I managed to change over the springs in the MM1 on the weekend.
The old springs were starting to sag with so much weight over the front wheels and needed changing.
I had a suspension shop change them over originally but they just ordered the same sag came back over a few months.
I had a few different sets of springs laying around the shed from the cars I stripped down for Max and decided to try them.
When cruizin2themax (Alan) and his Mrs, Karen came up to visit, we ended up sitting in the dirt of my driveway for 6 hours compressing and uncompressing sets of springs by hand. I dont know if any of you have changed V8 springs before with a couple of spring compressors but its not a quick or easy job.
By sundown on Saturday night we were still having scrubbing issues on the front tyres. It doesnt help that the wheels are 265's and have been offset level with the flared front quarters. We ended up trying another set of springs on sunday with equal results. I ended up putting the little 245's (little compared to 265's) back on the front end so we could at least go for a cruise and get some shots out in the wasteland. Thanks for lending a hand Alan and sorry we didnt spend more time on the highway.

Alan and his partner Karen

The coupe with the little wheels on the front. It looks more like a drag car. I will get around to having the MFP badges airbrushed onto the quarters again but at the moment im enjoying the "clean skin" look.
I took the springs back to the shop and made them change over for some heavy duty springs. The new springs arrived and I went through the process of changing the springs again but this time they were a lot tougher to compress and I ended up snapping one of the clamps on the spring winder. In the end I had a new set of springs in the coupe. Im happy to say I no longer have the issue of scrubbing the tyres at 110kmh. I also have no issue pulling into driveways anymore. One thing im not happy with though is how high the car sits now at the front. Before It was quite low at the front and did look menacing but now the car is level rather than having its "Back up". Hopefully the springs settle a bit over time and drop an inch or two but It may just be wishful thinking.
I wanted to take the car out and check the springs properly. My wife had arranged lunch with friends of ours in the historic town of Beechworth so we decided to head down on the saturday. If we were going to Beechworth I wanted to drop in and see Robert Orchard while we were there.
When we got to Beechworth and pulled into his driveway, he came out and stood there with a grin on his face. He remembered me from the last visit and was entertained to see a replica in his driveway. We had a good chat and he spoke more about the filming of MM1. Some of the things he mentioned were quite interesting. I am not going to give you a transcript of the entire conversation but here are some main points that I didnt previously know;
- The original coupe was purchased from a car wholesaler in Nth Melb for $1,600 (it was 1978)
- The other three yellow interceptors were a little bit cheaper.
- Robert was given a production budget of about $800 for vehicle maintenance. As a result, repairing parts was more necessary than replacing parts.
- Grant page kept shearing 'D' shackles and peeling diffs out of the cars which was chewing into the car budget. As a result, the tyres were coated in brake fluid prior to burnouts in order to lose traction for a short period and to make the cars look more powerful.
- Mel Gibson was very apprehensive about the race scene where he rode Goose's bike as he was not very familiar with high powered bikes (deleted scene) Miller and Kennedy talked him into it.
- Of all the replicas he has seen, they have all been far better than the actual movie coupe. The film car was pretty much just slapped together.
- The overhead RVS consoles were made from cardboard and the only one that had power hooked up was max's.
- Only the rear pipe on the zoomies was part of the exhaust, the other three pipes on each side were just welded to it.
- The weiand supercharger was not sitting on a frame like most replicas, it was bolted directly through the aircleaner and spent most of its time wobbling about above the bonnet line. It got wired down to the manifold to stabilise it.
- At completion of the editing process, Robert and probably most staff, were offered the choice of a cash payment, or a percentage of royalties from the film. He chose cash as he needed it and nobody was even sure the film would be completed let alone be shown to the public. A decision he rues to this day.
I had a good chat with Robert before heading off to lunch. He is currently working as an airplane mechanic at the Drage Airfield in Wangaratta.
Below is a picture of Robert next to the coupe. (still not happy with the height of the front end so dont look too closely)

The more I look at this picture, the more I start to think it looks like a composite or photo-shopped picture. I think its because there is very little shadow under the car on the driver side. If I hadn't have been there and taken the photo myself, I would have questioned its authenticity...lol.