Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Bell
Hi Stefan, thanks for the input and great photos! I have seen pictures of Zakspeed cars with the side window trim and assumed they must have started with a standard car- Can't imagine adding them to a race car on purpose!
Welcome Chris, and thanks for the info on your car which I guess is Roger Clark's C of I steed?
I had always understood that the Escort torsion bars were MM front suspension items, but as the later Marina & Ital used same layout it may be that the bars are interchangeable. (I worked for a BL dealer and we always joked at the time that Marina was just a re-bodied Minor!) I presume in Martin's pic of rear end that right 'leaf spring' has gone walkabout?
Interesting about the TCA failure. I run normal Ford items with rose bearing inner but have always been uneasy about the outer pin being strong enough. Obviously the Alloy version can be weak in other ways! TCAs and front hub carriers are the items I would like to change to something more like the Zak setup.
Again, thanks for the info and anything else you think may know or learn about suspension or period Gp2 Escorts in general much appreciated. 
Mike |
Thanks for the welcome Mike. Yes the car is indeed Mr Clarks car from COI and yes the missing "spring" had gone walkabout when that photo was taken. The rules were certainly interesting then! It wouldn't surprise me if the same bars were used on the Marina's etc but hadn't considered that until reading this thread. I carefully measured a MM one before I went to Finland just to make sure I knew what to look for. I had also corresponded with the guy in Holland who has the Willment RS1600 with torsion rear and he told me MM items were used. Its pretty easy to see when you are lying under a car with them and you know what to look for. Two other unconnected sources said the same.
I wouldnt worry about the strength of the outer pin on a standard TCA. I've broken an adjustable TCA in two at the adjusting nut but the outer pin stayed all good - well it did bend but didn't break. The broken bit was 3/4" dia!