New happy Vixen owner says hi.
Discussion
Hi !
I just thought I would introduce myself as I have never been on the classic forum before
I have always admired these cars but never thought that I would own one. Christmas came and Santa left me this beautiful Vixen in my stocking, ( well actually it was my wife dressed up as Santa but you get the picture!).
The car is known on here, a 1970 Vixen series 2 that was previously owned by my friend Perry, (77Racing).
He has done a lot of work on the car and it is mechanically very sound. There are of course a small list of bits and pieces that I need to do but this is the nature of the beast.
I already have a chimaera which I habitually fiddle with and use for track days, sprints, drag racing days and of course social use.
The first question I would like to ask is regarding the suspension.
I believe it has Avos fitted all round but the spring rates are unknown.
The suspension is too firm and I would like to change the springs to a recommended road car setup.
What would people recommend?
I have also tried to raise the rear as I believe it is sitting a little low and having raised the spring platforms a few turns I seem to have achieved nothing apart from possibly making the suspension firmer!
There are lots of other questions to ask and in preparation, I have already spent some time browsing this forum picking up snippets of information here and there and committing them to memory, (if that is at all possible).
I just thought I would introduce myself as I have never been on the classic forum before
I have always admired these cars but never thought that I would own one. Christmas came and Santa left me this beautiful Vixen in my stocking, ( well actually it was my wife dressed up as Santa but you get the picture!).
The car is known on here, a 1970 Vixen series 2 that was previously owned by my friend Perry, (77Racing).
He has done a lot of work on the car and it is mechanically very sound. There are of course a small list of bits and pieces that I need to do but this is the nature of the beast.
I already have a chimaera which I habitually fiddle with and use for track days, sprints, drag racing days and of course social use.
The first question I would like to ask is regarding the suspension.
I believe it has Avos fitted all round but the spring rates are unknown.
The suspension is too firm and I would like to change the springs to a recommended road car setup.
What would people recommend?
I have also tried to raise the rear as I believe it is sitting a little low and having raised the spring platforms a few turns I seem to have achieved nothing apart from possibly making the suspension firmer!
There are lots of other questions to ask and in preparation, I have already spent some time browsing this forum picking up snippets of information here and there and committing them to memory, (if that is at all possible).
Wow well done Santa she is a Keeper 
and i dont mean the Car although that as well.
As for ride height depending on your Tyre size it looks spot on.
As for rear springs i would take them off have them tested and work from there nogood me or others saying X and you find thats what you already have.
Happy motoring welcome to the Classics and the growing number of owners who have there feet in both camps the old and the not so old
Andrew
and i dont mean the Car although that as well.As for ride height depending on your Tyre size it looks spot on.
As for rear springs i would take them off have them tested and work from there nogood me or others saying X and you find thats what you already have.
Happy motoring welcome to the Classics and the growing number of owners who have there feet in both camps the old and the not so old
Andrew
Welcome, if you search on here you will no doubt come across several threads on springs and ride height. These cars are pretty low anyway and as you have discovered just winding up the springs doesn't necessarily help. As you have adjustable shocks could I suggest that you try backing off the damping rate - if it was previously set up for the track I would think they were set quite high.
Good luck with the car and please ask questions as there's "no such thing as a stupid question".
Phil
Good luck with the car and please ask questions as there's "no such thing as a stupid question".
Phil
Nice looking car!
Spring rates can be calculated with a bit of maths, wire diameter makes a big difference, allow for thick powder coating when measuring?
This should at least give you some idea where you are starting from?
Springs are not particularly expensive from somewhere like Rally Design
Those are what I chose for rear of my Taimar, with 200lb on the front to give what I consider a good balance between comfort and handling, oh and a thicker front anti-roll bar but you know about that ...
Congratulations Peter, I think it was Shakey earlier this year when your good wife made the call, I've had to bite my lip for months,
Wow, I had know idea it would be this nice, excellent buy and I overheard Perry saying he was going to fettle it for you.
I bet you can't believe it
Weldone mate
Wow, I had know idea it would be this nice, excellent buy and I overheard Perry saying he was going to fettle it for you.
I bet you can't believe it
Weldone mate
Thanks guys, looking forward to getting many smiles from this car.
I have many questions to ask but if I can just stay on the suspension topic.
While under the influence of carpet glue while sticking the carpets back in my chimaera I was thinking about the suspension and realised why I couldn't raise the ride height at the rear. The dampers that are fitted to the rear are the wrong length.
They are at their full extension at rest and that is why when you screw up the spring seats it cannot raise the car. Of course a byproduct of this is that the suspension is only working at the top of it's travel and probably riding at full extension or thereabouts!
If anyone knows the correct length of the dampers that I should have, please let me know?
I can see a new set on the shopping list.
I have many questions to ask but if I can just stay on the suspension topic.
While under the influence of carpet glue while sticking the carpets back in my chimaera I was thinking about the suspension and realised why I couldn't raise the ride height at the rear. The dampers that are fitted to the rear are the wrong length.
They are at their full extension at rest and that is why when you screw up the spring seats it cannot raise the car. Of course a byproduct of this is that the suspension is only working at the top of it's travel and probably riding at full extension or thereabouts!
If anyone knows the correct length of the dampers that I should have, please let me know?
I can see a new set on the shopping list.
Edited by phazed on Thursday 29th December 20:12
V6Pushfit said:
Very nice! What's the engine spec?
As far as I am aware, straight Ford 1600 crossflow, single carb, GT guise possibly/probably?Very smooth, quiet mechanically but has a little miss at midrange on anything other then a light throttle.
Need to investigate.
Strangely feels slow compared to my 5.5 chim.
Would like to compare and swap notes with another owner if anyone is local ish?
phazed said:
V6Pushfit said:
Very nice! What's the engine spec?
As far as I am aware, straight Ford 1600 crossflow, single carb, GT guise possibly/probably?Very smooth, quiet mechanically but has a little miss at midrange on anything other then a light throttle.
Need to investigate.
Strangely feels slow compared to my 5.5 chim.
Would like to compare and swap notes with another owner if anyone is local ish?
. However if it is std GT guise then it's pushing out ~90bhp. It's pretty straightforward to increase this to ~120+ (twin 40's ported head and mild cam). This then feels fast, although it still isn't.I'd suggest getting your ride height where you want it, then set up using corner weights and then leave hieghts alone as changing it after will affect the handling. Make sure your exhaust is mounted as high as possible without touching the chassis as in my experience that the real problem with grounding.
I'm running Avo's and have mine set for the road at the softest possible for rear and only two clicks harder at the front.
Not local I'm afraid but happy to swap notes.
Moto
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