Coil over shocks

[listerjp2]

Hi,

There is a Marlin Roadster on ebay that has been modified. It has had the Torsion bar removed and coil over shocks fitted together with rose-jointed tie-rods.

Has anyone done this and does it improve the ride?

Adrian

[info11]

Re: Coil over shocks

Hi
Well.... i'm a bit new to all the technicalities of kit cars and stuff....
But as i understand it, are "coilovers" simply a shock with a coil.... over it ? i know there are adjustable ones...
I have a roadster with no torsion bar on the front and the front shocks have bloody big coils over them....
If they are "coil over shocks" then as for the ride well!!
i cant compare with anything else but mine sticks to the road pretty good... but a bit hard... spose it's meant to be.
I'll have to post a pic or two and get some feedback.

[stevejgreen]

Re: Coil over shocks

Keith, that sounds to me that you may have a hybrid with Triumph front end and Marina at the rear.
Nothing wrong with that at all. Infact some might wish they had one.

The Marina original front suspension was torsion bar and not conventionally sprung that allows for a progressive spring rate
Unfortunatly the chassis arrangement between the Triumph and Marina front ends does not allow for an easy swap between the two.

I have often thought about converting a Marina suspension to coil sprung, either using something like the the Morris Minor conversion or using a Mazda MX5 setup but the accurate setup and amount of welding has but me off.

[mallockat]

Re: Coil over shocks

That's my Marlin on Ebay.
The front utilises AVO competition spec, fully adjustable dampers and coil spring, commonly called "coilover". The dampers are adjustable for damping rate i.e.fully soft to pretty bloody hard! The spring rates can be changed simply by changing the spring. Currently the spring is 350lb/inch which works well for a lightish car on smooth(ish) tarmac. So the answer is that you can have any type of ride that you wish - and that has to be a good thing.

[listerjp2]

Re: Coil over shocks

Cheers Chris for your reply. Can you tell me more? Did you just remove the torsion bar or was it a little more complex than that? Was everthing else retained at the front end? etc. etc.

Adrian

[mallockat]

Re: Coil over shocks

You need the damper to be the same length as the telescopic damper already fitted, with a coil spring to match that length. I simply cut off the torsion bars behind the lower control arm and left the stub in place, as removing it is pretty difficult.
The "coilover" mounts in the same place exactly as the original shock absorber (Triumph Herald Rears!). The rubber bushed front tie-rod/track control arm was replaced for a rose-jointed one supplied by a Marlin Trials specialist (cant remember his name), as were the shortened steering arms (for quicker steering). It's all pretty simple really; unfortunately not cheap. New AVO coilovers are about £350 a pair (mine came off a racing kitcar), the tie rods were about £80 (can't remember exactly) and the steering arms were about the same. These last two items are exchange only.
With this set-up you can also change the front ride height, although this also alters the spring pre-load so you need to reach a happy compromise.
I haven't driven the car with these mods. as It's still unfinished, but with my previous kitcar competition experience, and my garage "bounce test" I absolutely know that it will be a great improvement. I'd stake my house on it!

[mallockat]

Re: Coil over shocks

Steve Holder at Fourtune Engineering modified the tie-rods and steering arms. 01242 680620.

[listerjp2]

Re: Coil over shocks

Chris, have you finished the mods on your suspension yet? and have you driven it yet. If so I would be interested as to how it handles. Adrian

[listerjp2]

Re: Coil over shocks

That's my Marlin on Ebay.
The front utilises AVO competition spec, fully adjustable dampers and coil spring, commonly called "coilover". The dampers are adjustable for damping rate i.e.fully soft to pretty bloody hard! The spring rates can be changed simply by changing the spring. Currently the spring is 350lb/inch which works well for a lightish car on smooth(ish) tarmac. So the answer is that you can have any type of ride that you wish - and that has to be a good thing.

Here we go a person with the torsion bars removed.

Adrian