Thread: Finally got another

Originally Posted by Sitec

Just got back from an RCR over here, semi decided to fall over... as they do. Anyway, while we waited for the large tow vehicle to come and stand the whole lot back on its wheels I had a good look under a Kenworth and swan neck tri axle trailer.. This got me thinking about coils and/or air on a 101. They use a heavy half leaf spring which is mounted to the chassis in front of the axle as normal. The difference being is that the spring only protrudes beyond the rear of the axle by 200mm. Here sits an air bag which locates directly under the chassis. Simple. Quick drawing enclosed for those that don't understand my description!

There's a good reason that wouldn't pass engineering or a roadworthy as Garry has suggested like it is. The front spring mount is not designed to take the entire lateral load of the axle. You would need to beef the front spring hanger up a lot or risk tearing it off the chassis. Even beefed up, I think you would would still get unacceptable lateral movement from the whole assembly without incorporating a pannard rod or similar.

I see where you're going though...

Yeah, was thinking along the lines of a Fender 'A' frame at the rear, but then the thoughts moved on and I realised that I'd be reliant on the heavier 'half springs' to twist in a cross axle situation... something semitrailers are not designed to do! That coil conversion that garrycol posted looks very neatly done though. I then remembered that my old one rode like it was on coils anyway as it had the boat anchor in the front, the all steel hard top and radial boots.... so thought, maybe just run it as Lode Lane intended and be happy with it! Still lookin into 19.5" or 22.5" rims though. OKA's look good on the 19.5 steels...

The suspension setup from a Disco 2 or an air sprung RRC onto the 101 chassis (or a scratch built one to suit) would have similarly pleasing results?

I do have somewhere a Landrover magazine from the UK with a feature showing 2 coil sprung 101s.
They used disco axles and brakes and suspension arms.
The disco axles geared them up and provided disc brakes.
Wheels with special offset (wider track) were used to allow for the 101s extra width.
Both vehicles were apart of the 101 club in the UK.
I think one had a diesel too.

I had seen some years ago that galvanised coil chassis's were available for the 101, is this still the case ?

Originally Posted by Mick_Marsh

Don't think it got anywhere near Woomera.

It looks very much like one from the Faulkland Islands a fellow in the UK picked up quite some months ago.
I quite like the idea of coils. I wish mine had them.

Those "D" handles on the rear tub, if you ever want to toss them, I need three.

Mick, when I get one, I'll b able to copy them and make a few if you want... Don't panic, they will be an exact match!

I've seen a couple of galvy coiler 101 chassis (mate in Belfast had a couple) plus the there's the Whitbread ones (the yellow one pictured is the first one) wether they're the chassis were also made by Whitbread Off Road I'm unsure.

The article sounds interesting Ron, I'd be interested to see it if it turns up.

As far as I know the only 101 chassis you can currently buy are a made to order item from 'Able Engineering' who supply all the 101 clubs repair sections.

So, some decisions made, and a bit of time spent messing getting things dissed out.
It has helped some that I've had a 101 rolling chassis sat next to a 90 one to allow some comparison work.

I'm thinking along the coil spring route, partly inspired by the rolling chassis in the 'coils anyone' thread leading me to think I could do a better job with less cocking about, also I have another chassis which would need major surgery to go back on the road with leaf springs, but some light fab work will see it as an ideal base for a coiler.
For those who are wondering the back crossmember and rear swinging shackle mounts are rotten, along with the steering relay crossmember and a few other bits, it's either this or weigh it in.

For those who haven't seen this charming 'hybrid' of Range Rover and 101 chassis in the other thread:



As mentioned I've had a 90 rolling chassis to wave the tape measure around to compare things.



And comparing it against the 101 in the background, along with the bare chassis I've worked out the best way to go about doing it.

First off, steering. I've got a few 4 Bolt PAS boxes hanging around, so I'm plagiarising Diddiman's (123Rover50) setup from his 6x6.



Some work with the tape measure shows that I can hang the box under the chassis with the input from the column in front of the outrigger, probably with a Rangie column up the top with a short link under the floor, might need a bit of juggling to keep the column going through the floor in a sensible position, but not a major issue. It'll require the front spring mount sawn off, but no marter as it's redundant.
Anyways, with the box hanging where I want tithe end of the drop arm will be in roughly the same place as a 110 relative to the Panhard Rod mounting, albeit 90 degrees round.
The Panhard rod bracket will also bolt through the chassis quite nicely without much work.

I've also put some thought into how to mount the Radius arms. Obviously the setup displayed above is pretty naff, so I'm looking at something a bit closer to the Whitbread trucks.
This I've worked out, and made some rough templates to have a look at what else needs to come off the chassis to fit it all together.

The front radius arm mounts can be tied into the outriggers behind the cab, whilst the rear spring mounts and body outriggers either need to be trimmed out of the way or removed completely and the tub supports remaking seperately.
The picture shows the cardboard templates and some rough drawings and measurements showing the plan.
The templates need doing in ply, slightly smaller to allow me to run round it with the plasma cutter.
The black lines show the shape of the brackets on a 90.



Anyways, I'm hoping to find some more time to play with it and look to getting the bracketey attached and possibly throw some axles under it.