Fitting front shock absorbers to hydrolastic car

[Guywilko]

Hi

I bought the minispares set

C-AJJ3362 SHOCK ABSORBER FRONT KIT FOR HYDROLASTIC CARS

I have drilled the top arm, (which was fairly easy once it got going) with makita 18v drill and a decent sandvik bit.

Just checking - the assymetric top shock mounts have the pin offset to the top - yes?

Cheers, Guy

[rich@minispares.com]

Hi

I bought the minispares set

C-AJJ3362 SHOCK ABSORBER FRONT KIT FOR HYDROLASTIC CARS

I have drilled the top arm, (which was fairly easy once it got going) with makita 18v drill and a decent sandvik bit.

Just checking - the assymetric top shock mounts have the pin offset to the top - yes?

Cheers, Guy

yes

but its always amusing when people fit them upside down.....

[Nick W]

I allways fit them on wrong for a laugh

Although it's not that funny the second time

Genuine brackets have (top) marked

[Guywilko]

Hi

I bought the minispares set

C-AJJ3362 SHOCK ABSORBER FRONT KIT FOR HYDROLASTIC CARS

I have drilled the top arm, (which was fairly easy once it got going) with makita 18v drill and a decent sandvik bit.

Just checking - the assymetric top shock mounts have the pin offset to the top - yes?

Cheers, Guy

yes

but its always amusing when people fit them upside down.....

err - just like I did last night!!

[cooperess]

Any chance of pictures after your fit as I would like to do the same.

[Peter Laidler]

Forgive me if I'm a bit out on a limb here or can't see the wood for the trees - or might be just a bit thick and lack mechanical understanding but what on earth does one need shock absorbers on a hydrolstic fitted car?. And I'm talking road going cars here of course. Surely the combination of the rubber, outer/hose end parts of the hydro units (the 'lastic' part acting in partnership with the inherent damping capacity of the fluid (the hydro part) must effectively give shock absorbancy. That's what it all there for. It's slowly damping the transfer of fluid............, just like a shock absorber! You can't compress the liquid of course but the liquid transfer through the internal valves (no, I don't really believe in them either!) and through the system to the other unit is its own effective shock absorber. That's apparently why they replaced them with hydro in the first place.........

I'm not the brightest light in the mechanical engineering box - or the displacement of fluid box now that I think of it - and am open to ridicule but I've never been able to quite see the point of adding yet another damper. Or is it just something that's the done thing on a mini. Got my steel helmet on awaiting the incoming flak but.......

[cooperess]

This was devised by special tuning abingdon to stop the wheels tramping and front to rear pitching of the cars. very worthwhile exercise for those of you left with \hydro cars to improve ride quality.

[minibitz]

Yup, when you hoof the throttle on a hydro car it's like pulling a wheelie. Nose of the car lifts up, then pitches forward as you snatch the next gear and so forth. Fitting front shocks and bump stop kit reduces this effect.

[Peter Laidler]

Minibitz, You say yep, I say nope! Front SHOCK absorbers will do absolutely nothing to prevent the nose lifting unless they weigh in at 1/4 ton or so each. What makes the car lift is torque or rotating movement. And when the front comes down to earth again it's buffered by guess what? Yep, the damping action of the HYDRO and LASTIC system. I realise that it in itself is a crap mysterious and expensive system mixed with a bit of voodoo and white mans magic. But neither added on dampers and hydrolastic can prevent the torque transfer you mention.

Same applies to Cooperess to a lesser extent but if you REALLY want to see and feel a ride improvement in your hydro system, drain the system, flush the old shite, crud and crap out, de-gas it properly and re-fill with new clean fluid. It's going to surprise you. That's EXACTLY what prompted me to ask the question to start with

[timmy201]

Maybe you should try it for yourself? I really noticed the difference being the passenger in a friends car when fitted with and without shocks.

[Andrew1967]

I’ll report back in about 5 years time whether I think it makes a difference or not

[Peter Laidler]

Hate to disagree with a fellow Oz Timmy but by giving my old hydro system a thorough going over, draining down the brown rusty sewage that was in there, flushing everything out, cleaning through, filling with new clean fluid and all the other jobs you could possibly do while it was apart, I can tell you first hand that I really noticed the difference just as you said. It felt like a new car! But not by fitting shockers but by fixing the principal fault. I'm always open to logic and sound explanations but sometimes, especially after my late Summer and winter hydro experience I/we had niggling doubts about front shockers*. I'm reluctant to even mention it for fear of putting my head in the proverbial noose - but from back reading forum posts and threads on the subject it would seem that in many cases, fitting shockers is a convenient way of 'rectifying' a faulty or defective or tired hydrolastic system. A bit like turning the radio up when you hear a grumbling noise from the wheel bearings....... Palliative but not a cure!

* obviously some rough terrain applications will benefit but even then you've got to make sure that the primary hydro system is in good nick. A 'how and why we did it' thread will be submitted soon too!

[Hipwell]

Mine had a special tuning set up fitted from almost new and definately putting a set back on.

[carbon]

Mine had a special tuning set up fitted from almost new and definately putting a set back on.

+1, mine has had the front shockers for at least 25 years.

And the shockers are not coming off, there have been more than a few occasions when the ST bumpstops and shockers have probably saved the front hydro displacers from severe grief...

[Guywilko]

Any chance of pictures after your fit as I would like to do the same.

This is the setup. Drill size 25/64 for the hole. Got some Titanium nylocs to go on cos I'm a titanium whore!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/l2F9cmAARcle9xDk1

[Mini Mad Swede]

Whats even more mysterious is that it seems like BMC themselves fitted front schocks on LBL6D for the Monte Carlo in -67
Ok I base that on a popular 1/25 scale plastic model kit made by Tamyia.
Dont for one second doubt that they havent made a correct copy of the rally car.
However cant say if the displacers are silver or blue banded, guess thats up to the builder of said kit.
Nor cant see if the bumpstops where of the competition type.

But if someone have a build sheet for LBL6D that shows it didn't have shock absorbers fitted I'll stand corrected.
Would BMC had fitted them if they didn't help?
Doubt they would have wanted the extra weight if that wasnt the case.

[snoopy64]

Ok...thinking aloud... won’t the handling of the car be dependent on the ‘stiffest’ component in the system, so if front shocks are stiffer than the hydro effect then they have an effect??

[Dr S]

I’ve fitted them on red shed, the reason being I’ve had the comp bump stops for years and when doing navigation rallies and the like and pressing on I found the difference in compression to rebound really disconcerting. So when the shell was rebuilt I added the brackets for shocks. I may choose to remove the front bump stops. I’m expecting the shock effect to be additive to that of the hydro set up.

[spoon.450]

Ok...thinking aloud... won’t the handling of the car be dependent on the ‘stiffest’ component in the system, so if front shocks are stiffer than the hydro effect then they have an effect??

That's how I see it. I have shocks on my mk2 S.

[LMM76C]

Whats even more mysterious is that it seems like BMC themselves fitted front schocks on LBL6D for the Monte Carlo in -67
Ok I base that on a popular 1/25 scale plastic model kit made by Tamyia.
Dont for one second doubt that they havent made a correct copy of the rally car.
However cant say if the displacers are silver or blue banded, guess thats up to the builder of said kit.
Nor cant see if the bumpstops where of the competition type.

But if someone have a build sheet for LBL6D that shows it didn't have shock absorbers fitted I'll stand corrected.
Would BMC had fitted them if they didn't help?
Doubt they would have wanted the extra weight if that wasnt the case.

Front dampers first homologated May 68. Copy of papers in Archive section of this site (but as posted elsewhere, papers descriptions require updating to avoid confusion as to which is which).

Beware plastic kits. I recently noticed some Escort 1 and 2 kits of works cars that should have 4,5or6 link rear suspension have the standard two tramp bars.