DODGY SUSPENSION BOLTS.

I am not going say mine looks that pretty, but now it's all installed the cluch is much lighter and more positive and the brake pedal is to die for. The keyways are a few degrees apart yes, we took that into account.

Trevor, that is why I asked about the suspension bolts in the first place.
My clutch and brake pedal pivot shaft was worn like yours. I think the keyways are not in alignment from memory. I made a new outrigger support bolt which is shaped like a banjo and fitted a bush to safe wear on the shaft. I also found that the master cylinder push rod was out of alignment by 1/4" and had probably been that way since new as my Cord had never been completely restored but used and patched along the way. You will probably find other things that need attention ................. don't despair they are wonderful cars.
When I took the first picture I didn't realise the push rod was not in alignment.

The definition of "Fully Restored" is usually, looks pretty.
CORDiallyMike

Being in England, it is easier to do what we can here if we can, if not then shipping fron the USA is the next option !

[email protected] wrote: The good work continues ( hopefully) made a new shaft for the brake/clutch pedals, sorted out the worn clevis pins etc. as required on all the pivots, lower bump stops were shot too, modified with some generic poly items. When the advert says..... fully restored. People rarely deal with the small details that make the car work properly.

Nice workmanship.Stan sells everything you made. I purchased my brake clutch shaft with bushings from JK Howell way back in 1976. Sadly I still have not installed them. I was lucky to purchase all the bump stops on ebay from another Cord owner.


Gary Parsons

The good work continues ( hopefully) made a new shaft for the brake/clutch pedals, sorted out the worn clevis pins etc. as required on all the pivots, lower bump stops were shot too, modified with some generic poly items. When the advert says..... fully restored. People rarely deal with the small details that make the car work properly.

As already posted... The top saddle was way too small to support the load of the trans, engine and full radiator so it cracked thus dropping the car down. This in turn pushed the trans upwards causing hard shifting because of interference. I took my stub frame to work in bout 1985.. Cut out the cracked piece.Then welded in a piece of plate made from Cor Ten boiler plate. Root pass was 6011 with a few cover pass of 7018. Ground the fit and you wouldn't know this had been repaired. I then purchased the new improved spring saddle from JK Howell. My spring has been taken completely apart.Cleaned and ready to be lubed and re assembled for installation later. Its very important to keep the U bolts tight and please make sure they are not worn down where the frame rides on them. And most of all buy the saddle replacement from Stan. I recall he purchased all of JK Howells parts at his passing years ago.
Terry my car came equipped with the safety spring brackets but you can see some hard wear on them from street dragging and running into curbs of wheel stops in parking lots. I may repair or replace them but not today...


Gary Parsons

As Terry suggested, the wider support for the front spring is highly recommended. It’s VERY common for the stub frame saddle support to crack where the U bolts go thru the frame to attach the spring

Hi Robert, the springs should last indefinitely however they will sag a bit over time. Your wonderful roads will not cause much of a sag at all.
You can check your dimensions against Henry Portz's spring drawing.
Another good modification is to make a wider support for mounting the front spring to spread the load over the cross member.

Gary I guess your car was not fitted with the safety U bolts on the suspension arms?
The few RHD Cords sold here in Australia new were never fitted with them either. A disaster in the making.

Not to steal this thread but on the same line; I have taken my front suspension apart during my restoration. I did get Harry's bolts that his daughter still had for the reassembly. My question is the front springs look to be perfect and I don't think I'm going to replace them. Question is do these springs in general last forever? I know forever is a long time but if it works I plan on leaving it alone. I will probably have the rear springs replaced but with all the leaf's in the front they should hold their spring for a very long time. I've never heard of the Front spring failing only the bolts.
Robert L Hauser

A few years ago I learned this lesson very well. My passenger side spring end tip was ground nearly in half. These bolts had been welded on one end and were original in dimensions. After taking apart my leaf spring I found the two longest leafs ground badly by hitting the road bed sometime before 1961 when we purchased 1748S. I also found another leaf deep in the stack was cracked in half and had been for a long time.So after careful investigation and research I decided to purchase all new parts from Stan. Glad I did. When I compared original to new it was shocking the differences.


Gary Parsons

Those were the rubbers on the "good side" I haven't reused them, I have something similar to the pictures in poly.

Trevor it is astonishing that one of the original studs was still being used.
There is a bit more to the overall upgrade. Attached is a sheet prepared by Henry Portz who is no longer with us. Note the ring welded under the cup to locate it in the suspension arm. The rubbers you have don't look anything like the original.

A couple of people were quick to point out the importance of the suspension bolts. I could see one had been replaced with a 5/8" bolt, the other was original, check out how bent up it is ! I sourced a couple of M20 (just over 3/4") hi -tensile bolts and can mix and match the bushes/ washers that I have to tidy it up too. Grateful for this being hi-lighted as I wouldn't of known how dangerous it was.