Advice opinions please

[AndrewA]

When I dealt with them it was great when you spoke to them but they were very busy and understaffed.
It may be easier just to get the track rod ends from them or someone else and have the threaded bar made up locally to you.
The cost from them for making up the two small rods with a LH thread one end and a RH one the other (the big one is already like that so nothing to do) and supply new track rod ends for all of them was £180 inc postage and VAT - last year.
From memory I didn't bother with a quote but just packaged them all up and sent them off with a covering letter. They then emailed me a quote which I accepted and it took three weeks for them to return the finished goods which work a treat. The only reason I sent all the rods as I was unsure of which track rod end I needed.
My car was in dock at the time having other work done so time wasn't really an issue.

[DODD]

Hi Thomas,
I have used Amsteer and found them to be an excellent company to deal with. When I dealt with them early in the Pandemic, they were exceptionally busy. Fortunately, I live only an hours drive from them so I was able to drop in and chat with them directly.
You know from their website the cost of the track rod ends, the only addition is the link bars which will not be a great cost. Why bother with a quote? Just package your old ones up and send them off via a courier together with your order for the items in question.
The reason I would send your old ones is to make sure the tapers are correct and the length of the bar is also correct with the right amount of thread at each end.
My 410 was initially fitted with 4No. LH track rod ends, when I rebuilt the front suspension I converted them to the more conventional system of 2 LH and 2RH. I don’t know the setup on the 411 but it’s worth checking, in my opinion you don’t want to end up with a 4LH track rod end setup.
Good luck with Amsteer
Brian

[AndrewA]

Senior moment at this end - had forgotten most important bit - the quality the product (TRE) is excellent so worth persevering IMHO.

[Thomas591]

Hi Brian and Andrew,

my two problems are:

1. I live in Germany and sending parts to Amsteer would involve Amsteer to clear the parcel through UK customs..

2. I can not take off the track rods from the car, as the car would be immobile for several weeks.

3. Yes, I could order new track rod ends and then manufacture new rods, but it would be a hassle to obtain the correct lh threaded tap I think.

Therefore I hoped that Amsteer could supply a complete new setup with lh/rh ends.

I will try to phone and email them again…

Regards

Thomas

[DODD]

Yes, I realise you are in Germany but I still think it’s necessary to provide Amsteer with accurate information for the replacement parts.
May I suggest:-
Taking off the track rod and ends from one side, check the dimensions of the tapers also the diameter of the track rod, although this is not critical but the length is. When I did my suspension I wasn’t able to remove one of the tre’s from the bar. It was well and truly anchored.
Amsteer fabricated new bars of a suitable length with extra thread at each end. If it had been necessary (which it wasn’t) I could have cut a little off each end to achieve the correct length, too long wouldn’t have been an issue but too small would have been.
For the sake of a few hours work you will at least have the confidence when the new ones arrive, they will fit.
You could also try faxing them on 01827 61999. Prefaced with the international code.
Regards
Brian

[AndrewA]

Did car run around New Forest yesterday (treasure hunt/tulip diagram type thing). Great test of cooling system as covered 80 miles in six hours driving!
It was a warm day (by UK standards) but no issues whatsoever.

[dwomby]

Originally Posted by AndrewA

Did car run around New Forest yesterday (treasure hunt/tulip diagram type thing). Great test of cooling system as covered 80 miles in six hours driving!
It was a warm day (by UK standards) but no issues whatsoever.

Great to hear and looking good in those photos!

David

[Roger Morrall]

Thomas

I feel I must defend my corner in that I know what I told you re A/H track rod ends is absolutely correct for the 408s, 409s and 410s. Given the proviso re the later A/H 3000’s.

Tracking was very straightforward on the earlier cars given the combination of LH and RH threads on the centre rod. Your comments re your difficulties indicate that something changed from earlier Bristol practise, perhaps they just ran out of L/H threaded T/E’s.

I note your comments re a difference between the inner two and outer four T/E’s. I also note that Amsteer list a different T/E for the 411. This might suggest that Bristols went for a bigger T/E on the inner rod on the later cars and continued to use the A/H T/E’s on the outers. Note that this means that the drop arms would also differ in this detail from those on the earlier cars

My memory continues to say very firmly that the track rods on the 408s to 410s carried Whitworth threads and the lock nuts also required a Whit spanner, but I have no way of actually double checking that so I could be mistaken. So forgive me if this is a red herring but it might just be worth your checking that the rod end of any track rod end does actually meet your requirements before you order.

Can I suggest that the best person to consult re your Series 5 might be Brian Marelli, the fount of all knowledge, who is I think now to be found at Coleman Classic Cars on +44 (0) 20 3987 3812

Hope that this is some help

Roger