Metalastik bushes

[Wedg1e]

... or at any rate suppliers thereof!

I took it into my head that after a dozen years in my ownership and however many before that when it was neglected, the rear suspension of my '87 TVR was overdue some TLC.
So I stripped off the 'wishbones', driveshafts, diff. and its cradle etc and set about removing the various bushes, bearings and UJs.
Bearings and UJs I can get no problem but it seems that good old-fashioned bonded rubber 'Metalastik' bushes are now rarer than poultry dentition. Looks like the world has gone polyurethane bush mad, which is not necessarily a good thing, especially on a car known for a firm ride at the best of times.
Now there's a good chance that these various bushes were once to be found boinging around under assorted old Brit motors but that doesnt help as nobody lists them by size, only type or makers' numbers which, with one exception, don't appear on any of the bushes I've removed (largely because they're Kerry Packer-ed ).
The only legible one has Metalastik 13/801 on it.
They're all Imperial sizes as well, just to add a further bu99eration, since all of the online suppliers I can find (including RS) only list Metric sizes.
Anyone got any ideas of who might have stocks of these things? It appears that Metalastik as a brand name is now owned by Trelleborg but their website is about as much use as Steven Hawking in a potholing competition.

 

[rtbcomp]

Won't the TVR owners club be able to help?

 

[mike 109444]

Do they not do the polyurethane ones in varying grades? Not had o get any yet but hoping they do!

 

[MattF]

Do they not do the polyurethane ones in varying grades? Not had o get any yet but hoping they do!

They'll apparently be notably stiffer than the originals, even if they do varying grades/hardness of them.

If I were looking to match the originals up, I'd drop into your nearest helpful, old school factors and ask if either they'll have a delve else let you have one, to see if they've owt which matches, (unless they know they have something and can hand it straight over to you without looking, obviously).

 

[Shox Dr]

landys still use Metalastik bushes

 

[eric_knapper]

I've had a fair few TVR's over the years and I'm restoring a '72 3000M atm. I did have a '83 280 Tasmin about 20 years ago so the memory is a bit vague I think the front suspension bushes were Ford Cortina but the rear was a mix might be Jaguar I will post back if I can remember. However if the Wedgies are like the M-Series cars then you use a mixture of poly and rubber bushes were needed you could try giving R T Racing in Sheffield a call they have a lot of suspension upgrades for the wedge series cars.

Eric.

 

[langy]

RS Components sell good quality metalastic bushes

 

[Fergus]

landys still use Metalastik bushes

Beat me to it, the local specialist let me have a rummage through their selection the last time I needed some.

That said I honestly wouldn't worry too much about Poly bushes being too hard, they aren't that shocking. Nylon bushes, now that's a different matter.

 

[Wedg1e]

Already tried RS, they have nothing close to the sizes I need (and theirs are all Metric).

The owner's club (of which I used to be a member until I wondered why I was wasting £30 a year) would point you to the 'specialists' like RT. Most of whom buy-in a standard part and then put a TVR-shaped price tag on it.

I prefer the 'old school factors' method but there aren't too many of those left around here; they've mostly gone over to bling-bling for shopping cars and regular service items. The one half-decent one usually runs and hides when I go in 'cos it frequently involves opening 4 dozen boxes to see whether the contents match the part I have in my hand One time it was track rod ends for a Lotus Esprit: tapered end was the same as Triumphs but the thread was that from Fords.

Thought there might have been an old parts supplier with an online catalogue... and there are, but as I said, whilst they'll sell you a Rover Part 543678 or a LandRover wangleflange bush, they can't tell you the dimensions.

 

[Wedg1e]

That said I honestly wouldn't worry too much about Poly bushes being too hard, they aren't that shocking.

What most people don't realise is that Poly bushes don't work in the same way as bonded rubber ones.
The 'spring' of the rubber component in a bonded bush was generally taken into account in the suspension design (allegedly). The inner tube is clamped rigidly and the outer tube is captive in (usually) the moving part. So any deflection twists the rubber which then tries to regain its shape when the load is released. This acts in conjunction with the spring and damper to give the required response.
With the various Poly makes, irrespective of the Shore hardness of the compound, the inner sleeve is NOT attached to the polyurethane part, which is then free to rotate around the tube (or vice versa)... clearly not part of the original spec. or they'd have used a rotatable design. So straight away, for better or worse, you've altered the suspension characteristics.
I've seen it reported that in some cases, moisture, oil and dirt getting into the interface between polyurethane bush and inner tube has created an abrasive action which chews up the poly component. And in really hard driving, perhaps track days, the poly gets squashed out of shape creating slop in the joint.
I fitted Poly bushes to the antiroll bar on the TVR; by the time the fasteners had all been done up for a couple of weeks the bushes had deformed to the extent that the bar end was movable in the bush. I went back to rubber.
Frankly I'd rather stick with the original specification. The real problem, I suspect, will be finding bushes that aren't moulded in China from yak droppings and llama spit.

 

[Wedg1e]

Hmmm... another thought: anyone got any Metalastiks lying round (ex-Landy, Jag etc.) that they could get some dimensions off for me?

 

[Seano]

HEY Wedg1e
Have you looked at these guys...... http://www.racetechdirect.co.uk/?gclid=CIKpzoS2zbACFQ8htAod1RUNWQ


Or scroll down here.....http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&t=421004&mid=0&nmt=Hard-to-get-parts+(MOT)

Sean.

 

[Shox Dr]

Give Dom a ring at LR Series.Im sure he has or did have a TVR, so might know what will fit from a LR

 

[bricol]

Long time ago, I did this on a Westfield and objected to their prices.

Removed a bush, measured it, and contacted the technical department at Quinton Hazell - nice lady there gave me a part number and spec. I bought two boxes of 8 from Partco for slightly more than one bush from Westfield.

Might be worth a go.

Bri

 

[Wedg1e]

HEY Wedg1e
Have you looked at these guys...... http://www.racetechdirect.co.uk/?gclid=CIKpzoS2zbACFQ8htAod1RUNWQ


Or scroll down here.....http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&t=421004&mid=0&nmt=Hard-to-get-parts+(MOT)

Sean.

Yep, Racetech only support later cars (all-Metric) and the Pistonheads thread is nadgered by the fact that CMW no longer exist. I contributed to the original version of that list about 15 years ago

 

[Wedg1e]

Long time ago, I did this on a Westfield and objected to their prices.

Removed a bush, measured it, and contacted the technical department at Quinton Hazell - nice lady there gave me a part number and spec. I bought two boxes of 8 from Partco for slightly more than one bush from Westfield.

Might be worth a go.

Bri

Thanks, I'm open to any avenue at the moment.

Dropped into my local factors this AM and was confronted with a cocky youngster who told me "them TVRs is built from bits of other cars you know " (no ****, Sherlock) and how his mate had a TVR Cerbera with Fiesta brake calipers and Granada discs. Well maybe he did, but they never left the factory like that.
Hire a teenager, while they still know everything.

 

[Wedg1e]

Give Dom a ring at LR Series.Im sure he has or did have a TVR, so might know what will fit from a LR

Thanks Shox, another for the list
Always find work gets in the way when you have jobs on like this...

 

[Wedg1e]

Give Dom a ring at LR Series.Im sure he has or did have a TVR, so might know what will fit from a LR

Email sent to LRS, they don't like answering their phone

Got a reply back from Dom already, sounds like he's most keen to get his teeth into the problem. Watch this space...

 

[Shox Dr]

Cool, he's a good bloke to deal with. I don;t know about the phones, only down the rd from me so I just drive there.

 

[Wedg1e]

Cool, he's a good bloke to deal with. I don;t know about the phones, only down the rd from me so I just drive there.

Ah right... funnily enough one of my TVR cronies lives near Pockliington and our lasses parents are down at Huntington, just north of York.
The guy near Pocklington makes bespoke oak furniture, which reminds me, I need to order Nursy's christmas pressie