groutledge Posted July 21, 2002 Share Posted July 21, 2002 After much grief from my Ital axle I reached the last straw yesterday when the halfshaft broke causing the wheel to come away at Bedford Autodrome. Luckily it happened on a warming up lap and in a straight line so the wheel was held on by the brake shoes so I was able to safely pull off the track. Had it happened under heavy cornering i may have been going home in a box!. So obviously I am a little concerned What I would like ot know is what is the cost of fitting a Ford axle and who are some good suppliers. I'm looking for a good STRONG axle with a 3.9 - 4.2 ratio that will take slicks/ACB10's. I was using hard ACB10s yesterday but it wasn't a lateral/grip problem as it didn't fail under cornering. The car a long cockpit '95 graduate. As you can imagine this is a little disconcerting as I have previously had bearing problems which had been cured by brand new shafts and shims. I had deliberately NOT gone for tack welds on the bearings as I know this can cause weak spots and stress ractures and I alway check for play and regularly replace the wheel bearings. The Fireblade kit wil not cure it either as it effectively does the same job as shimming, so your still left with the weak half shaft problem. Using 21's and slowing down is not an option :-) Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevefoster Posted July 21, 2002 Share Posted July 21, 2002 Simon Ray did the conversion. Not cheap. Some chassis / tunnel mods by Arch and they fixed up the correct mounting points on the Ford casing. Then an LSD was popped in by Quaife if memory serves.? He still had to ease out the tunnel a little to get clearance. Once done however it future proofs the car for BHP... Look at Lol who's leading the Semsec Credit pro's in a Live axle VX powered track/road beaut/monster.... hereid=red> Under Lydden April meeting. Might as well go for disks on the rear too.... Simon has 155 bhp from his Roger King Engines XF and runs slicks. No problems... You can find Simon's email addr in the archives (or perhaps he has a new one since last post) or mail me direct for it... Steve My racing pics hereid=red> Hants (North) and Berkshire area club site hereid=red> Edited by - stevefoster on 21 Jul 2002 17:54:50 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary-Cornwall Posted July 21, 2002 Share Posted July 21, 2002 There's plenty of previous threads on this topic if you check the archives. Not all cars need tunnel mods. Make sure you use the smaller diff flange to avoid fouling. Shouldn't need to cost much. Has your local scrappy not got an escort axle? Revised mounts from Caterham - 30 quid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edmandsd Posted July 21, 2002 Share Posted July 21, 2002 HT Racing do this conversion and don't even need your car. They box section strengthen a standard english axle to save weight compared to the original bar bracing and can provide alloy diff noses, tran-x diffs, a choice of cwp's and group 4 atlas shafts if required. It puts up with the power I put through it no problem and the diff nose has never leaked since. Telephone Aaron Tucker or Ray Addis at HTR if you're interested - 01474 872888 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groutledge Posted July 21, 2002 Author Share Posted July 21, 2002 Thanks for the replies guys, as a matter of interest it's actually Simon Rays old axle I've got!!. Since I first posted this I've been looking back through the archive and I've heard HT mentioned before so I think I'll give them a call tomorrow. I'll also try SPC. I think the main problem is I've outgrown the car and am pushing it too hard with ACB10's etc I'm always trying to catch slick shod SLR's ( and I've managed it on more than one occasion! and std SL are no problem ). I'm going to cost up the axle swap. and try to work out if it's worth it or if I'm better off swapping to a different car, because unfortunately LA Xflows just don't seem to be worth that much any more so it may be good money after bad. I've already had widetrack, Nitron dampers and a recent RK 155bhp rebuild. I may just fix the axle and put it up for sale, in which case somebody is going to get a serious cheap rapid car. I'll keep you all posted.. Graham. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groutledge Posted July 21, 2002 Author Share Posted July 21, 2002 Thanks for the replies guys, as a matter of interest it's actually Simon Rays old axle I've got!!. Since I first posted this I've been looking back through the archive and I've heard HT mentioned before so I think I'll give them a call tomorrow. I'll also try SPC. I think the main problem is I've outgrown the car and am pushing it too hard with ACB10's etc I'm always trying to catch slick shod SLR's ( and I've managed it on more than one occasion! and std SL are no problem ). I'm going to cost up the axle swap. and try to work out if it's worth it or if I'm better off swapping to a different car, because unfortunately LA Xflows just don't seem to be worth that much any more so it may be good money after bad. I've already had widetrack, Nitron dampers and a recent RK 155bhp rebuild. I may just fix the axle and put it up for sale, in which case somebody is going to get a serious cheap rapid car. I'll keep you all posted.. Graham. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cskip Posted July 22, 2002 Share Posted July 22, 2002 Graham, I am also interested in this modification, so let me know how it goes! Good luck. Clive. X-flow - Not So Loud, But Still Proud! (Tech-Craft fitted!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonycaterham Posted July 22, 2002 Share Posted July 22, 2002 I have recently performed the swop from Ital to Ford axle and fitted Tran-X LSD. Arch charge 150 to supply and fit all brackets and powder coat axle. Email me if you want more info /want to discuss. Would be interested on how you fitted wide-track to your LA 7. Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Locust Posted July 24, 2002 Share Posted July 24, 2002 If you are using Ital axle with Ital wheel stud spacing ..............Dolomite Sprint axle was extremely heavy duty with taper roller bearings on halfshafts and used the Triumph BMC Ital stud spacing. Diff unit was v strong TR4, 5, 6 and 2000 saloon I think (though not all these were live axle applications diff was common from memory). Spares for this diff are not a problem due to Triumph specialists like Moss, Rimmer & TD Fitchett. Also LSD and a range of CWP ratios will be available from racing specialists like Cambridge Motorsport and Triumphtune. I recently paid £25 for a good 2nd hand unit complete with a view to re-bracketing......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elie boone Posted July 24, 2002 Share Posted July 24, 2002 You can also go for a 5 link, this puts far less strain on the axle casing. Midas Metalcraft did the conversion for me. I know they are out of bussines but if you give Doug a ring he might come up with something. It is always good to here that a 100 year old design trashes a 70 year old design. Edited by - elie boone on 24 Jul 2002 20:20:42 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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