Fast Cars IFS

[lal Naja]

Originally Posted by Buzz

It's going to be worth every penny and every minute of waiting, Don. While not a Fast IFS, one of the first things I did when I set about rebuilding my vintage Unique Cobra was to toss the MG front suspension and bolt in Unique's coil-over IFS. The difference was night and day - up there with the best money I ever spent on the Cobra.

The Unique was another serious consideration for my IFS. It should have fit just fine. But FastCars is just a 2.5 hour drive from my house and Ted let me crawl all over his suspension to measure, take templates, etc. etc. I was able to see a install in progress on an MGB and crawl all over that too. So it's FastCars IFS for me. Great product, great service, what more can I say.

Not sure if Unique would have given me the same freedom.

Arthur

[PDUB]

Originally Posted by Buzz

one of the first things I did when I set about rebuilding my vintage Unique Cobra was to toss the MG front suspension and bolt in Unique's coil-over IFS.

Did you get the upper shock towers with it or fabricate your own?

Originally Posted by Donunder

Good to know.

If I remember correctly, the Unique brakes are a little bigger than Ted's... 12" or 13", and still fit inside the 15" wheels.

Originally Posted by lal Naja

Not sure if Unique would have given me the same freedom.
Arthur

Yes they would have... they are a great bunch and are really good fabricators!


_______________

[Donunder]

IT'S ARRIVED !!!

After a nervous wait, the IFS finally arrived last Wednesday, cleared Customs on Thursday and hit the back of our old black truck on Friday.

Outside the customs agent's warehouse. The nice composite packing case used by Ted looks a little ominous in there, especially seeing that there is an investigation currently underway in Brisbane into the questionable transport practices of some of our local funeral companies.



Then it was off to Scott's place (Oz Venom) where the transplant will take place. Here's Scotty removing the coffin with his forklift.



Mmmm. Here it is.



These Wilwoods will be a huge improvement over the old MGB brakes. Hope I don't stand it on its nose first time out!



Now if we can just clear some of that other stuff out of here we can get started on an important job!



I must give thanks to Ted Lathrop and the crew at Fast Cars Inc. Ted has been incredibly helpful in our dealings, and after a short delay due to a backlog of work at his place, the goods arrived when Ted said they would. All the paperwork had been attended to efficiently and passed through customs smoothly, everything that had been ordered was included, the assembly was bolted to the bottom of the crate so that it couldn't move, and all appears at first inspection to be in good condition. I'm not expecting any gremlins to raise their ugly heads, and hopefully without boring you all too much I'll be posting pics as the work progresses.

While the front end is out I'm taking the opportunity of replacing the old brass radiator with a new alloy one. I'm in two minds about going away from the original style radiator but it's developed a few weeps over the years as you would expect and I think alloy is now the way to go.

[Rebel1]

Don, Scotty looks a little worried in that last pic.

[Donunder]

I think he'd just dropped a sandwich on the floor Les.

[lal Naja]

Great! Oz Venom looks like a cool shop too.

Just yesterday I finally finished the alignment on the IFS & the IRS Measurements between front and back wheels is EXACT.

Diagonal measurements from front left & back right and vise versa is off 1/16" I could have got it exact but it required a bit more cutting on the front frame and elongating the IRS mounting holes and I think I've been obscessive enough about this install. Enough already!

Don, may I suggest that you drill Teds mounting holes out to 3/4" and once the IFS is aligned go the shaft collar locking method I wrote about earlier.

I should have done this right from the go. Instead, had to use a die grinder and hand shape the holes to get the alignment correct. Hated the process! Using the die grinder covers you with sharp needle like steel splinters.

Could have drilled the holes to 3/4" in stead of die grinding in situ, but that meant I would have to have dropped the IFS. I would have had to called someone for a hand to do this. Working alone has it's downside.

But what ever approach you take, using the four 1/2"the shaft collars will give you a positive and perfect locating method for dead on acurate removal and replacement. Not that you will have to remove and replace it too often, but if you ever do you can bypass the alignment PITA.

I know hearing about drilling in to a nice new is like hearing screaching nails on a chalk-board, but that will be the reality, unless some how by fate, your frame holes mate.

Please let me know what you discover. BTY, working on your car in the Southern hemisphere must be a little easier as it's already up-side-down LOL!!

Arthur

[Donunder]

Originally Posted by lal Naja

May I suggest that you drill Teds mounting holes out to 3/4" and once the IFS is aligned go the shaft collar locking method I wrote about earlier.

Thanks Arthur...you must be a mind-reader.

Scott had read your comment on the collar lockers and in fact he mentioned it to me when we were looking at the mounting holes the other day. As you saw from the crowded appearance of his workshop it may be a few days before we can get to do mine but he's appreciative of the information you've provided and we'll be guided by your experiences with the installation for sure.