Scarlet

[Scarlet]

Thanks, The rear bush kit I bought from a NZ supplier on Trademe with a six week wait time, I have since found out you can get them from Australia at half the price which includes freight and you pay for them on Monday and you install them on the weekend, it is where I bought the front kit from.
The eBay seller is keven0469
I could also give you tips on installing every bush if you have never done them before

[vitamin c avenger]

Thanks for that Steve I gonna do the same mods as you to suspension. When you replaced front bottom arms did you get the ball joints replaced? Ive got some Chrysler arms but ball joints all flogged out.

[oldschool]

The arms and ball joints are one unit so the whole thing is replaced, Graeme (Avengerparts) has them.

[Scarlet]

These finally arrived yesterday after buying them about two months ago, Rear GAZ adjustable shocks, these are made for the Avenger/Sunbeam range, each shock also comes with its own dynamo meter printout, although the figures mean very little to me.
The add and the seller both stated the lower bushes are heavy duty rubber and not poly. so as a bonus mine came supplied with lower poly bushes.
Because of the beefier top bush and washer, I will need to modify the original shock mount slightly in the boot floor, for clearance

[vitamin c avenger]

Cool

[Scarlet]

Gaz shocks installed, I just did the simple bounce test to find the base setting, five clicks from softest setting and have left it at that.
The rear end is totally transformed after fitting these, I am really impressed.
I went around all the corners that I knew upset Scarlets rear in the past, and after fitting the Gaz shocks the twitchy rear has virtually gone and the rear end steering has also virtually gone.

I also used the tyre pressures David Vizard recommended for road use. Front 31 psi ,rear 25 psi

[Scarlet]

Recently added these gearbox bell-housing to engine reinforcement brackets, another item that is not fitted to every model....every bit helps.
Just remember when removing them from a parts car that you take the longer bolts with you. studs were used in the sump, but were to difficult to remove ,so I used longer bolts.

[Scarlet]

In this photo are a  Hillman brake reaction arm and mounting block and the later Chrysler brake reaction arm and mounting block
The painted Hillman brake reaction arm and Chrysler brake reaction arm are dimensionally identical.
The differences are in the mounting blocks, the Hillman one uses a one piece bush and in its racing heyday the arm and bush would pull through, the then cure was to use an oversized washer.
The later Chrysler mounting block on the left uses a two piece bush design as shown in the photo.
Bushes in the photo are Superpro poly bushes
The Chrysler mounting block is a bolt in straight swap.

[Scarlet]

I haven't worked on Scarlet for about Six weeks now ,but in the mean time I bought this solid steering rack mount, I was surprised at the size of it (and weight), next to it is half of the original puny mount I had lying around.
The only thing I have to do is to drill and tap the original mounting bolt to 3/8 unf. I may as well do the other side to match, In one of the technical articles I posted they recommend that the rack bolts be increased to 3/8 as the original bolts are a week point.
The solid rack mount is a copy of the works type mount.

[Scarlet]

Here is the solid steering rack mount in place. I drilled and re-taped both sides to accept 3/8 UNF bolts.
It was a simple afternoon job to remove the sway bar and lift the engine to get the drill in there.
The steering feels noticeably more precise and sharper now, also the steering wheel feels more solid in your hand.
One thing I was expecting with the solid clamp was to feel more vibration and kickback, in fact the opposite is true, the other thing I also noticed when I strengthened the cross-member and installed the solid rack mount is all the clunking from the front suspension has stopped.

[Scarlet]

New brake shoes for the rear brakes, the ones I took off were probably original from new given the reasonably low kilometres of Scarlet, these new shoes are just a standard TRW shoe but brake shoe material has come a long way in 40 years.
There is only so much you can do to get the best from the standard brake system.

[azza1600]

Nice work! im liking your mods!

[oldschool]

At least the braking area will be greater with bonded shoes Steve. Fitting Cortina rear brakes is an option, but a bit of modding required. Pretty easy to fit 3/4" Alpine wheel cylinders to replace the standard 5/8" ones for a little more stopping power. As Scarlet is a bit of a hybrid...may have them already...lol

[Scarlet]

Thanks azza. I used an "improved" production race car regulations as a guideline when I planed out what I was going to do.
I went for a drive yesterday to put some miles on the brake shoes and Scarlet is starting to be quite a pleasant car to drive ,there is still a lot more to do to the chassis, suspension and brakes before I even touch the engine.
Hi Ross, yes I checked the rear cylinders out way back when I did the rear
suspension bushes and Scarlet was already fitted out with Alpine spec brakes.

[Scarlet]

Scarlet got a new WOF yesterday, no questions asked (relief). They just commented on how tidy it was underneath.