mk1 lwb lowering and softening the rear

[cartooner]

I got an offer for about 250 pound per side, all new packs with new bushes and new U-bolts. Allthough a decent amount of money it is not as much as I anticipated. I'll go for new, since all else on the car is new, almost new or refurbished. ( Love makes a man blind!).

[baconsdozen]

bacondozen , does the coil over shocks helped gaining a smoother ride when going through rough roads?? I ve been thinking to make them on the front, if they are narrow enough, else when turn all the steering to the sides, it will hit the tyres...

To be honest I didn't notice much difference.I think that any that are strong enough to lft the van or stiffen up the suspension enough to make a measureable difference would place a lot of strain on the mounting points.

[cartooner]

New refurbished packs are here! I had the 2 main leaves made new from 9mm instead of 6mm
steel. They now look like this:



Now both main leaves are full length resulting in a 18mm thick package taking the load compared to the single leave 6mm.( Needed to machine the nylon rebound rollers down to 28mm instead of 40mm). Furthermore the other 4 leaves of the main package were
recurved under pressure. The helper leave-pack is reduced to 2 instead(still 3 in this pic). of 4 leaves. This lowers the car, but then again the added strength to the basepack raises it again. There is room for leave action again and it feels softer than before, because the main pack does not bottom out on the helper pack anymore. See:



There is about 4 inches(10cm) of space between the axle and the bumpstop and this can only
be lowered by removing the remaining 2 helper leaves which I don't want to do.( I might need them with added weight of fuel and luggage). Or I could remove 1 leave from the base pack which I also will not do because I want to keep the play between the basepack and the helper
leaves for comfort.



I hope this helps Luke, I am satisfied with this set-up. I don't think it is possible to lower the van that much without taking drastic measures.( Under axle leaves. No thank you please>)

[Ollie]

If its any help, the roller rear springs on the back of my 130 Automatic are nice and soft and give a really supple ride, and work well off road too, perhaps look for a set of those? not sure where though
Presumeably the setup on yours was stiffer right from new.
By the time you've got the camper gear in you may be suprised anyway - get a nice heavy water tank and you might apreciate the extra stiffness......
Ollie

[Luke]

thanks for the pics

i've just got to clear a few jobs out 1st then i'll be swapping the axle on mine then i'll have a go with the springs