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December 30, 2003
I am in the process of rebuilding a 65 Sprite and one of the small jobs I
have just completed is replacing the rusted out riser brackets which extend
the chassis to provide the anchorage points for the front bumper. Rather
than buy the brackets I fabricated new ones using the old parts as a
pattern. Before I removed the old brackets from the car I noticed that they
poked through the front valance panel a bit too low and the two holes in the
valance had been modified to accommodate this ( I put this down to the front
valance having been replaced with an inaccurate pattern part.
There are two securing holes in the bottom of each riser bracket for the two
bolts that screw into the chassis leg bosses and these two holes are
equidistant from the bottom of the old brackets however the two chassis leg
bosses are at slightly different heights (the rear one being higher than the
forward one). The result of the height difference in the bosses is that the
riser brackets slope forward and do not align with the bottom of the chassis
leg. I drilled the rear securing hole in my new brackets a little higher
than the originals to match the chassis bosses, this aligned the brackets to
the bottom of the chassis legs and put the bumper attachment dead centre of
the holes in my front valance.
I believe all Spridgets have this misalignment of the base of the riser
brackets to the underside of the chassis rails (the valance thing was just a
lucky coincidence) and that this is the result of the designer of the
brackets assuming both bosses were at the same height (I think the bosses
were the original attachment points for the frogeye front bumpers) and
making the brackets to suit. When the misalignment was discovered (if it
ever was) it was probably thought unimportant since it is hidden under the
car and does not impair the function of the brackets (just the neatness). I
am convinced that anyone designing such a bracket would automatically design
it to line up with the part it was fitted to. I am interested to know if
anyone else has noticed this misalignment and if anyone knows why the bosses
are at different heights.
Dave
"David Dixon" < e-dave@... > 27909
Posted on December 30, 2003 08:55 AM
Posted to category(s) Body | Engine (external) | Exterior | Ignition System | Interior | International | Miscellaneous | Restoration | Suspension & Steering
