With the axle off this got me thinking
The front suspension is pretty much spot on but the rear is (shall we say less so) it's a bit floaty and on the soft side
It works remarkably well considering it was a cheap set up but there is always room for improvement
I can live with firm but I don't want something that will keep me on first name teams with the local chiropractor
First thing was the bushes
I looked into polybushes but didn't go down that route for the following reasons
1) cost. : a set for the 240 is aprox £250 "for some hard lumps of rubber" sounds pricey to me
2) the kit you buy doesn't come with the main axle bushes just an insert that fills the void in it
You can buy a bush but that's an extra cost
3) polybushes work well in most applications but in this type of application where the axle needs to articulate
The bushes will work against the free movement of the axle (I'm not sure if this is a big deal but I didn't like it)
So after studying how it all works and what does what and what movements I need to incorporate etc etc
Only option as far as I was concerned was a 4 link set up
This would mean moving/replacing the separate spring and shock arrangement and going coilovers
I'm not a structural engineer so I didn't know what size/type of tube and rose joints would be suitable for an old Volvo
But I do know big and expensive is always best
So I found a company that specialised in this sort of thing and bought from them
The Volvo arms are attached with M12 and M14 bolts so it made sense to replace with like for like
But instead I bought M14 and M16 to play it safe there was also 3 choices in quality something like "OK" "better" and "race"
So I went with the most expensive "race" in the hope they will be stronger and last longer
Next step was the tube
Having looked on eBay for 4 link stuff for the likes of mk1/2 escorts it all looked a bit flimsy
Now a friend of mine runs a proper track set up 4 link on his mk1 escort without any problems but it still looks flimsy to me
So I bought some thick wall large diameter tube (same as they use for suspension on off road buggys and grass track cars)
4mm wall thickness and aprox 35mm dia better safe than sorry
I've been practicing with the TIG welder recently so I TIG welded them all
As it looks so much better (even with me at the controls)
So that's the finished product had to make some iner bushes/spacers so the arms can fit in the original locations
But I'm happy with the outcome
And they look so much better than the original arms