Triumph Repair: Spitfire 1500 lower on drivers side than on passenger side, swing spring, shock absorbers

Question
My spitfire is lower on the drivers side than on the passenger side. I have
checked the distance of the chassis from the ground and it appears to be
equidistant on both sides back and front.
Is it possible that the leaf spring is in back to front. is there a front and a rear
side to the leaf spring?
Have you or anyone else come across this before?
I would be grateful for some help

Answer
Brendan,

That's a common complaint with the Spitfire, especially the later cars with the "swing spring" rear suspension setup.

Some of the vendors over the years had marked the springs with an arrow pointing to the "front" but in practical terms it doesn't matter, the springs are symmetric.

There are several options for correcting the situation.  You an either buy a replacement spring (look for the "Heavy Duty" optional spring) or have a spring specialist re-arch your existing spring.

A third option that some have tried is replacing the shock absorbers with units that have air fittings, allowing you to adjust the amount each side is raised up.


Cheers,

Jim