Front line suspension for a Bugeye

[NW_SpriteGuy]

Has anyone installed the frontline suspension kit to a Bugeye? If so, what was the results - good/bad? Improvement, or no improvement? How about ease of installation? Any other alternatives to the Frontline kit others have tried and are happy with that I should consider?

 

[aeronca65t]

The FrontLine kits looks great, but it's pretty expensive. Here's my "home-brew" setup for my vintage racer....I'm happy with it:

https://npmccabe.tripod.com/spritetubeshock.htm

 

[NW_SpriteGuy]

Aeronca65t,
Thanks for the great information. I found your concept and instructions very interesting. It made for some good reading, was technical, concise, and thorough. The pictures and illustrations were a great help. Obviously a lot of work went into your concept design and actual working copy. You must enjoy having a machine shop that is properly equipped to manufacturer your own type of designs. Question - could the upper attachment be made out of aluminum also? Also, you mentioned that one should be wary of after market conversion kits that mount the shock to the leading edge of the "A" arm using the sway bar mounts due to their fragile nature. Do you know if this is the case with the Frontline kits?

 

[ThomP]

Take a look at the upper shock mounting brackets for a Mini. Perhaps they could be adapted to this application. They function and mount in a manner similar to the custom mounts.

<https://www.minimania.com/web/SUBTYPE/SearchText/Search/upper shock mount/Search_Inventory.cfm>

This is a link to the Mini Mania catalog page for a shock mount. This photo is for a lowered unit. There is also a standard unit with the bolt for the shock higher on the bracket.

 

[aeronca65t]

NW: The upper shock attachment in my car (the channel-shaped metal piece) is made from ordinary T6 aluminum. Works fine for racing and occasional, mild street use. All bolts are safety wired, and I keep and eye on them.
The Frontline kit looks good to me, because it has a “carry-through” rod that anchors the lower shock mount on two surfaces of the lower “A” arm. I have no direct experience with it, but this suspension is popular with folks that race in the Spridget FISC Series in Europe. The Frontline page is here:
https://www.mgcars.org.uk/frontline/frntsus.htm

Another interesting front suspension (that keeps the lever shock, but reinforces it) is made by Peter May (here):
https://www.petermayengineering.co.uk

If you want to see a crazy amount of modified Euro-Spridgets, go here:
https://www.fisc-racing.com/index2.html

ThomP: The brackets you found look like they’d work well (but I’m famously cheap, and they cost $64!)