Rear competition bump stops

[dsracer9]

On my 1965 Cooper S with WET suspension I installed the competition bump stop on the trailing arms now it is not possible for me to reattach the helper spring at the top even with the wheel jacked as hi as possible. So my question is; should I cut off the top of the stop rubber (which is recommended with lowered cars) mine is not, or is there something I'm missing? BTW the stop rubbers are toward the front of the car which puts them where the original stops were. Any thoughts or experience will be appreciated. Jim Oregon, USA.

[Dr S]

have you tried jacking the arm up with a trolly jack to get some extra clearance?

If not then depending on how hard your rubbers are to get on an off, either just pull the rubber, or slacken the bolt and turn through about 90 degrees should give clearance.

I assume the suspension has been de-pressurised? they were tricky by myself on my car with no fluid and no bump stop, but easily do-able with two people. One to physically lift the spring up and one to whip the nut on.

Good luck!

[Dr S]

BTW, I think its more of a additional progressive spring, the car will basically run on them or just off at proper ride height. Less of a real bump stop which would just limit the travel at the extremes, it works throughout the whole travel as far as I can see.

Nick

[Spider]

I've struck this. I used a rachet strap that I hooked the 'long' end on to the top of the wheel arch on the other side of the car, passed it through both rear windows, down to the brake drum and via a bracket, hooked it on to one of the wheel studs. I also fitted a timber brace inside the car, directly under the strap, just so it wouldn't fold up! Lots of soft rags everywhere of course.

Just thinking out aloud here, not something I've tried, but it mabe possible to remove all the bolts from the front mounts of the subframe and allow it to swing down a little, it may allow the arms to then lift enough to do the tops of the springs.

[dsracer9]

Nick, You're right they are a progressive stop. The rubber part is removable from the mount and I may just remove it and hook up the spring and than force the rubber back on. Another problem I see is that the rubber hits the body right at the seam of the inner fender (wing), and the floor pan which to me seems like in a short time the rubber will be damaged IE. cut, have you experienced this ? Jim B. Oregon USA

[Dr S]

You can turn the bracket a touch to avoid the seam, not too much or you'll catch the subbie. In my experience the bracket isn't formed to sit quite right on the arm and needs a quick fettle to line up. Only fitted a couple of sets mind

[dsracer9]

OK here's what I have done to : 1. Refit the helper spring, I removed the bump stop which allowed me to easily lift the brake drum and attach the spring through the upper hole. Then one can pry the trailing arm down with a bar and refit the bump stop. 2. The problem with the stop rubber hitting the body seam can be delt with by turning the mounting plate inward so that the bump rubber hits a flat part of the floor just inside of the seam. The arched shaped part of the bracket will not fit over the trailing arm as it is intended but it does clear everything and I think will work without the rubber being cut. Thanks for the help Jim B.