front spring position adjustment?

[JonE]

I noticed that the front spring shackles were at a different angle. And the upper spring leaf definitely looks longer showing on one side than the other.

Is there any ability to adjust the position of the leaf spring? It feels like it is 8 or 9mm out of centre position.

[Andy Bennett]

  austin seven springs 1.jpg (Size: 184.29 KB / Downloads: 358)
There is usually a stud in the middle of the spring that locates in the chassis so it is automatically held central. Hopefully you can see in attached picture of my old and new 'Dunford Snr' spring.
Assuming you don't have this (or it is broken off as it must be there in some form to hold the leaves in position) then there won't be anything to stop you sliding it sideways and re-clamping.

Having said that, if you don't have the locating peg then I would think that with the spring only secured to the chassis with a couple of big U bolts and flexible shackles then it wouldn't take much of a pot hole to push the spring sideways by the movement in the shackles and that doesn't sound v safe to me.

Final thought, could be the chassis locating hole has been damaged and is elongated?


Andy

[JonE]

Thankyou. Ok, so I obviously need to investigate further.
Is there any reason why there wouldn't be a stud on a replacement (it is flat ended leaves) Austin 7 spring.. or could I somehow add something without affecting the leaves?

[Andy Bennett]

My recollection is that the stud goes in from the top and is stepped, clamped tight from below (rivetted?), so it is only the stud holding the top 4 leaves onto the spring assembly (then held by the U bolts), after that there is a strap around the final leaves, so there must be a stud of some sort otherwise it would all fall apart without the U bolts.
Unless I am mis-remembering as it was a couple of years ago.
Andy

[stuartu]

As I recall, Jon, there is a bolt right through all the leaves so you should see a nut under the bottom leaf. Of course, anything could be going on under the chassis nosepiece.
If the bolt has fractured then the lower leaves could move sideways. I don't suppose the bolt would drop out but if it were very easy to turn its nut and the bolt moved with it I would be dismantling further.

Regards,
Stuart

[JonE]

I think it more likely that the old gentleman didn't have a suitable bolt as part of his contents-of-his-garage restoration... indeed I hope that is the case as that will be another easy safety fix!

[agmatthews]

I just so happen to have had my chassis upside down and stripped bare recently
The arrow in the photo below points to the blind hole that the pin on the top of the spring locates in.

-Andrew

   

[Bob Culver]

Pleased to see that the hew Dunford springs incorporate taper leaves. square ones always look crude, although millions of vehicles have.
It is decades since I dismantled a front spring and I cannot recall if it applies to old Sevens but usually care is necessary releasing the tension. Simply undoing any bolt or drilling a rivet can cause the spring to exploded violently. (Years ago a neighbour put himself in hospital when he undid the transverse spring on his Renault, the model like a pre war Opel.)

[Tony Press]

And the  Spring centre bolt has a round head to neatly fit the round hole in the chassis nose to properly centre the spring.

[JonE]

Great - thanks all. So it's a bespoke bolt! (but I presume cherished sups will have...) Thats good news for my theory tho wont be able to find out until next week!