wheelarch catching wheel

Hi all i have a 1989 cabbie which i have just put on the road problem! the front near side wheel catches the wheel arch when on righthand corners or going over pot holes. turns out car is 2 cm lower on near side front car has bbs wheels. do i need new springs? if so what can members recomend without spending lots of dosh, i have just fitted a set of standard shocks any help gratefully received Andy

2cm is a lot of difference between sides, is the current spring broken or is there a possibility there is something left off on that side when you fitted the standard dampers?

What size and offset are the wheels?

wheels are 195/50x15 the springs are not broken but i cannot remember if there were any rubber spacers between the spring and spring mountings should there be some? the wheels have spacers on them but they are only about 3 to 5 mm thick just enough to miss the bottom of the spring. just a thought are the springs handed for the camber of the road  Andy

How's the top mounts? Has the camber been properly adjusted on the car? Springs aren't handed but it does sound like you have a mismatched pair of front springs. Many 'kits' and replacements sold over the years, by aftermarket or non-genuine suppliers, etc, are mismatched and only bear a vague similarity to the proper springs or decent performance ones which are also on the market, albeit at a higher price.

It also depends on where you are measuring. Don't measure wheel to body work. Measure some chassis points as these are jigged and known to be the same on both sides.
If you are measuring to the wings, you could have an original on one side, and a pattern on the other - for example.

Also, if you are genuinely 2cm out, you will feel it in the steering.

yes you are right the nearside has a different wing on. the trim line is different but the measurments are the same both sides. if i put new springs on what should i get as i know nothing about lowering and i dont know whats on it to start with, saying that it handles very well at the moment and is a joy on the moterway

You could swap the springs over and see if the problems swaps sides with the springs. If it does then it is the springs, if it doesn't then more searching is required.