TVR Vixen - Suspension

The track rod lever is now one of the most difficult parts on the car to obtain. They were originally fitted to the Standard 8 (which had similar suspension to the Herald) but they would have fouled the brake disc so TVR bent them to fit. The uprights used on the Vixen were used on the drum braked Herald and Spitfire MkI and it might be possible to use the track rod lever from a Spitfire Mk1 as these were offset to clear their smaller disc brakes. They would however be shorter than the originals and the steering effort would be greater (like fitting a competition rack). The steering rack could be moved to its rear mountings and the dirt shields would need modification again. I have no idea what effect this might have on bump steer and handling - I would be interested to hear the results of any experiments. I have also speculated but reached no conclusion on why the Vixen has two steering rack mounting positions. Any suggestions?

The front suspension has one major weak point common to cars that use the Herald upright and that is that the bottom of the upright can snap off unexpectedly. The good news is that this normally happens under braking at about 2 mph. The bad news is that that doesn't always apply. My only personal experience of this was in a friend's Tuscan and it happened at 2mph leaving us stranded in the middle of a busy roundabout on the A3. I had the remains of the upright examined by a metallurgist who said "classic fatigue fracture caused by bending". When I look at the vertical link and trunnion assembly it seems to me that the bending load at the top of the threaded part of the vertical link (under the oil seal) will increase immensely if there is any play in the trunnion. I have therefore adopted a precautionary approach and now replace the vertical link at the same time as a worn trunnion. I have found that there is always play with a new trunnion on a used vertical link.

In the Vixen S2 handbook (copies available from the TVRCC) the chart suggests greasing the trunnions. My Triumph Spitfire manual says use EP90 gear oil. I have heard various other suggestions - heavier EP oil, liquid greases etc. I have stuck with EP90 gear oil - I favour it over grease as I visualise the steering movement scraping patches of the thread clean and I can see how the oil would flow to ensure lubrication. Of course I might be wrong but Triumph made the bits so I'll go with their recommendation. I just do it more often (every 2000 miles or so).

I think Triumph may have issued a service bulletin on this but I can't find it. Can you?

Overhaul is described in various manuals and I won't repeat that. I have found that parts vary in quality and there are one or two points to look for as originals are very difficult to obtain. I have received trunnions that leak oil from the bottom making adequate lubrication unlikely and trunnion bushes vary in the quality of the inner metal tube - originals had a polished chrome or stainless surface while some replacements look very rough - just zinc plated tube. Which one do you think will cause the nylon bushes to wear faster?