Wishbone Bushings

[My S1]

Hey all you master mechanics out there, do you have any magic tricks for removing the bushings from the cardboard wishbones?  I'm not getting anywhere with my cheapo bench press.  I have not tried heat yet,  I'm worried about getting the new bushing back in tightly on these flimsy arms if and when I get the old ones out.

[BDA]

I think at one time I have taken bushing(s) out using appropriately sized sockets and a a friend's big bench vice. Your arbor press may generate similar pressure to a vice so you'll have to go to bigger guns - a hydraulic press. My vice is not big enough to press those bushings out so I took them to a car shop down the road and they pressed them out for me.

If you have the room and think you'll have need for one beyond those 8 bushings and the two stub axles, hydraulic presses aren't very expensive - about $130 on ebay. Over in the UK ebay, there are some that are smaller and even less expensive that might fill the bill.

[314159td]

This is exactly how I did them, added some heat when they were stuck but no great issues of note. They are metal sleeves bushings pressed into a metal a-arm, so they may rust in place. I didn't need to on mine, but for this style in the past (Spitfire differentials) I have burned out the rubber then carefully sawed out the bushing sleeve.

[My S1]

Hard to justify buying a  press but I suppose it is like having your own media blasting booth...I went 65 years borrowing friend's booths and paying others before I finally bought one and now I can't live without it.

My concern with having a local shop punch them out is that the arms feel so darn flimsy (.060" steel) that I worry about them destroying the arms in the process.  Might try the burn out and hack saw gorilla technique.

[Clifton]

I used a Harbor Freight 12 ton press ($170). You won't use the full 12 tons of force.

[jlmullen2]

I used an appropriately sized hole saw attachment on my power drill. It was sized to fit between the inner and outer steel bushings. Quite messy as you are destroying the rubber busing material but effective.

Larry

[My S1]

That hole saw idea is extremely klever to relieve the mass.  Thanks.

[My S1]

Could someone please confirm for me whether or not these 1962-1980 Spitfire front suspension parts are correct for the '67 Europa front end?

[RoddyMac]

Yup, ball joints, trunnion kits, dust seal, and wheel bearings are the same.

One thing to note, you might want to measure the bearings you have to make sure someone hasn't swapped out the uprights/stub axles for the larger GT6/Elan +2 units.  I doubt you car has had them changed, but it's just worth checking.

[My S1]

Thank you for the confirmation RoddyMac.  I'll measure the bearings  and confirm with the supplier.  Now the challenge will be to find a proper manufacturer so I don't have to replace cheapo parts in a year.  I'm a bit leary of Moss but I hear good things about Rimmer and British Parts Northwest which I've never tried.  Any preference in your opinion?

So the long and short of the matter is that of the Europa suspension parts, all but the wishbones and sway bar were sourced from Triumph, correct?

[BDA]

I would suggest Dave Bean Engr. since they are nearby and I've found they have very good prices. I've found that Moss tends to be on the high side in price. I haven't dealt much with British Parts Northwest or Rimmer Bros.

The rack is a modified Spitfire rack and the uprights are from early Spitfires.

[RoddyMac]

BPNW are great to deal with, they were my go to before the current situation.  I was using Rimmer Bros for most things that BPNW didn't have, and have always had great service from them.  Moss, for some reason, has gone a bit down hill. Their shipping charges are way to high to get things up to the great white north, and the quality of both parts and service are getting worse by the day.  I ended up with some wheel cylinders instead of tie-rod ends with one order, and another order for Jag valve guides was totally screwed up for both me and the machine shop I was using (they had another Jag head in the queue, so were ordering the same bits for it, they got a rad hose instead of a guide).

[jbcollier]

Lotus bought their front end parts from the same supplier as Triumph.  Lotus made their own a-arms.  Yes, many parts also used by Triumph can be used on a Europa BUT, Lotus did not buy parts from Triumph.  There is no EXACT Triumph model you can order parts for and are guaranteed to be correct.  Same with brake parts.

[My S1]

John,

howabout the brake discs?  Off the shelf 1962-'0 Spitfire?  And pads/rebuild kits for the Girling calipers?