Practical Performance Car Mag - Positive rant!

[Robinxr4i]

Picked up a copy of the new PPC, usually I love this mag but this month has surpassed its self in greatness on two counts

1. Ian Marsh (aka bstardchild) get the top readers letter spot and a pic of his Monza airborne! Great rant mate the monza is an awesome car ;D

2. The is an artical about chopping springs and a guide on how to do it! Critics you have been silenced

Soon as I get paid I am going to get a copy, love it!

[popuptoaster]

not hard to cut springs,

1. chop spring,

2. bend end flat,

3. grind off sharp bits,

there ya go, saved you a few quid.

[Robinxr4i]

popuptoaster said:

not hard to cut springs,

1. chop spring,

2. bend end flat,

3. grind off sharp bits,

there ya go, saved you a few quid.

True but there are quite a few people out there who think that chopping springs is worse than mugging a granny. I think its good that a main stream magazine has got the balls to print it.

[surprisingskoda]

agreed. yelled at people from my keyboard on a NI cruising forum couple of days. ago

[popuptoaster]

the problem comes when people don't bend the ends down flat, its puts too much pressure on one point of the spring cup, but as its impossible t tell when the springs are in the car it gets igniored untill theres an accident.

personally if i can buy lowered springs for less than 100 quid i'll buy em as its less work to earn the money than cut the springs IMHO.

see your point about the mag article though.

[Dez]

that spring chopping article looks very similar to one that someone wrote that was made available as a free R-R download doesnt it?

[kevfromwales]

I'm pretty sure cc (main stream??) used to approve of spring chopping, and did a few how to's too!
but, I do think cc has gone wibblepoo recently, so I stopped buying it!
I'll have a to have a look at ppc
- kev

[akku]

I thought it (CC) had got better recently. Since that Jaguar bloke left anyway. Somehow does't "gell" with my life so I don't have it down as a guarantee'd buy. But pick it up of theres a couple of nice cars and if I need the classifieds...

I'm not "feeling" PPC either which is really odd as stuff like a V8 Mk1 Transit should be sending me to the moon and back on an orgasmic frenzy of van-lust fapping. Although I'm buying it now and again at the mo.

[bstardchild]

robinxr4i said:

Picked up a copy of the new PPC, usually I love this mag but this month has surpassed its self in greatness on two counts

1. Ian Marsh (aka bstardchild) get the top readers letter spot and a pic of his Monza airborne! Great rant mate the monza is an awesome car ;D

Yeah this pic - captured by goaferboys from the side of Mallory



The letter (actually was an email - prompted by AK who said - send him an email - he normally replies) wasn't published in full but I'll post the original below - it basically piddled me off what was written about Monza's in the guide at the back of the mag and I thought I'd have a go at providing some alternative opinion

Hi Will

Well you did invite the readership to "tell us what you should change"

So Opel Monza

For: "Big Squidgy cruiser with a reasonable pace"

Against: "Rust and a lack of interest has killed them"

Sum up: "Forgotten Barge"

I've attached three pics by way of justification

First Picture (100_1535) is my Opel Monza on a sprint event at a show a couple of weeks back taken by a fellow Retro Rides forum user

Results can be found here but 4th overall and 1st in class tend to indicate slightly more than reasonable pace and less than squidgy handling

www.retro-rides-show.com/?ID=11

If you follow the link back to the home page there is a link to you tube footage - a few of my runs are hosted if you'd like to see what the performance is like from inside the car

Second Picture (15April2007090) is from a track day in April this year - sideways under power is always a good way to encourage some pictures to be taken from the pit/viewing area

Third Picture (DSCF3035) is last year at the Le mans Classic - yes I drove it there and drove it round the track after the racing had finished so the picture is of it parked trackside just before Arnage corner.

Fourth Picture - there is no fourth picture as I thought better of posting up a picture with the speedo indicating 160mph (private test track of course)

No shortage of interest in the car and whilst it has had some small welding carried out over the last few years it is by no means rotten or ready for the scrap heap yet

Now if it was just me that was passionate about Monza's you would have a point about the car being forgotten but it's not - I can gather over a dozen monzas together ranging from concours to track day weapons - with fast road cars and everyday drivers in the middle

Plenty of 24V Senator lumps in them too as thats a very quick and easy route to a hike in BHP

If you ever need a Monza or a group of them for a feature let me know

Keep up the rest of the good work with the magazine

Best regards

Ian Marsh AKA BC

PS best bit is Best bit is I've won some spanners :lol:

[popuptoaster]

kevfromwales said:

I'm pretty sure cc (main stream??) used to approve of spring chopping, and did a few how to's too!
but, I do think cc has gone wibblepoo recently, so I stopped buying it!
I'll have a to have a look at ppc
- kev

yeah street machine did an article about it many many years ago, thing is though it aso usedto be common practice to stick some bricks under the chassis rails and heat the springs with a torch until the car sagged down onto the bricks, things chnage ad we get cleverer and stay alive longer.

I have and probably will do again, cut springs, i just think if its possible to buy proper lowered ones at a reasonable price for your car its maybe a better idea, especially if your gonna be charging around at high speed, bit different on a low and slow cruiser.

[keithyboy]

I never miss a copy of PPC. It's the only mag I routinely buy these days. I ditched practical classics when PPC's editor jumped ship from there because it seemed to go a bit beardy and serious.

[bstardchild]

keithyboy said:

I never miss a copy of PPC. It's the only mag I routinely buy these days.

I used to buy it on content selection after a brouse in the WHS library but since Retro cars folded it's been a purchase regardless

keithyboy said:

I ditched practical classics when PPC's editor jumped ship from there because it seemed to go a bit beardy and serious.

That's now a content driven purchase for me WHS Library based - although I do think the mag has improved a lot over recent issues

[Dave Dorson]

there's a renault 5 tuner who sells lowered springs on an exchange basis...

Guess what the old ones have done to em.

[Dave Dorson]

from their website...

Most spring manufacturers claim around 30-35 mm drop for their springs. In reality the drop is approx. 12mm! GT Tuning springs lower over double that of others at around 30mm drop. If you have fitted another manufacturerís springs in conjunction with lowering the back, you will find the back appears 'too low'. In fact. It is the front that has not gone down enough! - Use GTT springs only! NB Cutting springs without re-pitching the bottom coil and correct heat treatment is extremely dangerous and may result in a fatal accident.
exchange £54 + VAT per pair

[RetroWarwicK]

popuptoaster said:

not hard to cut springs,

1. chop spring,

2. bend end flat,

3. grind off sharp bits,

there ya go, saved you a few quid.

sorry to hog the thread but what is the preferred method for bending the end flat again? i might have a go at choppng a pair of herald springs down for the front of the spitfire

[akku]

I thought they were leaf sprung both ends?

[penski]

Need to pick this up on t'way home.

Along with Bizarre; a friend has a big article in it.

*n

[popuptoaster]

i use a torch and do it over about an inch or so of spring and do it as quick as poss to try and minimise the heat spread over the spring, as far as i can tell i have never had any damage result from using springs done like this, Id rather do it this way than risk leaving the end sticking up, cos if it breaks at the bend i made it should stay in the spring cup but if the end pokes a hole through your spring cup on an unbent spring its likely to feed itself all the way through until you find a corner of the car on the bumpstop all of a sudden or the stress of having more weight on one side than the other can cause the cup to bend or break welds especailly on a macpherson strut.

I'm not an engineer, just have learnt through making mistakes over far to long! lol.

[RetroWarwicK]

alistairk said:

I thought they were leaf sprung both ends?

just back only - coilovers on the front

[BiAS]

Clamp as many pairs of mole grips as you own, just up the spring from where you're heating it, the mole grips conduct heat surprisingly well and stop the heat travelling up the spring and re tempering it.