Mark H Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 Can any of you help 🤔, im about to rebuild my old 7 with a few nice modern bits , Will the top joint from the latest top wishbone fit the old iron upright. IE. is the tapper the same 🤔 flares n, flames Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Sewell Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 The quick answer is no, but there used to be a reference in the search archive to a couple of companies that do the necessary ball joint to convert it. Low tech luddite - xflow and proud! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark H Posted June 26, 2003 Author Share Posted June 26, 2003 Thanks Graham , anyone know which parts fit 🤔 flares n, flames Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 I am doing the transformation to get rid of the trunnions very simply : the caterham kit exists £730 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bare Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 Suggest a Search.. alledgedly these are Fiat 131 track rod Joints Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark H Posted June 26, 2003 Author Share Posted June 26, 2003 Just to add to this story, i had a trunnion/upright failure this afternoon in the S4, thankfully i was going slowly for once 😳. managed to shear the threaded stub from the bottom of the upright, God only nows what could of happened if i wasnt going so slowly 😳. So i have made up my mind to do away with them on my caterham.  Marc. flares n, flames Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bare Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 Uhh... on the "new and Improved" Uprights.. that Threaded Stub.. IS STILL THERE.. just with No threads... don't be expecting any more strength ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Locust Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 Marc I had a similar experience on the locust about 6 yrs ago i.e. low speed manouvring on a car park and trunnion fails. That seems to be when it happens - for every one I've been told about anyway. I got all brand new uprights and trunnions + assoc. bits etc for both sides from a Triumph specialist for about £150 (if I remember correctly). Always get new OE spec trunnions and new dust seals etc as well. Don't be fooled that your existing setup is flawed; 1. It's probably lasted 30+years already and (probably) will have had periods of neglect and abuse i.e. not regularly oiled with EP90. Time and neglect is what kills trunnions because sh1t, wear and corrosion take over. 2. When the locust was written off last year (long story/not my fault), the vertical link on the left side was bent but the trunnion didn't break after 5 years on the car and approx 40-50k miles. That is as strong as it needs to be in my view. 3. Replacing the existing with new spares saves the agrevation/cost of new wishbones etc. /Lecture mode off Cheers Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Hughes Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 Hi Marc Just done this very mod. The Ball joint is from a Fiat 134 (and other Fiats) and had a part Quinton Hazell part no. of QR118. All was well until I put the nose cone back on - or not coz the new ARB is bigger and so some cutting / grinding of the nose cone is needed. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark H Posted June 27, 2003 Author Share Posted June 27, 2003 Thanks for the replys guys  And John thank you for the part numbers 😬  flares n, flames Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 I just drive the car back to my garage. No more trunnion, real wishbones and leda dampers and springs great improvement, more precise and better dampers And safer, all that due to a low speed trunnion/upright failure So don't use trunnions that will be my advise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark H Posted June 27, 2003 Author Share Posted June 27, 2003 Well as im about to complete a total rebuild to my own spec theres no doubt i shall not be including the old trunnions in the new designs. The only headache at the moment is the question of the damper angles and spring rates , but a heplful engineer who works at lotus is on the case , so i should have a spec. soon .  We also intend to incorperate an SV. De Dion tube in a standard chassis, so the track will be equal front and rear. Once i have got it up and running i,l report back.  Marc, Anglia Sevens. flares n, flames Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric Posted June 29, 2003 Share Posted June 29, 2003 Why don't you use the Caterham kit It will fit directly , bolted on the front arb the real wishbone will fix  The kit will come complete according to your chassis specs regards eric The other solution is to modified the front chassis to accept the modern wihbones Easy for you, not for me (in France) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casbar Posted June 29, 2003 Share Posted June 29, 2003 We have had the trunnion debate many times. Non trunnion uprights also fail, around the bottom welds. The only advantage of non trunnions, is no oil to put in. Triumph used trunnions for years and years along with many kit built cars, so they can't be that bad. Most trunnion fail because of bad maintenance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leadership Team Mcalvert Posted June 30, 2003 Leadership Team Share Posted June 30, 2003 Based on this, I went out at the weekend to buy a decent grease gun as the cheap one which I had previously never seemed to have much luck at getting oil into the trunnion grease nipple. Guess what, the new gun has the same problem - so what am I doing wrong? Is it that the fitting is wrong? The gun doesn not "snap" onto the nipple - should it? All I seem to get is oil on the floor. I have taken the nipple off and the spring valve thingy does push in OK... Advice please! Thanks - Michael. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bare Posted June 30, 2003 Share Posted June 30, 2003 Strange.. no problems with mine.. Could try new Zerk fittings (nipples) as they are cheap and esily found. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leadership Team Mcalvert Posted June 30, 2003 Leadership Team Share Posted June 30, 2003 Thanks for that - can you get them from standard motor-factors with the right thread? Thanks - Michael. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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