GAZ Gold Shocks for the S

[greyhulk]

Dear 'S' jedi council..
i picked up these 'GAZ golds' for the S at a bargain price, now ive had 2 quotes one from 'powers performance' charging £375 to fit them (5hours labour apparently with digital geo) & another company 'centre-gravity' £280 (or £915 with some bullst after tweaking crap, no thank you!)

I mean how hard are these to fit? Where would be the best place to take them to get done around the west midlands area that aren't going to completely sting me!
Also should i be replacing the bushes with the powerflex set or is this just a matter of personal opinion, ive had a look on ebay and there coming in at around £293 for a complete set





As always thanks in advance
Steve

Edited by greyhulk on Wednesday 25th November 15:24

[greyhulk]

I've never messed about with suspension before surely its not just as simple as taking old off & putting new on?
I think i would rather let someone who knows what there doing get them bang on for me (just not at these mad prices tho )

As for the bushes.. discarding the rear ones, i take it i need all 3 of these? looking at the drawing
- Front Anti Roll Bar Bushes
- Front Upper Wishbones
- Front Lower Wishbones

[greyhulk]

Cheers guys, will have a go at fitting them when I get my car back, any advice on the bushes? I found complete front kit on larkspeed for around £179 (for some bits of plastic!) Mk1fan mentioned a 'Keith' on here who sells them too?

http://www.larkspeed.com/index.pl?p=2413PFTVRSFK&a...

Just abit concerned about this part.. (Front Anti Roll Bar Bushes fit later S Series Brackets with no hump) :/ is this going to cause me issues I have the S1 model

@TVRhasgo I was going to contact them but I'd imagine they'd also charge a fair whack

[greyhulk]

Smokey Boyer said:

Have a go at fitting yourself and spend the money on beer to reward your efforts. There are just two bolts per shock. Fronts are dead easy to do, rear top bolts are little more tricky to access but not impossible. You will be able to get the ride height and bounce about right yourself using the wikih as a starting point.

I would rather spend the money on getting a specialist to refine the settings than fitting. Matt Smith does appear to be the go to person for this, although I am sure there are other very good specialist all over the place if you ask on the forums.


You may want to put new bolts in when you do them and need to refer to the bolt guide for details.

Cheers, is matt smith local to the midlands by any chance?

Im just having a look at the bolts (sorry never done anything to do with suspension before ) found a s-series suspension bolt kit already made up for the different areas on ebay so will most likely get one of those

Edited by greyhulk on Wednesday 25th November 20:31

[greyhulk]

AutoAndy said:

...Downham Market...west Norfolk ....is that midlands enough?

...he is currently helping get mine on the road after my August spin...he's a good bloke and. Knows his S's

ah a good 2 & half hour drive away from me in Birmingham
got the bushes sorted thanks to tim, bolt kits on ebay, im sure ill find someone abit closer to 'refine the settings'

[greyhulk]

Barry S1 said:

He has a Courtesy Car you can use for the
day,

Don't think I could adapt to a smart car barry

I've just spoken with Dom at powers performance his asking me what I need to replace the bushes for as the GAZ gold's are rose jointed?

:/ I'm out of my depth here, do I or don't i replace them?

Edited by greyhulk on Wednesday 25th November 22:17

[greyhulk]

Cheers guys you've helped me out there, it may be worth getting the front upper & lower wishbone bushes, id imagine mine need replacing but I'll check them.out first.
I was actually looking at stainless bolts too.. Glad I didn't order a bundle now

@turbotony your a gent, warwick aint far from me on the coventry road, birmingham, it would really help me out if I could get your guidance (haven't even got my car back yet, still with the specialist ) but I'll be in touch when I do if that's ok, thank you again guys

Steve

Edited by greyhulk on Wednesday 25th November 23:21

[greyhulk]

"You 'S' warriors are good... Real good"

Right after all the advice I'm going to check the bushes first when I get the car back (should be fine I'd imagine)

Use the original bolts if there ok, if not order some new ones & avoid stainless steel, would 'Bright Zinc Plated to BS 3382, (High Tensile Grade ’S’) be ok? from namrick.co.uk

And with turbotony's help fit the GAZ golds let them settle then take them to specialist for the ol geo tweaking

Edited by greyhulk on Thursday 26th November 09:40

[greyhulk]

TVRees said:

Maybe you already have some newer front suspension bushes fitted. It's certainly worth checking.
If the original bolts are OK, clean them up a bit and re-use them (I had mine re-plated), as phillpot says, with some new stainless nylock nuts. Original bolts are SAE Grade 5, metric 8.8 grade steel.

thanks found all the ones i need on evilbay, 8.8 grade zinc, stainless washers an nuts too.

mk1fan said:

RT Racing sell complete packs of suitable fixings. Call direct or check their evilbay store. Stainless washers should be fine too.

cheers pal, just had a look at there listing for the shocks, makes life abit simpler, not sure if it comes with stainless washers & nuts tho..

Edited by greyhulk on Thursday 26th November 12:40

[greyhulk]

greymrj said:

Always prepared to give credit where it is due. I have Gaz classics fitted on mine and the difference has been enormous, now a totally different and much more enjoyable car. When prepping the car for the MOT I noticed a slight oil leak had started on one unit. I spoke to Gazmatic about it and the aftersales service was outstanding. I sent the old unit to them and TWO days later the replacement unit is back with me.
That kind of service is very reassuring and worth noting.

(Technical note: the Gas Classics are not rose jointed but do come with new bonded 'rubber' inserts and steel tube liners of the correct length. They are very straightforward to fit. As with all bonded rubber joints it is advisable to tighten the mounting bolts fully when the unit is at normal ride height rather than in the no load position.)

Yep i shall also vouch for the gaz golds, made such a difference to my 'S'! (Had no issues with any leaks, as of yet..)