1970 Triumph TR6 Restoration Project - Part 13 - Assembling the Front Suspension

I wanted to show the suspension part after I finish with the engine work and I was holding on to this footage, but I kind of slowed down on this project for many reasons, so I decided to clear all the footage I have. So in this part I am dealing with the front suspension and there will be one more video about the rear suspension and later on when I get back to this car I will post more engine work videos

[@truequan]

I love when these older VLOG's of Beauties show up in my feed. Lovin' my six mth new '75, since my first discovery Rusty Beauty. Headin' out for a drive, now.

[@steveavis4642]

I hope you get this comment Elin, my name is Steven Avis. I am absolutely enthralled when I watch your incredible videos. I have too much arthritis now to do what you do, but I did it for 47 plus years. I have so much admiration and respect for you doing what you do. Keeping tradition alive, giving a second life to your TR6"a, SPITFIRES, and everything else, replicating the original, with your multiple skills in metal maneuviring/ shrinking, stretching, bending, heating, cooling, etc, etc. so no one else could tell from the original! That is your ART, that is mine!. Again, thank you for your videos! ,

[@nigelarthur1281]

Thank you Erin, great video. I am preparing to do this job very soon with your help!

[@andrewhochstetter4542]

Thank you Elin. Rebuilt the front end of my '74 with your assistance. Great help!

[@MattTofield]

Thank you so much Elin, I’m just about to start my TR6 adventure, I expect my restoration to take about two years and I’m grateful to have your videos every step of the way. Very clear, thanks again.

[@49dodgeguy]

Your most welcome Elin,,,, Hope you can make use of it,,, Thanks again for your detailed , informative videos,,,,they help me out ,,,!!! Take care,,,,hope we can take a tour with our rusty beauties again,,,,lol.

[@wellsfamilyntx]

Straight-forward video on front suspension, very helpful to anyone who has never rebuilt theirs. I did mine 5 years ago and wished I had this video as a reference. Good job! Thanks for taking the time to document. Oftentimes we think these kinds of procedures are too simple to share and of little benefit to others. Not so! I am not a mechanic but am somewhat mechanically inclined and very much appreciate the guidance these videos provide in completing these kinds of tasks, if for no other reason than for reassurance my wheels will not fall off while driving. You're videos help guys like me keep these fun cars on the road. Good job "Elin"!

[@cheftush]

Now I know how to put mine back together! Great video, thanks!

[@RustyBeauties]

I made the video for you. I was sure you wouldn't remember how to put it back together LOL. It was pleasure meeting you today in Ankaster. Thank you so much for the badge and also for the business cards idea. I think more than 150 were taken today. I wouldn't have thought of that! Thanks again!

[@BADAZZ93STANG]

This video is so awesome!!!!! I'm restoring a 1972 tr6 at the shop I work at...I have never worked on 1 of these before but it's got to be done.... Thanks for all the great info brotha!!!!!

[@hogrydr100]

i should of taken many many more pics of "tear down" for my restoration because months later when its time to start rebuilding the car, the things i "knew" i would remember, i forgot. but thanks to you Elin, every time i am/get lost i can find the answers/videos here on your site. i cant "Thank You" enuff for the time and effort you have taken to produce these videos. in the words of the Terminator, "Ill be back".

[@dls3965]

Nice job. Keep up the good work. Thank You for taking the time to post. It's a great help.

[@RustyBeauties]

Thanks, Dan!

[@simonmasey6881]

Hi ElinBrilliant on front suspension. Am halfway through doing the front end on my 4a. Learnt a lot and it answered quite a few questions. Am much more confident now, especially on reassembling the trunnion and trunnion bushes.

[@RustyBeauties]

Glad my videos help! Good luck with your TR4A

[@johncollier7744]

Another great video Elin, and all done without taking any skin off your knuckles, nor fingers trapped in the coil springs !

[@RustyBeauties]

I am being careful, I don't want to damage the springs with my knuckles LOL

[@jimhallmark8680]

Sure wish that I watched this before doing my suspension, you made it look so easy, ha!

[@RustyBeauties]

It was easy... this was the second, side LOL The first one took double the time even though I've done that before a couple of times :)

[@punkbloater]

Smooth work there Sir, you made me think even I could do this, thank you.

[@RustyBeauties]

You are following so many channels (do not deny it, I've seen you everywhere LOL) that you should be able to build a car from scratch by now! I know you are one of my very early followers, so you should remember my skills 15-16 months ago. I am not perfect now, but I can tell I learned a lot. And everything I learned, I learned here in the KZbin university. So I think it is about time to get yourself a rusty beauty and get dirty!

[@goesterle502]

Elin Yakov thank you I have done alot of British car suspension rebuilds and electrical work over the last 40yrs(no body work) Anyway you always do things the right way and you make it easy to understand for those not as gifted ,Steve

[@punkbloater]

I could barely get my hydraulic brakes on my bicycle to work after my service, but yeah it would be fun to try. Problem is, i have no garage so i would have to work outside so that's no good, and with a slipped disc in my lower back i can hardly bend over. I know lot's of excuses... if got somewhere inside to work i would like to try to strip down an engine, until then i will learn from you. ;)

[@49dodgeguy]

Elin...thank you for taking the time to video your assembly process,,,,it helps me understand my tr6 so much better Enjoy ever video you produce,,,,please take care,,,

[@RustyBeauties]

Hey, Doug! Thank YOU for giving me the rad! And not only that, but even hand delivering it. Thank you so much! I was going to send my wife to pick it up. She works in Bolton. She is away till 10th anyways. But you were so fast! Thanks again!

[@roymccullough7115]

Thank you Elin am doing my front suspension an found your video incredibly useful

[@RustyBeauties]

I am glad my videos are helpful for other people's projects. Good luck!

[@johnhartley3596]

Thanks. Appreciate the effort you put into your videos. I really Enjoy them.

[@RustyBeauties]

Thank you John!

[@cabdriveruk]

Great work Elin, you make it look easy ! look forward to more of your great video's. Cheers, Jeff.

[@RustyBeauties]

Thank you Jeff!

[@eranzupnik7307]

I am just about to do my 1973 TR6 bushing for the first time since I own the car 1990. I am quite sure it was not done before. This video motivates me althogh my work will be with the car built (i,e, frame engine and all in it) so might be a bit more complicated.

[@tomcooper5851]

Great job Elin. You make it look so easy. I wish I could work that fast! :) Keep them coming.

[@RustyBeauties]

Yeah, the power of video editing. This "fast job" took me a day. At least the first side. This was the second one and I already had all the parts figured out, but it still took a good half a day or even more. Of course in the video I left only the highlights! Thanks for the comment!

[@FanatikBuilds]

Great work Elin! :)

[@bobadams179]

Thanks Elin. Your videos are both informative and entertaining. I found you on KZbin because I was doing a search about TR6's as I just bought rolling chassis, body and drive train of a 1971 model that came from Georgia USA. Except for the floors the body and frame are rust free. Some time in the past someone smashed it into something and covered the damage with 3/4" of Bondo. The affected area was the right inner fender and the entire front valance. I cut the spot welds and straightened it out as best I could then welded it back together before I found you here on KZbin. It's a lot better but still doesn't look right. If anybody knows where I can find a decent front valance and right inner fender for a reasonable cash please let me know. Also, I am looking for the strange linkage that connects the carburetors together. Keep up the good work!

[@RustyBeauties]

Hi Bob, my boss and I have a front TR6 tub that we bought to use the valance. So the valance is gone now, but we still have the inner fenders. I don't know where are you located, but I am sure there would be some British car enthusiasts around you. Just look up in e-bay and local websites. I keep finding everything I need online. If you are interested in that inner fender and you think the transport from Toronto will be worth let me know and I will talk to my boss. He is the financial guy in our common projects, I am the dirty job guy LOL

[@andypaine7489]

Thanks Elin, this is great stuff.

[@RustyBeauties]

Thank you, Andy!

[@251forced]

hello again I love the great videos and your pace of work. Your are very specific and honest about forgetting the odd thing,we are all like that.Well I am anyway. keep going i will use your videos as models for mine. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!! good reference videos Ollie in Ottawa Ont.

[@RustyBeauties]

Thank you, Ollie! Glad my videos can help!

[@tonyspiga2505]

bravo elin merci pour la video

[@RustyBeauties]

Avec plesir, Tony!

[@johndehoog5567]

Hello Elin. WOW! enjoy your videos immensely! Stumbled across your site a couple of months ago and have watched everything you have posted.Keep those vids coming!! Also thanks so much for taking the time to record and post. For us armchair mechanics they are fabulous. You should patented that steel stretcher immediately, ( chassis restoration of 1970 TR6 ) or someone else will. PS. Put a tall aerial on the Spitfires and orange flag on top of it . They are so small/ low people don't see them and tend to lane change right over top of you.

[@RustyBeauties]

LOL, the stretcher is useful thing, I don't mind everybody using it for free :) Yeah, these cars are small...

[@jean-marccachau1881]

tres bon remontage serrer comme il se doit

[@tenhendee5479]

Hi Elin. Thank you for the detailed instruction. Can I ask you where do you have the square rubber sealings for the trunnion from ? Unfortunately the common suppliers deliver ordinary O-rings and they are too thin anyway.

[@mdaycoc]

Elin, love your videos. You speed up just the right parts to keep it interesting in the shortest amount of time. Can you share what type of paint you use for the frame and suspension?

[@RustyBeauties]

Thank you! The paint is called Rust Guard and it is from Wurth.

[@birgeringerslev2708]

First of all: thanks for your nice and instructive videos - and your good sense of humor :-). During the rebuilding of my own Triumph TR6 front suspension (following your instructions in the video), I noticed that the bottom trunnion abuts the lower spring pan. This prevents the wheels from turning when the car is lifted. Is it normal. Standard springs and new shocks (Moss). Best regards from cold Sweden - Birger

[@truxton1000]

Great work, but it was a mistake to assemble the trunnion like that. The trunnion should not rotate on the bolt, the trunnion should lock together with the steel spacers and washers and form a solid unit with the large bolt, and rotate on the nylon bushes, done like in the video the trunnion will wear out very soon and go oval. And, the large trunnion bolt should be mounted the other way, with the nut towards the rear.

[@jianoconnor8414]

How do you know to put the shield on the bearing before installing into the top wish-bone ?

[@tylerwerrin41]

replacing those trunions is a pain - don't forget to oil it up every 6 months or so!

[@DieAnwohner]

There are some faults on this video! For example: On the TR4A - TR6 the steel distancers have to slide in the nylon bushes and if not - there is something really wrong. The castled nut must be locked tight on the long bolt to get one metal unit with the spacers, washers and trunnions - and slide in the nylon bushes. If this dosn't slide, you have real püroblems with too much paint (powder) on the wishbones, wrong diameters or wrong lenght.

[@TheUlrikkaul]

Well done Elin. Just a small question, long time ago i spoke to a guy that had repaired Truimphs for many years. He told me that it's only allowed to use the same oil as in the gearbox or dear diff. in the trunions. Witch means no grease? I have not fully investigated this, but perhaps somebody has. Comments are appreciated...

[@RustyBeauties]

Oh yeah, I read a discussion somewhere about what oil or grease to use in the trunions. There were so many different opinions.... The truth is they were designed to use grease, hence the grease nipples. But also it is true the lubricants improved a lot since mid last century, so it is possible there to be better options... But I think that if there are many different opinions on the same subject there might be one option better than the other, but the ratio would be very close to 50/50 so I don't really waste too much time deciding which one to go with.

[@TheUlrikkaul]

One of the reasons he gave me was that small particles of brass or whatever the trunions are made of, remains in the grease. With the use of oil the particles will fall to the bottom and not clog up the threads. I hope that some one with the experience could give us some advice. I'm looking at this: www.rimmerbros.co.uk/Item--i-BHA4576

[@dls3965]

Elin. Question for you. I am to 16:50 on your video on my 73 tr6. I see your assembly appears to swivel left and right at this point. Mine does not and is binding because the trunnion steering stopper bolt (actually the spacer the bolt runs through that actually serves as the stopper to the vertical link) is pressed against the lower base plate. Any idea what is going on with mine? It appears the shock installation on yours compressed things just enough for clearance of the spacer and bolt but i can't tell for sure. On mine the shock installation made no difference. It's a stock shock. Out of curiosity I grabbed my floor jack, a short 2x4, placed both under the assembly to see if i could get movement or compression and nothing. With that said there is no real opposing weight there either as my car is literally in the same condition as yours in the video. Frame only sitting on jack stands. It's as if the spring expanded pressure is causing this which by the way the springs are new purchased from a well known reputable Triumph parts distributor. Again stock part. The entire assembly is stock with the exception of the bushings. I am using the poly bushing kit. Logically it would make sense because there is no weight to compress things this would occur however watching your video multiple times I noticed your assembly not only has movement but pretty good movement. Any help and thoughts are appreciated.

[@RustyBeauties]

As you said it is the spring what pushes the top and bottom arms apart and this causes extreme pressure on the threads of the trunnion and on the ball-joint. So it is normal the vertical arm to swivel hard after you install he spring. However once the shock goes in it should limit the spring's pressure and then everything should go back to normal. If it still "bites" then something with the geometry is wrong. And I can't think of anything else but the shock. You said it is stock, but the only thing that limits how far apart the top and bottom arms go is the shock. It acts like a stopper and if it is too long the trunnion and the ball joint become the stoppers. How was it swiveling before the spring? Maybe the trunninon is overtightened? I don't think it is possible, but I am just thinking here. Or if the ball-joint is new it might be a little tight in the beginning. Or maybe something in the assembly is not right. Is the bottom end of the shock tightened all the way up with the 4 nuts? Did you have only one mounting rubber on the shock stem before pushing it up through the spring? If you have two by mistake that would increase the length, but again I don't think it is possible, because the stem would become too short on top and you wouldn't be able to install the other mounting rubber, the washer and the nut. It is true that the weight of the body and the engine will compress the spring and release the pressure, but I don't think you should rely on that. I hope that helps and you can find the reason.

[@dls3965]

I am beginning to think they may have sent me the wrong shocks. The 4 nuts are tightened all the way down and the top post has 2 mounting rubbers - 1 below the shock tower and 1 above. One interesting point i need to mention, after writing my previous comment I double checked my shock and noticed I actually ran out of threads on the shock top post so the nut (nuts) is actually bottomed out. I think the shock actually still may have expansion travel in it. I think the trunnion is installed correctly as I could move it (swivel it) fairly easily prior to moving on. Prior to spring installation the assembly swiveled up and down and turned. It was stiff but I could move it and turn it. It was only after I installed the spring (which by the way I grabbed my other new one that goes on the other side and sized it up with the original that came off and they are identical in size - height and circumference) did the trunnion stopper bolt (sleeve or spacer) begin to rest on the lower base plate and has been there ever since. It cannot move up or down / side to side. To much pressure. Lastly - your time invested to share your thoughts and videos is greatly appreciated. This has left me baffled for sure.. Thanks Elin... Sincerely, Dan.

[@dls3965]

PS. To answer your question. The car drove prior to tear down so everything functioned. I drove it into my garage and started my frame off restoration.

[@johnsmith-zh9jj]

What you did in 20 min only took me 2 days and a lot of cursing keep it comming

[@RustyBeauties]

The power of video editing LOL

[@tenhendee5479]

Yess... . I"m always wondering about people tellig about repairs on TR6, that take them only some minutes and max 1,5 hours maybe. I my case it take always days to "fix" something.

[@mikegoodman4133]

Elin - thanks for setting me straight on your gender - I was pretty sure from your facial hair and so forth that you were male, but I was afraid to ask! lol! I once again enjoyed your video. Stephanie did a really nice job on parts and frame clean up and painting. At your shop it seems like everybody takes a hand in all the different kinds of restoration work - true?

[@RustyBeauties]

Hahah, that was for the guys who call me with the girl's version of Elin LOL. Anyways, I don't mind and I understand. It is not a common name. Yeah, in our shop you can't last if you are not versatile. It is not a production line where you do the same thing all the time. We build limos and there are many, many things to do. Many times when people are done with their part, they need to move to something else or go home and come back when there is more for them. So we move them around. And they seem to like it too.

[@mikegoodman4133]

I bet you learn a lot of new skills working in a shop like yours.

[@hopilavd]

Hi Elin. Great Video as always. Your timing is just right as I'm about to start assembling my suspension on my 74 TR6 as well. Thought I'd get your input on an issue I'm having with one of the suspension mounts that was repaired. Could you check out the video and let me know what you think. Thanks for the help. kzbin.info/www/bejne/j6HIaa1nn6uCoZo

[@RustyBeauties]

Thank you, Hovsep! I watched your video and left you a comment. Your project looks great. It looks like you have a very nice shop and you will have a beautiful car soon. I'd love to see more of it!