Fitting Front Upper Wishbones with Body On
Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2017 5:31 pm
Hello All,
BACKGROUND
I have just removed the Front Upper Wishbones from my Elan S4 {which has a very early Spyder (1980) replacement chassis (folded sheet, not space-frame) and tubular (possibly also Spyder) wishbones}. I did this because there was a lot of play in the bushes - the rubber having sheared off the inner tube. When I slid the wishbones off the fulcrum pins the inner tubes stayed in stuck in place - they only came off when twisted with mole-grips.
MY QUESTIONS
It looks to me as if had the wishbones not separated from the inner tubes it would not have been possible to slide the the wishbones off with the body in place, as they slide into the inner wing despite the shape of the inner wing. Thus putting back on re-bushed wishbones with the body in place would also not be possible. Is this in fact the case?
If so would any of the various "polybush" bushes be easier to fit? For example are any of them made up of two "top hats" rather than one "cotton reel" so that one "top hat" could be slid onto the fulcrum pin ahead of wishbone? Or could a "cotton reel" version be cut through half way along to produce two "top hats" to do the same thing?
Or is there another solution?
Or is the only option (other than removing the body!) to cut neat holes through the inner wing to enable the wishbones to be slid back on once they are fully assembled with their new bushes?
Many thanks for all your thoughts.
Tony
PS I've read that on the Spyder chassis the fulcrum pin shaft is only pushed into place (not welded in place) and I thought that if I could slide it first one way and then the other this would make fitting the re-bushed wishbones dead easy. However the application of reasonable force has failed to budge my fulcrum pin shaft and the last thing I want to do is to damage it.
BACKGROUND
I have just removed the Front Upper Wishbones from my Elan S4 {which has a very early Spyder (1980) replacement chassis (folded sheet, not space-frame) and tubular (possibly also Spyder) wishbones}. I did this because there was a lot of play in the bushes - the rubber having sheared off the inner tube. When I slid the wishbones off the fulcrum pins the inner tubes stayed in stuck in place - they only came off when twisted with mole-grips.
MY QUESTIONS
It looks to me as if had the wishbones not separated from the inner tubes it would not have been possible to slide the the wishbones off with the body in place, as they slide into the inner wing despite the shape of the inner wing. Thus putting back on re-bushed wishbones with the body in place would also not be possible. Is this in fact the case?
If so would any of the various "polybush" bushes be easier to fit? For example are any of them made up of two "top hats" rather than one "cotton reel" so that one "top hat" could be slid onto the fulcrum pin ahead of wishbone? Or could a "cotton reel" version be cut through half way along to produce two "top hats" to do the same thing?
Or is there another solution?
Or is the only option (other than removing the body!) to cut neat holes through the inner wing to enable the wishbones to be slid back on once they are fully assembled with their new bushes?
Many thanks for all your thoughts.
Tony
PS I've read that on the Spyder chassis the fulcrum pin shaft is only pushed into place (not welded in place) and I thought that if I could slide it first one way and then the other this would make fitting the re-bushed wishbones dead easy. However the application of reasonable force has failed to budge my fulcrum pin shaft and the last thing I want to do is to damage it.