Wheels and Tyres Ordered

I've ordered some wheels and tyres from Tiger.  Once I collect these I'll be able to get the car on to its wheels.  The front uprights and hubs to be finished in the meantime.

Previously 6.5" rims were the widest that could be fitted on the Avon and still be compliant with IVA regulations (so that the tyres did not protrude outside of the rear wheel arches).  This is with 195 width tyres.  However, Tiger has now updated the Avon bodyshell mould and 205 width tyres can now be fitted on the rear.

I am going for 205 on the rear and 195 on the front, all on 6.5" rims.  In theory you could now fit 7" rims such as the popular Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2.  However, I have chosen wheels with 6.5" width as they were cheaper and will allow me some leeway with the wheel arch spacing.

Five wheels ordered (15" Team Dynamics Tornado S) - one rim spare for touring or as a spare in case one of the other four is damaged and this style is discontinued:

 
and four tyres (Toyo T1R):

I did want the new R1R, but they are not in stock for 195 at the moment.  I'll go for something more sporty next time.

Futher Modifcation of Suspension Uprights

The front and rear dampers were fouling the brackets on the rear uprights as well as the lower front wishbones.  The 'corners' were filed round and then painted with Hammerite.  Care was taken to remove the minimum amount of metal, so as not to damage the structural integrity of these components.

Handbrake Cables

The Tiger provided handbrake cables need some modification before they will fit the Avon.

Firstly, the end of each inner cable was adapted.  This involved soldering each cable near the end so that the ends would not fray when the cable was cut through.  Then the white 'hook' was cut off.  This allows the inner cable to be removed - necessary to be able to thread it though from the brake back plate from the wheel side.

The other end of the outer cable was adapted by unthreading the hollow bolt and then cutting the white tube down.  A shorter piece was cut from the hollow bolt and this was screwed back into the now shorter white tube.

A comparison of before and after is shown in this picture:

The shortened hollow bolt screws nicely into the tube on the chassis side of the brake back plate.  Only downside is that the adjuster thread/nut arrangement is no longer there - adjustment will now have to be done at the handbrake lever end of the cables.

The balance bar originally provided by Tiger was too thin.  It would not allow an 8mm hole to be drilled for the handbrake lever bolt and still leave enough metal to retain its strengh.  I called Tiger about this.  Turns out this thinner bar is used when an inner (third) cable is used to connect the handbrake lever to the balance bar.  As I will bolt the balance lever to the rod that is already attached to the handbrake lever I need the wider balance bar.  Tiger sent one of these to me.

An 8mm hole was drilled for the bolt and then two 4mm holes were drilled to accept the handbrake cables themselves.  The locking bolts were clamped onto the cables and after some adjustment the hole handbrake set up was operational - with full handbraking force coming into play after two or three clicks.

Wheel cylinders and brake shoes fitted

New wheel cylinders were sourced from the local motor factors. These turned out to be very reasonably priced. After looking through the catalogue it was determined that my rear brakes are from a 1.8 or 2.0 Sierra estate car. This seems to tally with the fact that these are the bigger, nine inch, drums. The wheel cylinders were given a couple of coats of Hammerite to prevent rusting.

After that the new brake shoes were fitted. These were bought from EBC's online shop. Free next day delivery too.

The brake drums will be fitted later, after the hand brake cables are attached.

Tightening the Hub Nuts

With the drive flange fitted it was time to fit new a new hub nut. Most torque wrenches do not go up to the level required (about 260 ft/lb). Instead I used an approximation of my weight multiplied by the correct lever arm. I measured the right length along the breaker bar (14 inches) and then applied my full weight at that point, making sure that the car was adequately supported. The process will be repeated on the other driveshaft.

Fitting New Rear Wheel Bearings

I got a bearing kit (code BRT990) from my local motor factors. This has two bearings, two grease seals and two hub nuts (one left hand thread and one right).

I basically followed the Haynes manual. The part I had a problem with was the fitting of the outer grease seal. To get a better purchase I fitted the drive shaft to the car first (by bolting the hub carrier, through the brake back plate, to the upright). Using one of the old grease seals and the trusty 41mm socket the new grease seal could be tapped into place.

The bolts mounting the hub carrier to the upright were tightened up to the torque specified in the Haynes manual.

Assembly of Rear Suspension

The wishbones were all fitted with the 'weld marks' to the rear of the car. You would then expect the damper/spring to just bolt on between the chassis and the upper wish bone. If only it were that easy. The manufacturing tolerances or the design of the chassis jig don't allow this. Only after disassembly and reassembly in different sequences did I get it all to fit together. In the end I fitted the two wishbones to the upright, but not to the chassis. Then the damper/spring was fitted. Followed by the upper wishbone to chassis and finally the lower wishbone to chassis.

If you look sideways on you will see that the damper/spring fits, but only at a slight angle. In this view you can also see the spacer/crush tube that had to be cut to length and fitted between the two mounting lugs on the top of the upright.


Before fitting all the washers and nuts I followed Jim Dudley's guidance for setting up the rear suspension geometry (camber). To do this the shorter front dampers were installed on the rear (yes more disassembly and reassembly). The shorter front dampers allow the suspesion to hang in the position it will be in when the weight is on the wheels. With the car level on the floor a 1 metre length of square tube was clamped vertically to the upright and then a 900mm spirit level used to determine +1 degrees camber from the vertical. Using the small angle approximation it was detemined that a delflection of 13.5mm was required. This is for road use, more camber would be needed for track use. The rose joints on the lower wishbones were screwed in and out until the required deflection was maintained.

With the rear dampers/springs refitted all nyloc nuts and washers were fitted. Washers were fitted either side of the lower wishbone rosejoints. The nuts were kept loose and will be fully tightened when the cars weight is on the wheels.