In the top original pic (USA), the bigger S loop is on the top. (This is upside down to how we see many standard fonts.) In your reproduction, you have placed the larger loop on the bottom. It looks correct from a printing standpoint, but is flipped from how the original one looks.
Finally all done, next is to mount the wheels, set the height, then corner balance and alignment. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Just saying the first part of your suspention is the tyre https://www.longstonetyres.co.uk/classic-car-tyres/ferrari/308.html
Update: Bad news, I had to order another set of new but shorter front coil over shocks (VariShock) and a pair of 9” 350lbs springs. As you can see from the pics, with the car/wheels on the ground, the shock is too long and left me with only about 1 1/2” of travel left, not enough room for flexibility and as you can see, the bottom spring perch is at its very bottom position and I couldn’t lower the car anymore. With the new shorter shocks and spring, it will give 2 1/2” of travel which is enough actually. Stay tune for the next pic with the new shock/spring installed. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
And here are my new and shorter shocks and springs. You can see the difference between the old and the new (right ) on the last pic. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Mike, those look much better! I'm very interested to hear your impressions of the VariShocks once you have them installed. Cheers, Gordon
Yes Teri took my car to get a four wheel alignment, they were able to align the two rear wheels but they didn’t want to align the front because there’s too much play on the passenger side inner tie rod as the inner bushing the one inside the steering rack housing is worn out so, I pulled the steering rack assembly today and will rebuilt it as soon as the rebuilt kit arrives. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Received the steering rack bushing and the eight silent block but they are gray not Orange color like the original but definitely harder. Image Unavailable, Please Login
^Thanks for documenting the rebuild of your suspension! This has been a great thread to follow. My car isn't needing it yet, but it's something that I have on the horizon for the next year. I'd just like to have everything in the suspension refreshed including the rack. 2cam
Mike, if you really want accurate alignment, you might consider making up some solid steering rack bushings. I believe Crowndog had a set made, and said his machinist wanted to do a production batch. I installed mine 12 years ago. https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/308-steering-rack-bushing-replacement.260688/#post-139032975
Hi Chris! Yes thanks for that info, that is something I can consider but how much different does it really make on the street as I don’t trac mine anyway? Some says don’t even recommend using the polyurethane bushing as you will fill every bump on the steering wheel but if it’s not that bad, why not, let me contact Crowndog and see if he has a set.
It isn't harsh. I've never been on the track. I've had other 80's sports cars with factory manual steering racks. None had a soft elastomeric isolation for the steering rack. I have no idea why it was put on the 308. If the ones you got are really stiff, you will be fine. I don't want to side track you. But, if I had known you were headed this direction, I definitely would have told you to go right to the acetal part, before you bought the rubber ones.
Hopefully I'm not teaching you to suck eggs here, and apologies if I am !! The good folk as Stuttgart fit elastomeric isolators to their steering racks, the difference being, most owners don't realise they do so. Here's a Porsche 993 steering rack inner ball joint assembly : Image Unavailable, Please Login The component highlighted with a red arrow is separate to the component highlighted with a yellow one. How are they "fixed" together ? Why they're bonded with an elastomer... And for those concerned as to the outcome should/when the elastomer break down and fail, the two components are engineered in such a manner they cannot separate from each other. The 993 RS version of this assembly got elastomer with an increased shore hardness, whilst the Cup (race) version deleted the elastomer altogether. Maranello's way seems a cheap way of trying to gain a degree of compliance, but introducing too much due to the nature of the bushes they specified. I concur with your perspective, I'd go with the acetal items every time.
This 993 design makes a lot more sense because it's isolating the steering wheel from the front wheels. The 308 steering wheel is connected directly to the front wheels and the isolation is to the frame of the car. The reason I think that the acetal parts work better and actually reduce vibration at the steering wheel, is that from the factory, a vibration in the wheels doesn't have much mass to dampen it. Vibration goes from the wheels to the rack to the steering wheel. When using the acetal parts, you add the mass of the entire car as a dampener. The vibration now goes from the wheels, to the rack AND FRAME to the steering wheel.
ASB is 3 miles from me! In historic Stafford Springs, Conn., also home to a world-reknowned woolens mill. John