New bushes, OEM or Superflex?

[Brap_Brap]

I was pricing out Superflex's polyurethane bush kits and they seem too pricey due to the Pound/Dollar exchange rate. How good (or bad) are the OEM Cortina bushes vs. the car handling? The cheaper I go the sooner my wedge is back on the road, but I would pay for quality if the upgrade is not miniscule.

Thoughts and opinions?

[Wedg1e]

The difficulty we have over here is getting hold of the original-style Metalastik bonded bushes; the brand is now owned by Trelleborg but they've only maintained continuity of a very limited range... and needless to say the ones for the TVR aren't on the list!
The front suspension bushes are still available for the upper and lower arms however they all seem to be repro's rather than the genuine Boge items originally fitted.
I replaced all my front ones a couple of years back but some of the Boge bushes were in such good shape I kept them - just in case!
For the back end (the A-frames and the diff. lower mounting) I managed to find some that had the right ID and OD but were too long so I shortened them on the lathe; you could easily have change from 100 Sterling going the same route.
Bear in mind that the originals were to Inch dimensions, so the OD is something daft like 27.15mm or whatever the equivalent to 1 and 1/8" is and the ID is 12.7mm rather than the common 12mm that you find in Metric bushes.
The A-frame tie-rods are even more of an arse-on with the end bushes being completely different sizes. I haven't yet managed to find exact replacements or even close-enough bushes that I could modify and my tie-rods have Polyurethane ends instead (courtesy of the Shaun the 1-Finger Bandit ).
The small end has a Metalastik number (that I forget, maybe 13/808?) but the large bush was unmarked... it was probably from an old Rover or some sort of Leyland van... or a milk float...
Given that your side of the world still uses the system of measurement we gave you instead of the one the French gave us, you may have more luck finding exact replacements

[Brap_Brap]

Wedg1e said:

Given that your side of the world still uses the system of measurement we gave you instead of the one the French gave us, you may have more luck finding exact replacements

I'm not so sure about that. MPH still dominates your road signs. What's the "NSL"? 70mph if I recall. It's Km/h here.

Notwithstanding that, thanks wedg1e for the time, trouble and info you put into that post.

On the superflex website, when you click on a (wedge) product, descriptions appeared in both metric and imperial as the case may be.(ASE for yankees) . All told I'm looking at three days wages for 3 pounds of plastic and stainless steel inserts weighing under 2kg. Hiway robbery I say!

Edited by Brap_Brap on Thursday 21st May 03:58

[440Interceptor]

Seen these? search for TVR. They have the lot, and are top quality. I found a supplier and haggled them down to 660 AUD for the whole car inc 4 trailing arm/diff support bushes which are expensive.

[KKson]

Bradderztvr recently changed all bushes on his early 350i. Link to post is below. Total cost for his bushes was approx £150.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[adam quantrill]

Beer still comes in pints.

Eggs come in dozens.

Weed comes in quarter ounces. And then you get stoned.

Some thangs are still measured in inches. (Wheels - you have a dirty mind)

Time is still 24 hours, 60 minutes, 60 seconds (do you have 10 hours in a day?)

[Brap_Brap]

adam quantrill said:

Time is still 24 hours, 60 minutes, 60 seconds (do you have 10 hours in a day?)

No, not time for parts searcing verus North American substitutes, and I don't know if that was a hint to pay-up and get the job done rather than search and haggle over bushings all summer. But I took it that way. And it probably would take half the summer.

Price be damned I'll get the superflex and be done with it.