73StreetRace

It's been a long time since my last post. Nothing really new, but I had bought a polyurethane bushing kit last year
and I thought it was time to install it.
I also decided that it wouldn't be a bad idea to replace the upper and lower ball joints too... and the brake hoses too...
and the brake pads... I always wanted to try those ceramic brake pads, why not now while everything is taken to pieces ?

So, let's go to work !

About the tools, I bought a ball joint puller : this kind worked really great :



And also a coil spring compressor ( I was alone to do the job and it was a great help ) like this one ( very handy too ) :





Now, let the pictures speak for themselves... Note that some pictures show driver's side and others passenger's side...


Lower A-Arm & spring removed :





The 40 years old bushings :



The Upper A-Arm :



Detail of one of the upper A-arm bushings :



Some of the parts after a few hours of cleaning job...



The spindle and brake assembly after cleaning and painting :



The A-Arm and Spring after painting :



The spring alone :



Bushings installation ( I built the press myself ) :



Another view of the bushings installation ( outer sleeves ) :



Bushings installed :





New upper and lower ball joints installed :





The lower A-Arm and the spring are back :



And now the upper A-Arm :



The Spindle is back with a new brake hose and ceramic brake pads :



New Sway-bar bushings too :



And the final picture : the worn parts !



Believe me, after a good alignment job, it makes a big difference in handling !

Now I have to do the same job with the rear suspension... stay tuned !

harris1507

Thanks for the post, I'm planning on doing the same in the spring. Any particular parts or manufacturer, did you buy a kit? Thanks

LudemJo

This will be my winter project when I take the 74 off the road after Thanksgiving, along with replacing the radiator support and fixing a radiator leak (or replacing if needed). I have not bought parts yet, but plan on staying with rubber bushings. Most of the kits I have seen are roughly $200. I got step-by-step instructions from Lars. I will be buying a compressor and air tools as well. I feel pretty confident that I can do it, and it may be a little easier with the radiator removed as well...gives me more room to work. I am actually really looking forward to getting started.

John

73StreetRace

I bought a 4 ball joints upper and lower kit ( K6034 & K6035 ) including all the necessary hardware,
and a C3 Corvette Energy Suspension HyperFlex master kit with black poly bushings.
This kit also includes all the necessary replacement parts for rear suspension rebuild.
Everything went fine, no problem at all

CaseyJones

Did you have to remove the radiator/shroud? It looks pretty tight on the driver side of my '80. I am getting ready to rebuild my front suspension also.

73StreetRace

No, this wasn't necessary. But, as you said, it was pretty tight, especially on driver side :
The upper A-arm had to go through the wheel well, because of the power steering pump and the alternator very close.
Much easier on passenger side : no AC, so the A-arm could go up directly and be removed/installed from the engine bay.
But take note that my radiator shroud is not stock, so maybe it could be another matter with yours...

MrJlr

Beautiful work and a great write up

racerx1

Nice work!!! What paint did you use on the a-arms?

73StreetRace

I used satin-finish black epoxy paint with hardener made by Restom.
It can be used directly on cleaned brushed metal without any primer. Available in many colors, matte, satin or gloss finish...
One or two layers, can be used with a brush ( you can see the results on the pictures above showing the chassis or the spindle ) or a spray gun ( that's what I did with the A-arms and the spring ).
It is very important to wear a paint mask and gloves !
Dust-free after 1 hour, can be manipulated after 2 hours, final hardness after approx. 5 days.
Very very scratch resistant and soft enough so it can be used even with springs.

73StreetRace

Some pictures of the engine bay with the new rebuilt front suspension

rosslato

WOW, you do beautiful work! Love what you did with yer fans and shroud, very nice. How did you get the Aarms that KLEEN? Wire Brush?

73StreetRace

Yep ! Actually I only did the driver's side like that and it took me more than 2 hours to do both A-arms.
So, I decided to sandblast the passenger's side A-arms. Took only 15 minutes and the result after painting is just the same...
But a wire brush finish is definitely better if you want zinc coating or chromium plating.

hugie82

Nice work. Did you have any badly worn parts? The old parts looked pretty good in the pics.
When I did mine I opted for the Moog springs. They're about 3-4 inches short with the same spring rate but are a lot easier to install without a spring compressor.

73StreetRace

At least one of the lower A-arm bushings on each side was in a very bad shape.
Not enough to make the car dangerous to drive, but just enough to feel it not as responsive as it used to be.
Front wheel alignment had also changed quite a bit ( caster, camber and toe ).
About the ball joints, they were still ok after 40 years, but the price of new parts was not so high, so while I was on that subject...
Do the Moog springs change the ride height, you say they are shorter than stock ?

hugie82

I thought they would change the height but they didn't. It was exactly the same and I would say a tiny bit stiffer ride but that could be the Koni adjustable shocks.

TucksC3

73StreetRace,

What brand of spark plug looms are you running? (mounted to each side of the distributor) They look sharp.

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...pse269104d.jpg

thanks,

Tuck

doorgunner

Sharp!

Very sharp!!

73StreetRace

Those are Sickspeed wire looms ( available on ebay ).
Here's a direct link to their website :

http://sickspeed.gostorego.com/engin...eperators.html

Many colors available !



I've got Moroso Blue Max 11mm silicon spark plug wires, and Sickspeed is the only one, as far as I know, who makes aluminum wire looms compatible with this diameter.
As you can see on the picture, the edges are quite smooth. I installed them last year, and no problem since that date.
Plastic looms rapidly lose their shape if they are close to headers. Don't ask me how I know...

About the wire looms very close to the distributor, they are home-made of 6061 T6 aluminum. They fit to the two stock brackets that used to hold the top shield.
Couldn't keep it because the new billet Pertronix distributor was too high.

7t9l82

i run the 11 mm taylor wires, they have plastic resin clamps that fit wires. aluminum may never be a problem but i guess if the wires started going bad you could get some cross firing

Ralph P

Did you use the original small block motor as your starting point? Your motor looks great.