Brimod shock build-up

[dinglem]

I have posted this very same info in my threaon the Brimod prototype car, but seeing as Mike has mentioned it I will list what i have gathered whilst building up my collection in case anybody else might be interested.

From what i gather from my research (and memory from bitd), the Brimod shocks as we know them were around in '86, with an earlier version without adjusters also being released prior to that. These early versions were initially intended to be used on the SWB CAT although this fell through when there was a rumoured dispute over whether they would be called Brimod shocks on the car or not.... eventually Schumacher went with their own design as a result, although the initial press car and boxart car do show the unthreaded Brimods - these being very very tough to locate. I have a set on my SWB CAT as can be seen here. If you are building a boxart swb CAT, these are a must. They also get a strong mention in the early SWB CAT magazine review articles.

The adjuster version with grub screw valve and 32tpi thread were the 'S' type from early 1987, replaced in early '88 by the 'SX' which had a pan head screw bleed valve and a coarser 24tpi body thread for faster adjustment. June '88 saw the 'SX-L' for lightweight which had a smaller cap profile, no bleed valve, 24tpi and hex adjusters. June '88 also saw first pictures of the prototype Brimod cars. I have seen S and SX types in packets with spec variations so am guessing there was some stock cross over between each type. I am assuming that the prototypes and the hex adjuster shocks were being developed at the same time; it therefore makes sense to see them mounted on these prototype cars.

I have seen adverts from 1989 listing the SX-L versions, which by that time were available in 4 different lengths.

I have examples of all of these variations now, but having seen several pairs new in packet i have noticed there were cross-over sets with differing features, seal changes and spec variables as they made these developments.

Eventually a Brimod team was formed, with the liverly being gold and black as per the colours of the local football club, Wolverhampton Wanderers. I actually have a couple of their team shells which i picked up with the Brimod prototype car.

Tony Britten started making these for his son as he realised there were no realy high-end tuning options for his car and being an engineer he wanted to develop something above and beyond the basic shocks available at that time. This spawned the brimod brand and the various tuning options he came up with. For me at tha ttime I remember only the top few guys at our local club running these as they were extremely expensive for the mid-to-late 80's and were regarded as exotica to the local club racer. These days i collect them as and when they appear for sale and have several cars with them installed.

[dinglem]