Powerflex is the first name in performance bushes, and it was with that in mind that I grabbed some of the firm’s purple polyurethane parts in a bid to improve the MV6’s suspension.
I’d already equipped the rear of the car with a trio of the company’s exhaust mounts (see last month’s project update), but it was the Vauxhall’s front end that became the focus of my attention following the purchase of a pair of new old-stock genuine GM lower control arms.
The factory wishbone bushes were reluctant to shift, but a trip to Cambridgeshire’s number one independent Vauxhall specialist, SOS Automotive, saw them squeezed out before they knew what had hit ‘em! I returned home to install the Powerflex parts a short while later, and those of you who are thinking of treating your own Griffin to this worthwhile upgrade will be pleased to know that the job was an absolute doddle.
With the wishbones taken care of, I decided to apply the same treatment to the car’s anti-roll bar. Regular readers will recall that I removed the MV6’s 3.2-litre engine and its accompanying automatic gearbox in advance of a planned manual transmission conversion. The resulting under-bonnet cavity provided easy access to the anti-roll bar, and it didn’t take long to replace the tired old bushes with the premium quality purple products.
Both sets of Powerflex bushes should improve the car’s road holding and handling characteristics by controlling the amount of flex in the suspension. Tyre wear should also be reduced, especially now that each corner is kitted-out with a Bilstein B8 damper and an Eibach Pro-Kit lowering spring.
In other news, I finally decorated the nose of the MV6 with my new Irmscher grille. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the straightforward fit that I was expecting, and the rear of the paintable outer surround required heavy modification before it would sit pretty. Nevertheless, it’s transformed the look of the front end for the better. It’s just a shame that the car is in need of a bloody good clean... again!
THANKSPowerflex
01895 460033
http://www.powerflex.co.ukSOS Automotive
01480 700655
http://www.sos-automotive.comBrand spankin' new genuine GM wishbones:
Powerflex wishbone bushes:
Powerflex anti-roll bar bushes:
New and old alongside one another:
Purple reign:
The car's paintable Irmscher grille surround was an astonishingly bad fit. It required a lot of plastic welding, but the finished part has made a big difference to the front end of the ol' bus:
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Topic: humbucker's 2004 Irmscher MV6 #irmscherMV6 (Read 118895 times)