alolympic

Cheers Tony, I think I'll bring the car up to you in the 1st instance. You'll be able to tell a lot more when you see the car and can do your own geometry check I guess. I'm not sure we have an ackermann issue. Neither wheel turns far enough, not just one. It is fundamentally a mismatch with the steering rack used I think. The car us fitted with a LHD Classic Mini Quick rack, mounted upside down. Sounds bizarre, but this apparently fitted by other guys who work on Lotus Elans. The front uprights and lower wishbones are from a BMW E30, and somehow, they just don't seem to work well with that rack. Another garage has given me this diagnosis - " We’ve had a look, and the 3-series upright has a fair distance between the track rod end position, and the pivot point of the whole upright (the lower balljoint). It’s because the lower balljoint isn’t directly under the upright, it’s behind it. If that distance was much shorter, it would increase the amount of turn possible. I suspect on a Mini, it is much closer together. I think where the other chap you’ve spoken to is coming from (and I’m purely guessing from what he’s written) is that they shorten the stub on the upright, which would increase the amount of turn available. Problem is on the 3-series upright, it just isn’t possible as it’s already as short as it can be".

The car suffers from too large a turning circle, because the maximum steering angle is too small. Mini roundabouts are not an option - just a speed bump

To be honest, I'm not 100%. I haven't even had the car at my place long enough to have a good luck. It's currently having it's engine rebuilt somewhere away from home. What I can tell you is; Front - Caterham wishbones and BMW E30 modified uprights. Avo adjustable coil overs. Adjustable tie rods. Rear - BMW E30 semi trailling arms. Avo adjustable dampers. Springs mounted independent of dampers. Does that help??

Hi Guys, I have a classic kit car. The car is basically built with a completely bespoke chassis. The front suspension is double wishbones, the rear is the semi trailling arms from a BMW E30. I am now at the point where I want to start checking all of the relevant geometry, to understand if modifications need to be made, to 'make the car handle' I've read up on as much theory as possible, but now I am realising that some things are best left to the pros. Currently, I have a number of things on a 'to do' list; 1. There is a massive issue with the turning circle, so some modifications will have to be made at some point to sort that out. My current thinking though is before tackling any changes around the steering rack, I should check for bump steer, to see if that will change the next steps. 2. I would also like to change the ride height, mostly for appearance purposes. Before I do this, I'd like to understand if there any geometry limitations to doing this. The current tyres have too high a profile, so I can change tyres alongside changes to the suspension to get this adapted. 3. I also have a pretty strong sense that the front wheels/tyres are too wide, and the wheel has too much negative offset. The wheels are split rims, so this can be adjusted. So, I guess my question is; Should I get a full geometry check before I even think about what width tyres I should fit - what the offset should be (bearing in mind KPI angle) etc.? Can WIM check bump steer for me as part of the full check? I think this just requires the checking of toe across the full range of suspension travel with the springs removed? Oh, and here are some pics, it's a Rochdale Olympic........

This may be a strange post, and a real can of worms, but I can think of nowhere better to ask than here. Following on from WIM sorting out my Triumph Toledo last year I have an even stranger animal to work with. This is a 1962 Rochdale Olympic, running a K series engine. Suspension is based on an E30 BMW, and coilovers are Avo's. Because this car is a bit of a hybrid, there are no OEM geometry settings to aim for, so it is going to be trial and error. Before I start driving it long distances I want to at least set things up within normal tolerances. Basically, until I can visit WIM, I want to keep the car on the road safely. So, taking it to Demon Tweeks to get it all measured and adjusted, this weekend, are there are any basic settings which I should base things on as a start point. I.E> Camber angles, castor angles, Toe In etc. Told you it was a strange one....... Cheers Guys

Crazy. Your original post was made all the better because you get to the end of the whole conversation before seeing the photo. Classic!