Assemble rear corners

 "Assemble rear corners" - that's the section in the Build Guide. Terminology is so important. The Guide refers to N/S and O/S, which I think is Near/Side and other (or off) side in relation to the driver. So what does that mean for LHD or RHD? Part numbers are listed in the Guide that reference NS and OS but there's no part numbers on the bags or on the parts themselves.  Why bother? 

But the salient point was there are no details on installing the ATR upgrade rear brakes and rear suspension. There is a video on the GBS Workshop youtube channel that focuses on the front of the car with no detail about the rear of the car.  I guessed on how to assemble the parts and left a query on the GBS Enthusiasts Facebook page, where I got immediate supportive help. I had done it kind OK and kinda wrong. Finally, Richard Hall himself replied, saying that the upper wishbones were upside down and handed. And the brakes, which are marked "L" and "R" have to be installed opposite to make the parking brake cable sweeps more gentle. He promised to send me a diagram and photos. And he did, they arrived in my email the next morning. So now "we" know.

GBS Factory photo of ATR LH rear suspension -
brake not installed

In the interest of not spreading disinformation I will post only the images that Richard sent me. Anyway, they are very nice pieces and I will be proud to have my SVOzero running with this level of suspension. 

When I initially installed the upper wishbones upside down I had inadvertantly got the "handed" part correct. So when I turned over the wishbone I did not change sides so then the "handed-ness" was now wrong. Got that? So another attempted assembly resulted in seeing that the upper wishbone had to be swapped O/S for N/S. Symmetry, what a concept. So for my "last" attempt I will include installing the driveshafts, which, of course, are "handed" and must be installed before the hubs can be attached to the wishbones. 

I've also discovered that the spacers on the upper ball joint bolt (they are the orange-bronze parts in the photo above) have very tight clearances with the spherical upper ball joint and can easily jam. They are aluminum and should not be forced because it could easily raise burrs which further exacerbates the tight fit. They must be handled gently. I discovered that two of the spacers will fit easily while the other two do not slide into the ball joint. I tried freezing the collars to 0 deg F but they still do not slide in. So I have bought a can of freeze spray to get them even colder and try again.

11 Mar 2026

I finished with the install of the rear corners except for the hand brake. I found that there are no location rings for the rear wheels but they were included for the front. Perhaps that balances the track width? But it does make it a hassle to install the rear wheels without studs.  A minor inconvenience for road driving but if I were going to change wheels a lot for track days I would get some location rings for the back. 

So I've planned to get the chassis off the cradle once I've installed the four corners and keep it on wheel dollies. That means that I will soon need tyres; so I went shopping😊 After searching our local tire store options I ordered a set of Yokohama A052s. They will be here in a week's time. 

So, on to the handbrake cables. They are monsrous and have to be threaded into the chassis brackets and grommets installed after the cable is already threaded through. It will have to get some heat soak time, which is not happening today! But also, the end anchors, that have to thread through the anchor brackets on each caliper, do not fit through the bracket. It will take some grinding out of both brackets. I don't want to remove metal from the anchors themselves because they see some pretty high stress.