Alpine Rally

[toomanybelletts]

Here are some more photo's of the alpine rally & at the dummy grid at Sandown

[pearcesnr]

Great pics thank for the updates

[RobSA]

Love the pic on the dummy grid.

What springs did you have in it for that foto and and mods to the bump stops.
I've been trying a few and havent quite got the height right yet.

Cheers
Rob

[PR91]

What springs did you have in it for that foto and and mods to the bump stops.
I've been trying a few and havent quite got the height right yet.

Cheers
Rob

actually the same springs as in my race car, rob. different shocks tho.

custom made springs are the only way to get them that low. these ones only leave 70mm under my exhaust to the road (with it tucked up as high as poss.), and 90 or so mm to the sills. i think craigs sits a fraction lower as he uses 14" wheels, while i'm on 15".
because these springs are so hard (over double the original poundage in the front alone), i honestly wouldnt recommend the same for the road. 1 of the 3 sets we made was fitted in a road car, and at the front, they chopped the inner bushes to pieces away before long, and put more "play" in the bottom ball joint than what was exceptable in a very short time also.
there has to be alot of front end mods done to my car to get the camber and castor angles correct when sitting that low too, as the geometry was originally done for postive camber and little castor to suit the crossply tyres of the day. leaving this original and doing a lowering job like our race cars is suicide! ohh, the bottom arms MUST be reinforced so they don't snap across the middle between the ball joint and the spring (yes, this has happened!!). the 4 bolts MUST be upgraded that hold the ball joint to the arm, as they will break, and the same goes for the bolts that hold the arm to the crossmember (but these can still rip the threads out of the crossmember itself!). these bolts should be replaced in any bellett tho, standard or modified. there's a thread on this forum about these bolts.
the sway bar mounts are, IMHO, the weak link in any bellett front end, and lowering that far with springs that heavy makes the sway bar probs worse, so work is needed to fix that too. also, u have to be very careful with the tie rods ends, as the new angle they work at when fitted to the steering arm can make them bind up because of the reduced movement the rod pin has....
the rear is always a compromise, as going that low increases the toe angles (due to the way the rear arms are mounted), so work is needed to restrict the travel to minimise this. i did this with a much modified transverse leaf, but the limited travel does create it's own problems with traction sometimes too... which is then helped by using a locked (ie: welded) diff, but these diffs are illegal on the public roads...

bump stop wise, i dont run any in my race car these days. i did for a while, with them all being cut down to half original height, but they still hit. no stops in a road car is unadvisable, for obvious reasons.

dont mean to be a bearer of bad news, be honestly, a set up like my/our race ones really would be a pain to live with on the road.
my GT is lowered more than alot of other road bellett's i've seen, was pretty easy to achieve (although it has a modified front end as well, actually being some stuff that's been tried in the race car over the years, then changed), and it drives really well, so that might be more suitable to what you're after?? i can give u a run down on that if u like.

cheers.
brett.

[RobSA]

Many thanks Brett.
The stuff about replacing the bolts and reinforcing the control arm will be attended too.
I'm interested in getting an idea of how to get the caster and camber better for radial tyres.
My car is probably already too low by your suggestions (estimated three inch drop - going to raise).
Though the springs we have in the front and back at the moment (while about half to three-quarter inch too low for my liking) give a really nice ride.
Bump stops at front are now 15mm and 12mm to the control arm (hence the wish to raise a bit). Rear is fine.

If you want you can PM me any help or post in "My Bellett".

Cheers
Rob