After completing the restoration of my 330gt, I have finally arrived at the stage of making finite adjustments. Along with the weight of the engine, time has taken it's toll on the front springs and the car has lost a good amount of front ride height. The car has a significant amount of rake vs. what the car was delivered as (approx. 3/4" to 1"). For asthetic value, I would like to get the front ride height back to what it once was. I am sure that a nice fresh set of front springs would get it done but, these would ultimately settle as they all do. Does anyone out there have experience with any other solutions to this rake dilemma i.e. spacers or the like? mg
This is might be too intersting of a topic for this forum. For better feedback from the community, you'd better start with questions like: "What is my vintage Ferrari worth today and what will it be worth tomorrow?" or: "I am thinking about making a GTO out of my 330GT." Pardon my frustration with this forum, MG. I really do hope you get some good responses as I will be where you are in a few weeks in regard to adjusting the front end. john
John, I enjoy owning my 330 gt for the reasons the manufacturer intended. There is not much I can do about the value so why worry!? Just looking for some ride height! mg
MG, Do you have access to Sections 7 and 8 of the Roush/Apen Manual? If not, I can scan and email it to you. This may be of some help. It talks about adjustment to suspension. Thanks. john
MG, If you are looking to retain the original handling characteristics, ride quality and get back to the original front ride height, I suspect you will need new springs. Overtime, any spring will loose it's ability to support it's rated weight. As the spring steel weakens, the spring gets easier to compress. Theoretically, you could achieve your original ride height by shimming the spring, but you would certainly compromise the handling and ride characteristics, and most likely shorten the life of your shock absorbers.
This could be a fact that many already are aware of but could be worthy of mention. I have machined up a nice pair of billet spacers to compensate for the spring sag that I have gained from over the years on my 330 gt. While removing the front springs I discovered that there is a second snap ring groove cut in the spring cup that would raise the car approximately 3/8". Not much change but could add enough pride to the front for some. This groove may also apply to other models. mg
Wow, already?! I sincerely hope you're not so frustrated that you won't put up some pictures of the progress.
Shimming may help, and in order to achieve the correct height you probably need somewhere neer 1/4" or a little more of shim; it is quite easy to calculate, really, when you take some measurements. However, when you shim, you effectively take some of the original travel away from the suspension. This may not affect you much if you have a moderate driving style, but it may do so when you drive your car hard through the bends, the suspension will 'bottom out' earlier. Shimming will put the other bits into their proper position (shocks), which is a good thing. I am not aware of the snap-ring groove, I'd like to see some pics of it and see if it was indeed intended for that purpose. If so, that is of course an easy solution. Personally, I don't think that a quarter inch shim will do much harm.
I looked at a couple of pictures. In these cases it appears that the upper groove is used, and I wonder if this is the normal resting place for the snap. john Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Wow John, that second pic is impressive. Does the mechanic's life insurance company know about this practice?
f308jack IS the Joey Chitwood of auto restoration. He could be the bravest of em' all. Now that I have completed my quest to bring the ride height back to the front of my 330, I will report that it was a complete sucess and I recommend this adjustment to all. Why Do it? 1) The front springs on this car had settled and lowered the ride height approximately 1 1/2" (as they all do eventually). The car would easily travel through the remaining amount of travel and "bottom out". 2) For aesthetic value, the car looks much stronger as intended. These cars look totally ridiculous with the amount of rake that they acquire. 3) The car handles amazing and does not bottom out because the suspension is now at midpoint of the travel and is tolerant of compression and droop. What I Actually Did 1) Removed springs with the proper telescopic spring compressor (in photo). These tools are common with mercedes and bmw spring set ups. 2) I took a guess and determined that 3/4" billett spacers would be somewhere in the hunt to make 1 1/2" ride height (in photo). This was based on the fact that the spring had approximately 3" of original preload and the rate increases dramaticly as you add. I was fortunate that the 3/4" did make the height that I needed! 3) I was able to remove and install each side in less than 10 minutes without drama. Having the right tool was essential. 4) The result (photos)! All the best, mg Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Good job MG. The car's stance looks just right now. I just came in from the garage where I took a picture of my bucket for you. But, I see that you are out of the woods already. I am curious now that the subject of the two grooves has come up. Was this for adjustment or did Ferrari use the same bucket for different cars with different ground clearance needs, etc. Since I took the picture I'll go ahead and post it. Sorry about the focus, it's the best my camera could do. I like to see more discussions of this type on FChat. john Image Unavailable, Please Login
John, Going out on a limb here, but I suspect that the 2 grooves are to compensate at manufacture for various accessoire configurations. For instance, I don't think that all 330's had A/C, the complete installation easily adding 75 pounds to the weight of the car, all in front. The snap ring with more than 1 groove is a great idea. I agree with you, I am also interested in more tech talk content, but it is to us, the participants, to bring it up?
Joie Chitwood was a guy that had his own traveling motoring "thrill show" in the 60's (i am told). They did stunts like driving on two wheels, figure 8's, jumps. When someone (in motorsport) is considered real brave, this label gets applied. My thought on the upper groove is that it was to make for a different ride and handling characteristic. When you add another 1/2" to 3/4" of preload to an already heavily predoaded spring, the change of ride control on the front end is dramatic. mg
John, Thanks for the effort (in taking this photo). I am not sure how much you intend to raise the nose of your car but, my guess is that the groove will be worth about 3/4" on the finished ride height.
It will certainly change the handling of the car when you raise the ride heighth, but you do not actually change the length of the spring when you shim it up, nor the pre-load. The spring, due to its' age, has lost some of the original length, for which you compensate, and it restores the original height of centre of gravity and rolling axis, and you change the relative position of the spring to the actual travel of the suspension compared with the sagged position. There is certainly a limit to how far you can go with this, and where that limit is depends largely on the design of the suspension and the driving style it is exposed to. Glad it worked out for you.
