The 'E' Type Forum

Hi All,1 question how strong is E type Suspension,front and rear lower arm because three corners of my car were damaged and don't really think It looks that strong.

If you think its damaged you need to get it checked out....how strong is the suspension is a bit like how long is a piece of string.....Its strong enough for what its designed for but if the car has had serious damage it will need a good alignment check.....Steve

The rear suspension itself is built like a tank. However, its mountings and trailing arms are easy to damage. The front suspension is forgings and again built like a tank, so if you have damaged them you have given it one hell of a clout, and as Steve says an alignment check for the body and particularly the engine frames is mandatory . What exactly happened ?

HI AII, the reason I raised this question is there no reports on this subject and my car cannot be only e type with minor accident damage out there.

I think we need more detail on the nature of the damage you have suffered. As already said the suspension is pretty robust and more than adequate for normal use...The rear suspension was used in many jaguar models and even the Aston Martin DB7 used a derivation of it I believe. The front suspension is extremely robust. Frontal impact will cause frame damage and consequently suspension damage but this is not the fault of the design. Indeed the general suspension configuration remains unchanged in e types prepared for racing where the stresses are far higher than on road cars...and e types can be very competitive on track

hi all I have only recently rebuilt my E and had a shake down run to settle the suspension,once back I checked camber angles finding that 3 corners of the bomb proof e damaged by previous owner,investigation found rear lower arm bent in 6mm,near side front upright bent in 6mm,off side front also 6mm,car is now all correct,if you look a 60s S type lower arm is thicker at the weak spot,front upright has more day light arch over the lower ball joint,so to hit a kerb with moderate force in real world would probably damage it.

Do you mean bent or negative camber.....yes if you hit the suspension on a kerb you would probably damage it..if the tyre hit the kerb then possibly not.....i still have no idea what you are really asking......have you had serious damage to 3 corners of your car that have possibly damaged the suspension or just dented the bodywork...Steve

How strong is strong? Strong under which conditions, compared to what? The Etype is a 60' sportscar with ca 1200 kg, so thats what you can expect- its strong enough for normal road use and it was for racing without modification. You cant compare it to a modern safety feature car designed using FEM.

9110steveb wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 07, 2019 7:52 pm

Hi All,1 question how strong is E type Suspension,front and rear lower arm because three corners of my car were damaged and don't really think It looks that strong.

How strong would you like it to look, Steve?

You could add some body filler to the bits you “don’t really think look that strong.” You could paint the wishbones reflective yellow so people following you would say “Gosh, doesn’t that suspension on the little sports car in front look strong?”

“Indeed it does. It looks super-strong”
“And yellow...”
“Like a JCB.”
“Why yes - well spotted - and reflective too!
“For added safety.”
“You can’t have too much safety.”
“Or strong appearance.”
“ “Kraft durch sicherheit” my grandad used to say.”
“I remember that old bugger. Whatever happened to him?”
“Died from a car crash.”
“Oh! Weak suspension?”
“No, he’d only just had the wishbones upgraded to BeefBone standard - the suspension survived without a scratch.”
“So what happened?”
“ He died from a heart attack, when he saw the price of a replacement for the tub that took all the impact.”
“Quelle dommage...”
“I told him, “Leave the BeefBones to the Wolfhounds.”
“But he wouldn’t listen?”
“They look all clunky” I told him. “Not delicate and in proportion.”
“Like Twiggy in a fat suit.”
“All for a few extra femptoNewtonjoules of strongnicity.”
“Quel mystère!”

Pete, you stand on the podium

9110steveb wrote: ↑

Mon Dec 09, 2019 8:33 pm

hi all I have only recently rebuilt my E

During your recent rebuild did you not check the various parts including your front suspension components for damage before reassembly???

Peter Wrote:

“ He died from a heart attack, when he saw the price of a replacement for the tub that took all the impact.”

Hello Pete,
I heard of that incident and it was my understanding that when he was remonstrating about the state of his car, the Police at the scene said:
"Forget about the car, your left arm has been ripped off"
He looked to where his arm once was and exclaimed:
"Holy Hell; where's my Rolex!"
and bled to death at the scene.

Regards,

Bill

He had it coming Bill. If he’d paid for the tub it would have cost him an arm AND a leg. :-)