Complete rod end kit £90, ready to fit (takes about an hour)
(spares parts are available individually)
As a result of demand we have put together a number of simple kits designed to improve your Triumph or early TVR sports car.; everything sold here has been successfully tested on our own cars.
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This is not designed to be an online shop although you can buy some of the products by using the PayPal buy-it-now button Please feel free to email or phone me so I can
help you with what you need and assist you with what you are trying
to achieve |
It is assumed you have a reasonable degree of mechanical understanding and competence.
All kits are supplied with fitting instructions and if you are in any doubt about
fitting any of these components yourself, you should refer to a qualified
mechanic for assistance.
Alternatively please ask if you
would prefer to have the parts fitted.
Description |
For which car? |
| Vitesse lever arm shock absorber links, with rod end bearings | Triumph Vitesse |
| Nylon suspension bushes | Triumph Spitfire GT6 Herald Vitesse TVR Grantura Vixen M Series |
| Competition wheel stud and nut kit - stronger and longer | TR7, TR8 and Small Triumphs |
| Front suspension bolts | Triumph Spitfire GT6 Herald Vitesse |
| Adjustable radius arm | Spitfire GT6 Herald Vitesse |
| Anti roll bar drop links | Triumph Spitfire GT6 Herald Vitesse TVR Grantura Vixen M Series; often used on Reliant Scimitar and Ginettas |
| Adjustable rear vertical link kit - non Rotoflex | Triumph Spitfire GT6 Herald Vitesse fitted with swing axles |
| TR7 TR7V8 and TR8 front subframe spacer kit | Triumph TR7, TR7V8 and TR8 |
| Long-bolt front suspension mounts | Small Triumphs |
| 4-link rear suspension arms for Triumph TR7 and TR8 | Triumph TR7, TR7V8 and TR8 |
| Rear disc brake disc conversion | TVR M Series Triumph TR5 TR6 |
Triumph Vitesse fitted with lever arm shock absorbers
The problem The Triumph Vitesse lever arm shock absorber link has long been unavailable, this kit replaces the (nasty) rubber ball type link with a high strength asymmetric double-rod ended unit compete with all the bolts and spacers necessary to fit it in place. The kit uses rod end bearings to provide a greatly improved shock absorber-to-vertical link connection. The links are supplied as a pair and are set at standard length but the supplied instructions explain how to lengthen or shorten the links if required.
Complete rod end kit £90, ready to fit (takes
about an hour)
(spares parts are available individually)
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Buy Vitesse lever arm shock absorber links with UK/BFPO delivery (£90) |
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Buy Vitesse lever arm shock absorber links with mainland Europe delivery (£96) |
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Buy Vitesse lever arm shock absorber links with rest-of-world delivery (£102) |
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Triumph Spitfire GT6 Herald Vitesse plus TVR Grantura TVR Vixen
The problem Have you ever read that poly suspension bushes for these cars are supposed to be a huge improvement over the standard black metalastic bushes? Well I'm afraid it's mostly not true; most of the poly bushes on the market are actually softer than the standard metalastic bushes they are designed to replace and in our view are rarely make a measurable improvement if your aim is to improve your lap times. You won't find a poly suspension bush on a pro race car.
The solution is to use these precision made nylon bushes which are direct replacements for the soft squidgy poly bushes; I wouldn't really recommend these for sustained road use because they will transmit much more harshness and vibration (known as NVH) to the car but that's a choice you can make. Just doing the lower front wishbones makes a huge difference in itself.
The bushes are designed for Small Triumph cars and also fit early TVR cars; they are the type that have a 3/8 inch bolt.
Each bush is a pair of nylon top-hats with a stainless steel tube. They are reasonably easy to fit but you will need a vice, a press or could be done with a large G cramp but they are designed to be a tight fit in the suspension arm tube.
Nylon suspension bushes: £12 each bush if bought individually or £85 for a set of 8 with free UK delivery
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Buy 1 set of 8 bushes with UK/BFPO delivery (£85) |
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Buy 1 set of 8 bushes with mainland Europe delivery (£90) |
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Buy 1 set of 8 bushes with rest-of-world delivery (£95) |
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The bushes come with full fitting instructions or alternatively they can be fitted in our Bedfordshire workshop if you send the wishbones
Showing the nylon bushes before being fitted
Nylon bush and tube fitted to Spitfire GT6 Herald Vitesse
Grantura front lower wishbone
Triumph TR7, TR8 - these are longer than standard fitment and have taper
nuts.
Triumph Spitfire, GT6, Herald, Vitesse and small Triumph chassis based
kit cars - longer and stronger.
The problem (1) It is very common to see broken wheel studs on Spitfires and GT6s - the cars came from the factory on rather small 3/8 inch UNF studs and over the years many have become fatigued and they can break (see below). (2) Alloy wheels often require longer wheel studs.
Typical sheared Spitfire wheel stud on a road car
The solution The kit consists of 16 x M12 thread wheel studs and chromed, open backed nuts. They are a straight replacement on all the cars listed and as well as being longer, are far stronger than those originally fitted on small Triumphs. Highly recommended for any form of competition use. Longer studs also allow the use of spacers behind the wheel or alloy wheels, where the wheel is often much thicker than on the steel wheel it is replacing.
Left picture compares uprated nut and stud to standard one.
The kit consists of 16 new chamfered studs and 16 new chrome plated, open-backed nuts
(chrome dome nuts are also available at the same price)
Beware: Wheel trims may not fit if this kit is used, however most forms of competition forbid the use of nave plates, hub caps, trim rings etc. I don't like dome nuts as they can bottom out on the stud giving a false torque reading (if this happens the studs would need to be trimmed to suit). Also scrutineers don't like dome nuts as they cannot see how much thread is entering the nut. Front hubs will have to be separated from the brake disc and rear hubs pulled from the shaft to fit this kit.
See pictures: these are supplied with a chamfered seat as per Spitfire, GT6 etc. and TR7 / TR8.
Triumph Spitfire, GT6, Herald, Vitesse and small Triumph chassis based kit cars
The problem The standard bolt is not long enough, so the thread is used as a bearing surface which can lead to appalling and dangerous wear on the bolt. (see pictures)
Standard bolt (unbelievable that this was acceptable to Triumph)
Typical bolt wear - this came from a car which had passed an MOT!
Longer bolt with the shank passing through the entire mounting bracket.
Each bolt is supplied with a new nyloc nut and washers to ensure that the bolt
does not stall
on the shank. Bolts can be trimmed to length if required.
The solution Bolts which are the correct length!
These bolts can also be used on the rear radius arms on non-Rotoflex small Triumphs but more washers may be required, as the mounting bracket on the body and front of the vertical link is typically slightly narrower than those on the front suspension.
Triumph Spitfire, GT6, Herald and Vitesse
The problem The standard tubular radius arm has a rubber bush each end and, in the case of the swing axle cars, is not adjustable in length other than by adding or removing shims behind the body mount.
The solution This kit provides a pair of adjustable radius arms allowing fine adjustment of the length of the arm which is essential for accurate setup of suspension. The compliance offered by the rubber bushes is replaced by the control of high strength rod-end bearings. Each arm is fitted with a left hand and right hand rod end, so the length can be adjusted in-situ by slackening the lock nuts and twisting the bar.
Factory spec Triumph Spitfire radius arm with an adjustable unit shown below
Typical mounting setup - bolts, deflection spacers and
packing washers all supplied in the kit
The Spitfire and Herald arms use high strength, three piece 3/8" x 3/8" rod-ends and are constructed such that with the rod-ends set to their mid position, the fitted length of the arm is the same as the standard rubber-bushed item. The GT6 Mk1 and Late Mk3 used swing axles rather than Rotoflex - I would always recommend using the larger (7/16 UNF) rod ends on these cars but you do then need to open out the body bracket and rear vertical link mount holes out to 7/16" diameter.
The GT6 and Vitesse Rotoflex arms use high strength, three piece 7/16" x 7/16" rod-ends and are constructed such that with the rod-ends set to their mid position, the fitted length of the arm is the same as would be required on to set roughly parallel rear wheels.
Different length items can be made to order (typically 2 to 3 days lead time), such as for race cars, kit cars or for use as Panhard or Watts linkage rods. Rods/arms using 1/2" x 1/2" or metric rod-end bearings can also be made to order.
Always contact me about these because so many cars have different setups and have been modified over the years.
Triumph Spitfire GT6 Herald Vitesse and small Triumph chassis based kit cars TVR Grantura Vixen M Series - also used on Ginetta and Reliant Scimitar
The problem The anti-roll bar drop links on a small Triumph are fixed length which makes it impossible to set the anti roll bar correctly (unless you are unbelievably lucky) and one end has a simple rubber bush which is just about OK for the road but not suitable for performance driving / racing and the other end has a weird ball-in-rubber joint which usually falls to bits!
The solution This simple kit gives you the parts you need to adapt your current set up to use a pair of rod end bearings each side. The kit includes four rod end bearings and all the nuts, washers and spacers needed to fit them. It requires the removal and reuse of your existing studs in the end of the anti-roll bar or alternatively longer type inlet/exhaust manifold studs.
The kit has all the parts for both sides
Anti roll bar drop link kit: £65
(spares parts are available individually)
Note: These rod-ends are extremely strong, however please do not use these rod ends on other suspension applications - they are designed for use on applications such as anti-roll bar links and gear linkages.
Anti-roll bar drop links are always in stock - £65 per car set (that's both sides!)
| Buy 1 set with UK/BFPO delivery (£70) | ||
| Buy 1 set with mainland Europe delivery (£77) | ||
| Buy 1 set with USA, Canada, Australia or New Zealand etc. delivery (£82) |
Triumph Spitfire, GT6, Herald, Vitesse and small Triumph chassis based
kit cars fitted with swing axles (including the later swing spring cars)
(Not suitable for Rotoflex cars)
The problem Setting the rear wheel camber on a swing axle car (whether swing spring or fixed spring) can be a tricky affair. To get the best from your tyres you need to set the amount of camber fairly accurately and the standard setup has no method of adjustment. Several methods are already available, typically by using a de-arched spring, a spacer between the diff casing and spring or by using shortened rear vertical links, however these do not give you the ability to make fine adjustments.
Adjustable rear vertical link kit once welded in place
Kit comes complete with fitting and jigging instructions
The solution Rather than simply shortening the rear link, this weld-in kit allows you to modify your existing rear vertical links to make them length adjustable. You'll simply need to trim the tops off each existing vertical link and slot them to receive threaded inserts (two inserts per vertical link). The inserts are carefully positioned using the spring as a guide and welded into place. The exact position you choose is up to you, but the instruction sheet provided gives some suggestions and explains how to calculate geometry changes. Once the kit is fitted you'll have about 15mm of length adjustment.
It goes without saying that the welding should be of a good quality and undertaken by a suitably good operator.
Adjustable rear vertical link kit: £90
4 long threaded inserts, 4 high ultra high performance rod-end bearings with locknuts
2 'long' top bolts with nyloc nuts
(spares parts are available individually)
Triumph TR7 and TR8
The problem: When fitting a Rover V8 engine to a TR7 the upper part of the engine (normally the carburettors or air filter) can foul the bonnet. Remember that in a TR7V8 / TR8 the engine is mounted on the subframe not the body of the car.
The solution This kit lowers the subframe by 12mm giving that all-important extra clearance space. The knock-on effect is that it also lowers the car's centre of gravity (COG) which is good for handling.
Triumph TR8 TR7V8 subframe spacer kit - 25mm kit shown
For racing it's possible (and not uncommon) to space further - up to 30mm is possible without having to alter the length of the lower steering column. More than 30mm and you may have to increase the length of the steering column which involves getting a proper welding job done. You will need to ensure that you do not introduce bump-steer or more likely, foul the top of the inboard end of the lower suspension link on the subframe.
The off-the-shelf kit spaces the subframe by 12mm, if you want to go further then please contact us so we can understand your requirements and make up spacers as required and ensure we supply suitable length bolts which you can trim to length as and if required. Stacking multiple spacers is generally not a good idea unless they are pinned together, because shear forces can make the stack slide like when you push the top of a deck of cards.
Triumph Spitfire, GT6, Herald, Vitesse and small Triumph chassis based kit cars
The problem If you want to increase the amount of negative camber on the front of the car by using more shims it does not take many before you run out of thread on the mounting bolt - I have seen more than a few cars where the front suspension is held on with only 2 or 3 thread turns.
The solution These long bolt mounts are modified with an over-length bolt allowing for plenty more adjustment.
Showing refurbished, extended bolt length Spitfire / Herald / Vitesse / GT6 front suspension mount
next to a standard one from a well used road car
Full set of extended bolt Spitfire / Herald / Vitesse / GT6 front suspension
mounts
Designed for 5-speed cars rather than the very early 4-speed cars
The problem The standard TR7/TR8 has very heavy, non-adjustable rear radius arms and tie bars fitted with very compliant rubber Metalastic bushes.
The solution These rod-end suspension arms replace the standard radius arms and give much better axle location and they can be adjusted in length too. Each rod is fitted with a pair of very high strength 1/2" x 1/2" rod end bearings (one l/h and one r/h) they are ideal for competition cars where axle setup accuracy and control is important. These tubes are made such that at their shortest length they are the same centre-to-centre length as the standard arms and each one is supplied with the necessary bolts and side spacers. Other lengths available to order.
Note To use these arms your car MUST be fitted with coil-over-shock rear suspension and the location points on the car's body shell should be reinforced. The existing body mounting holes will have to be enlarged from 7/16" to 1/2".
Available as a weld-it-yourself kit if you prefer - or just state
how long you want the tubes to be
The problem Long brake pedal caused by drum brakes and also less effective drums especially when hot such as spirited driving, track days or racing. Takes readily available road or race-spec pads.
The solution We have developed a cost effective rear disc conversion - developed for a TVR M Series rear upright. Also fits TR5 and TR6 (plate mounts a different angle from when fitted on the TVR M Series)
TVR M-Series rear disc brake conversion (left side shown)
The kit includes: 2 x steel, laser-cut brake caliper mounting plates; 2 x brake calipers; 2 x caliper carriers; 2 x high quality solid brake discs, 4 x high pressure caliper mount bolts with lock washers, 4 x disc retainer screws, 1 x set high quality brake pads, pad shims and anti-squeal goop plus full, detailed fitting instructions.
Braided race-spec brake hoses to suit the above, based on a 33cm hose with 20 degree, M10 metric banjo at the caliper and imperial 3/8 UNF bulkhead fitting on the chassis are £28 each.
For the full kit : UK Delivery for full kit £30, Europe Delivery £45
If you just want the laser-cut caliper mounts...
TVR M-Series TR5 TR6 rear brake caliper conversion mount
brackets
These also fit Stag and Triumph 2000 / 2500 but you'll probably need non
standard wheels
£75 a pair plus delivery