Frogeye Sprite - Remove Coil Springs (MG Midget, A30, A35, Austin Healey) Budget Bugeye Build Ep.8

How to remove & refit front coil springs (without using Spring Compressor or special tools) on Austin Healey Frogeye Sprite, MG Midget, Austin A30, Austin A35 or Austin A40 Farina. Also swapping disc brakes for drum brakes. No.7 in series of films covering the build-up of "Gaps" the famously scruffy Frogeye from a bare, stripped-out shell and then running the car as my regular, every-day Driver..
This car, "Gaps" is a well-known & well-used 1958 Austin Healey Frogeye Sprite. Used as a road & race-car for many years and mechanically improved by previous owners. Long-standing bodywork issues (the name "Gaps" comes from its famously-bad panel-fit!) combined with creeping rust meant that the car's well-sorted & competitive mechanicals deserved a better shell - in the form of an existing solid car, stripped for restoration many years ago. The remaining Donor Shell, rusty and with untidy welding & repairs from its time on the track - is not economically viable to restore back to "perfect". With its many issues, this shell also wouldn't justify a conventionally-sourced set of replacement parts - mechanicals, wheels & suspension, interior, instruments & dash, glass, weather-protection, etc.
Normally, rusty "donor-cars" like this would simply be robbed of chassis-tags to be used as basis of a new-build around a new-shell. But we have decided to keep "Gaps" the Sprite alive - and to bring it back to life & back On-The-Road in an unconventional way and on a near- zero budget, using old parts sourced for minimal cost and creative & innovative repairs. As well as being genuinely necessary for financial reasons, this approach was also philosophically essential to making this fabulously-characterful car economically viable and worth saving in any rational sense. There are two additional twists to the tale. The first is that, as the replacement shell was prepared and re-built, the parts were removed from the donor over several months - and during that time "Gaps" would be kept up-and-running as an approximately-complete and fully-functional motor-car (this was important - as we knew that if she was completely stripped-bare, we would just be left with a pile of rusty-rubbish that would be practically & economically beyond any sensible idea of re-building!) The final twist is that, despite the issues, the financial constraints and the age of the machine, this car was to be used daily throughout - as a daily-driver, commuting some 50 miles every day to-and-from work... Follow the series of films as almost every part of the car is removed, replaced or re-made - wheels, suspension, instruments & dash, windscreen frame, interior, etc. etc. For more information on "Gaps" the Sprite itself and the philosophy of the project, watch my Project Introduction Film, No.1

[@angelsone-five7912]

That`s the very method I used on my Austin A35 and it worked a treat.

[@pierce2652]

Well I wanted a lot of time trying to figure out how to do this. I’m working on my car from the ground up thanks so much

[@TahoeRealm]

Greetings from Nevada! You just SAVED me - I am doing springs this week and now I know how - many many thanks!

[@TomsJunkyard]

Hey that's really cool. Love to think of you doing the same job in Nevada. That's awesome.

[@NickNakorn]

That's the technique I've always used too - great little vid!

[@TomsJunkyard]

Thanks Nick. It's a great method isn't it? (But springs so scare me still...can catch you out) Thanks. glad you liked the film.

[@roverenderalligator9104]

We used this method on the front springs of my Rover P6B. To make winding the nuts along the studding easier we fabricated a very long socket out of one of those 10" spark plug spanners with a socket of the correct size for the nuts at the front (13 or 14mm) & an old worn-out 1/2" drive at the rear, both quickly tack welded into place & that's it. The studding passes through it & saves all that faffing about with spanners. You can use a ratchet spanner too of course but the Heath-Robinson socket is much more secure & easier on the hands. 😁

[@TomsJunkyard]

Which spring was that? Don't P6Bs have horizontal front coils? Did inboard callipers on a P6 once, hell of a job. But can't remember how rear end is sprung. Interesting machine. Love to hear stories of improvised tools and methods. Nice.

[@roverenderalligator9104]

@@TomsJunkyard Yes, front springs. They're mounted on the bulkhead as you say & the shocks are valved back to front because of the bellcrank set-up. Worst job on the car but relatively simple all the same. De-dion setup at the rear, those springs are a doddle, you just unbolt the end of the support arm & release the tension with a trolley jack. The rear discs have a bad reputation but again, they're not difficult if you approach it properly. Rear of (or the whole) car on ramps, nice bit of carpet to lay on then unbolt the halfshafts at the discs, let them hang from the wheels & remove the discs. Plenty of access to the calipers then. Great cars from the heyday of what was a great company. I'm a lifelong Rover man.

[@Paul-R]

That's dedication, 2am! impressed and amazed at the same time, I thought I was the only one who did a 2am shift on a winters night, for the love of a car. keep up the good work, has "gaps" got a new name ?

[@TomsJunkyard]

No - the is Gaps and Gaps is staying Gaps. I don't mind the late nights - some interesting stuff on the radio. But I am getting sick of the rain...I'd love a barn to do this stuff in these days!

[@JerryMotorsport]

Presume there is no need to disconnect anything else using this method. Only other way I've seen for removing the springs involved disconnecting the upper arm from the king pin and lowering the lower arm using a jack. Your method seems slower but much more controlled and hence safer. Got to stip-down my nearside front suspension on a MkIII midget to fix a horrible knocking.

[@TomsJunkyard]

Hi Jerry, yes I've heard about the that method - I can see how it would work. As you say, less controlled. Personally I'd worry that if the jack slipped, the spring could bounce out. Springs scare the hell out of me.It might be OK on a nice smooth floor but you see, I work Al Fresco - so the slower method that keeps the springs retrained until all compression is off suits me fine. As for your question - nothing else removed...just what you see in the film. Good luck with the Midget!

[@claib4]

Very slick idea but could you not turn the bolts upward so you could use a box wrench up top and a socket on the bottom? Or is there not enough room?

[@TomsJunkyard]

You probably could do a more efficient method if you thought about the bolt-type. I just used the studding I had. You may be able to do it with a socket but you'd need to check space. Also, you always want a GOOD view of how much thread is left, if the nut popped off the end with compression still in the spring that would be pretty bad. But, for sure, the process could be made quicker, especially if you had more than one Midget or Sprite to do. Good luck, stay safe, always respect springs!!

[@sidcrighton9249]

I used 150mm long M6 bolts on my 1978 Midget 1500. I inserted them from the bottom so that I could use a socket driver on the underside, the bolts were *just* long enough. I also used flanged nuts on the top, and these had non-slip grooved faces which meant that I didn’t need to use a spanner on the top at all until the spring pressure was almost totally released. Turned out to be a pretty quick job!

[@Toms_Short_Movies]

I am going to order a pair of long bolts. Can you remember the thread size?

[@TomsJunkyard]

Hi there - I just checked. The nuts were 13mm an the threaded bar was about 7mm. The main bolts used were around 15cm long. Good luck with the job!

[@kurtbarker3303]

What wheels are they? Banded steels?

[@TomsJunkyard]

Hi there Kurt - no, not banded. Actually original (and rare) 1960s Rubery Owen wide wheels. Not mine - I had to give them back to the previous owner. Check out my new film telling the whole story of this car and how I had to give back every single piece except the bodyshell!

[@christopherbirtwhistle1160]

Hi can I do the same for my Austin Healey sprite MK4

[@TomsJunkyard]

Hi Christopher - yes - this is the same on all Midgets & Sprites, and the Asutin A30-A35-A40 too.

[@findafixing]

Enjoyed your video! If you get chance, be great if you could drop by findafixing.com and share any nut and bolt details with our community. Cheers, Andy