I was in the process of fitting Nolathane bushes under my 1200 coupe when I discovered that the shackle bush [Part No. 47156] that goes into the rearmost spring eye was loose in the spring. This bush has the code "DAT 63 &" moulded onto the flanged end face of the bush.
Some measuring revealed that the old rubber bush had an OD of 23mm & the spring eye averaged out just under 23mm which allows for a slight push fit. The 47156 Nolathane bush, however, measures 22mm OD, so it flopped around like a dick in a shirt sleve.

I checked the catalogue & I had the correct bush, & I checked the sizes against published data in the catalogue. That matched up as well, so nobody has put the wrong bushes in the bag.
I rang the manufacturer & he also confirmed that there was no special notes about this, so there was only one bush listed for the whole 1200 model run.

I then checked my 1200 parts book to see if there was a change in either the factory bush or the spring part number during 1200 production. No luck there as there was only one part number for the whole production run.

The other shackle bush, [Part No. 47157] that fits into the chassis is the right size in all dimentoins except for length as it is longer, so I will probably buy another set of these & shorten them.

There is also another set of bushes in the chassis of Sedans & Coupes for the front spring mounting plates & these too are the same size as the long shackle bush except for the ID as the correct hole size for these ones is 12mm while the shackle pins are 11mm. These forward chassis bushes are NOT listed in the catalogue, so it looks like I will buy yet another two sets of the long shackle bush [47157] & drill the hole 1mm larger out to 12mm. This should tighten up the rear suspension nicely.

When I replace the shackle bushes in the spring with the cut down ones, I will send the old rubber bushes, as well as the new, but wrong size ones, back to the factory as requested by the nice man on the phone, & invite them to tell me how they screwed this one up.

Has anyone else come across this problem before?
Has anyone used another brand of bush that fitted correctly?

Hi, havn't come across the problem yet but I will be re-bushing my 1000 coupe soon. If they are the wrong sizes, my neighbour at work does polyurithane casting so I should be able to get him to make the correct sizes. Cheers. Adam.

Adam
Check the bush sizes in your 1000.
The longer shackle bushes that go into the 1200 chassis position [Nolathane 47157] measure 23mm OD, with a 6mm thick flange & an 11mm shackle pin hole hole. I think that the 1000 is the same. These bushes are about 45mm long which means that these are a good candidate for shortening and/or drilling to suit your application if the right one can't be found.
Something tells me that the 1000 front eye bush is interchangeable with 1200 too, but check before parting with cash money to be sure.

Dodgeman,
I have had this problem in the past
If you try "Whiteline" industries (suspension component manufacturer) you will find the correct listing there. It took me a longtime to sort this out when I had the same problem.
I also believe that early sigma rear shackle bushes will fit but havent confirmed it.

Good luck.

I got mine from Pedders. No problems with them.

I have ordered another three sets of the 47157 bushes [the shackle bush in the chassis] & will shorten one set for the spring eye, & drill the other two sets out to 12mm to use in the chassis position at the front of the spring. At least they will all be the same colour.
I now have the sway bar mounting & the link bushes coming too, so once these are all done, it will be another job finished.

I can hardly believe how much tighter it feels already with the work that I have done so far. I took all the junk out of the parcel tray, the glovebox & the ashtray & the noise level fell dramaticly. Once the seats are done & the new carpet installed, the only rattles that remain will be fixed with door seals, proper door adjustments, & new bailey channel & this should make it tight as a drum & as quiet as a mouse.
Now that it runs at the proper temperature, it feels peppier too.

This is the point when Dat_Nat will want it back, you just see if I'm right.