Skoda Rally Blog

…. in with the new. Absolutely ages ago I bought some bilstein suspension – this was before I even got the Felicia. However, in the last few months the rears on the Felicia have been crying “enough”, so it was time to change them. And it proved to be a lot easier than I expected – I’d thought the bolts that held them in place at the bottom would be rusted solid, but thankfully the car’s builder had copper greased them, so they came off easily. So, out with the old….

… and in with the new!

All seemed well – the ride height is more easily adjustable (and infinitely so), and the bottom joints are spherical bearings, which should make for a tighter ride. A short test drive showed all to be well. So I left the car until I headed off for the BDCC Slalom at Matchams Leisure Park on Sunday. And when I got there, drove over a speed bump and BANG! Trouble!

One of the rear spring tops had parted company with the damper rod, meaning the damper rod was now just bobbing about inside the car (still attached, but like a bar poking up showing how far the suspension was compressed), and making a mess of the parcel shelf support. Oh dear. Oh dear, oh dear. I was just glad this wasn’t Fat Albert.

Got there, jacked the car up and removed it and found that it was a bad design – there needs to be a big, solid washer between the top spring cup and the rubber mount to stop the damper rod from pushing through. Thankfully Steve Colville had something suitable to drill out and use and in 15 minutes both sides were done. In the end I managed to come second in class in the slalom (only due to losing 11 seconds on the last but one test due to a driving/navigation error), to Mr. Colville no less. But had a great time in my car and in Gary Hayter’s 2 litre Mk.2 Escort, which was a wheelspinning beast all day – most fun I’ve had in a car since I met Jackie Broderick.

This weekend, it’s Fat Albert. Hopefully all will stay put, but I’ll be packing some more washers and so on, just in case!