Spax front and rear inserts

[mangocrazy]

I was trawling ebay (as you do) and found a couple of vendors advertising Spax shock inserts for Lancia Betas. I was of the opinion that these were NLA, but obviously not. The part numbers are TAG1136-I (front fitment) and TAG1157-I (rear fitment) and prices per insert are £137.20 and £161.95 respectively. Are these representative prices?

I'm aware that caution needs to be exercised as there are many different versions of shocks found on Betas. Would anyone know whether these parts would fit my 1980 Beta Spider, or is it all on a case by case basis? Here are the links to the ebay items:

Front insert: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Spax-Adjustable-Front-Shock-Absorber-Lancia-Beta-Coupe-Spyder-HPE-75-84/311987448838

Rear insert: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Spax-Adjustable-Rear-Shock-Absorber-Lancia-Beta-Coupe-Spyder-HPE-75-84/122771879310

[peteracs]

Hi Graham

Be a little careful as the HPE has different rears and of course these are just inserts and if you have later struts you need to convert them to fit, Mark does a kit from memory, but does involve welding.

Suggest you read this as a start

https://www.betaboyz.myzen.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=1962.0

Peter

[mangocrazy]

Thanks Peter,

So from what I can gather the struts on my S2FL Spider are the 'sealed' unit that can (allegedly) be dismantled but will need some welding to fit a new insert? Have I got this straight? If that's the case I may well tap up an old friend to see if he can acquire some Koni inserts (assuming they are still made).

Graham

[peteracs]

Hi Graham

Yes, you will need the following collars both front and rear to weld to the existing sealed strut to allow for new inserts, or find a set of old ones where you can change them out.

https://353652584127257704.weebly.com/store/p169/Front_Strut_Conversion_Collar.html

https://353652584127257704.weebly.com/store/p170/Rear_Strut_Conversion_Collar_for_std_Inserts.html

Peter

[mangocrazy]

Thanks for that information, Peter. For the fronts, is the alloy piece that fits inside the sleeve included in the price, or will I supply that from my front shocks? Apologies for my ignorance, but unfortunately I can't have a look at the car as it's in France. And are these collars just a simple sleeve, or is there a 'step' machined into the sleeve to retain the alloy piece?

Graham

[peteracs]

Hi Graham

Not sure what alloy piece you mean?

If you mean the retaining nut which is shown in one of the front sleeves, then that is normally supplied with the insert. These sleeves need to be welded to the top of the sealed units after the top is removed. I believe that instructions come with them or are available to be downloaded. Please note this is info from what I have read over time, my car had removable ones as standard being an early car, so no need to go down this route. Maybe someone who has done this can chip in with a comment?

Peter

[Neil-yaj396]

Mark W chopped down a rear HPE strut for me and welded on the threaded collar, which came complete with the alloy retaining 'nut' if that is any help? I have another complete HPE strut which will need the same if I ever get round to it. The job was started for my previous 1300 Coupe and never finished......

[mangocrazy]

OK, thanks Peter and Neil. The fact that the sleeve/collar is threaded and the retaining nut screws into it now makes complete sense. I guess that the point at which the top of the sealed unit is removed is critical in order for the damper to work correctly when installed? Or am I over-thinking or over-complicating this?

[peteracs]

Hi Graham

I think there are instructions for fitting, but best to start by removing as little as possible to get the old ones out, put on the sleeve with the new insert and see how it fits with the nut against the insert. Not that critical, but too much length obviously restricts the stroke of the damper, too short and you will not be able to tighten the nut!

Peter

[mangocrazy]

Hi Peter,

Yes, it's clearly a job where you measure two (or three or four) times and cut once...

Graham

[JohnFol]

Do you have any images of the two different rear struts?
Just trying to work out if I need TAG1158-I, or TAG1157-I or just an insert . .

[JohnFol]

Just a follow up question (before I take back shelf off). If there are inserts, can they be removed with the struts in situ?

[peteracs]

Hi

In a word, no.

You need to remove the springs to get to the inserts. This means you need to remove the complete struts from the car and compress the springs, remove the locking nut and the upper retainer.

Peter

[WestonE]

The Spax inserts are the best you can get, but you will probably still get rear end squat under power to some extent thanks to the lack of pre-load on the rear springs. You could have the inserts threads/ shoulder extended down the strut rod by 25mm to increase the clamp on the spring. I did this 25 years ago on my previous Beta Spyder. It also helped with the Monroe Gasmatic inserts which made the cars looked pumped up. 

Enjoy

Eric   

[JohnFol]

Thanks Peter, Eric... Just need to source them now