch to replacement Nylock nuts.

I think the only part that was unavailable from Bristol were spring retainers for the suspension joint service kits. The only other part I found unavailable, was a local source of brake disc rotors. This was confirmed by Bristol, who supplied a set that had obviously been machined from another model disc (good quality AP Racing!).

I trust this is of some help. Jason

[David Olivant]

Jason,
I am interested in your electolitic / caustic bath, could you please post details of this please?
On a secondary note, I replaced my bushes with polyeuret.hane.
They were not available to buy, i bought some stock and turned them down.
They are lasting well (7 years) but not convinced they give a better ride.
David

[GOFFJASON]

David,
In regard the electrolytic/caustic rust and paint removal, rather than post a lengthy description I would direct you to the many listings on Google or, Morris Register of Victoria - Dissolving Rust
I used the setup on this link and found it thoroughly effective, just take note of the safety advice.
I note your use of polyurethane, which subject to the hardness used, may have some benefits over the standard rubber, namely it's resistance to oil and inherent strength. Unfortunately it still develops a compression set under sustained load and is unlikely to be any stiffer than the metalastic bushes used in the wishbone arms. I did use polyurethane on the sway bar bushes, as these were readily available.
I think it is apparent when you rebuild the front suspension, how much development Bristol have done on that system. If you look at the very rigid double wishbone and sway bar design, complimented by a coil spring that is seated on a range of materials - rubber and urethane for fine damping. No wonder it works well.
Best regards, Jason