Possibly the most important parts?

[David Morris]

Hi All, now that we are entering the winter 'lay-up' period of the year, can I mention what I would describe as the most important parts of the front suspension on all Javelins and Jupiters? Failure to touch/ examine these parts will probably send your beloved vehicle to the scrap yard, or be very difficult and expensive to repair. They are the set of set screws and bolts that attach the front mountings of the torsion bars to the chassis legs. They will work loose, allowing the mountings to loosen and 'fret' against the slender front chassis legs, under the cylinders. In time, the front chassis legs, which are hollow, will develop stress cracks behind the bracket holding the forward end of the torsion bar. These will be almost invisable and eventually make the front chassis leg unsound and dangererous. This chassis failure ususally got detected at the annual MoT, but now days.....?

The parts affected are the eight setscrews, part numbers 832/1119 on Javelins/later Jupiters ( 4 per side ) and the two long bolts 831/1118 on Javelins/later Jupiters. These long bolts are the most important and are 5/16th unch by 2 and 7/8" inches and secure the torsion bar brackets to the chassis legs. It is vital to keep these bolts really tight! THey are not large bolts for the very important job they perform, and especially as the heads are difficult to fit a spanner onto, and the nuts are recessed into a reinforcing bracket. Please do put a spanner on these items and make sure they are VERY tight, they will keep your car on the road, ignore them and your chassis legs will fail. I know this from sad experience, and have the tee shirt!

My saviour was Dennis Sparrow and he managed to put my Javelin back on the road, for which I am very grateful, but it was a really tricky repair. You should probably fill these chassis legs with oil, to prevent internal rusting, which will be completely invisible!

All the best,

David

[Forumadmin]

Amy and I had one of the large bolts shear in the Dordogne in the 1998 Marathon. A lot of work to repair that took most of the night before a 6am start.

[paul wilks]

Thanks for the reminder David. Since you first flagged this issue to members, I have made it part of my regular check round whilst undergoing the usual greasing of the front suspension/steering. Thankfully I'm able to report the bolts are kept tight. Thank you again, David
Best wishes

[ian Howell]

This was exactly the problem that caused the demise of my 1952 De Luxe Javelin LDF 738. I think the problem was not so well recognised at the time - 1967/8. Otherwise, the car was in generally good condition, so many / most of its parts went into my next Javelin, MKC1, or 'stock'.

In the interim I had bought in 1966, PG7956, a derelict 1930 Long Four Fabric Saloon, as a retirement 'project'. Time passes.

In 1969 I was about to get married so money was in even more than usual short supply. I was offered 200 pounds for the number without having to part with the car. House deposit sorted, MKC 1 became 6469TU. I later discovered that the original owner of MKC1 had been Admiral Sir Max Horton.

Eventually in 1985 6469TU needed 4 new tyres which I could not afford, so the car was laid up and then reluctantly sold as a 'non runner' in 1987.

Time passed, and repair work on PG7956 finally started in 2004. It was driveable - but NOT roadworthy - by 2010 when my son and I took 'PeGgy' to the Jowett Centenary rally. Most repairs were completed by 2013 and I have 'rallied' the car frequently since, especially since the fabric cover was eventually reinstated in 2015/16.

[David Morris]

Hi Ian,

Thanks for the post! A couple of things. Only getting £200 for what was quite a rare reg. number seems, today, that it was much undervalued, but money was different in those days! We were left £500 in a legacy in 1967, and that provided the deposit for our house, which had a sale price of £3500. Those were the days! Just shows how things have changed! I feel for youngersters these days, how can they ever hope to own their own house?

The message, to fellow members with Javelins and Jupiters, is to keep checking those bolts! By the way, there's another bolt on these cars that, certainly in my case, got overlooked. That's the long bolt that acts as the spindle for the foot brake and clutch pedals. It has a captive nut welded to the chassis. On my Javelin, this bolt came undone, resulting in complete brake failure! In the centre of Edinburgh too, on our way to the Crieff Rally! We managed to reach the car park under the Forth Rail bridge, found the bolt hanging loose, still there in the clutch pedal bearing, and tightened it up! That's worth adding to your list!

All the best, and enjoy the summer! It'll rain all too soon!

David

[paul wilks]

Hi David
Yes, that's the 'other' bolt I regularly check, especially after your reported experience!
Thanks again.
Best wishes
Paul

[Forumadmin]

There are 20 other bolts that may fail due to tyre fitters using the wrong torque. Check necking and thread deformation on them .

[David Morris]

Yes, they usually overtighten the wheel stud nuts. But you should be removing the wheels frequently anyway, to lubricate the rear brake sliders and handbrake mechanism, or to access grease nipples on the front suspension, so retighten them yourself to the corret torque.

All the best,

David