SEE3ER

I am open for suggestions on this one! :flag

Zack Wenning

I'm having mine redone by Bair's in PA, Ill let you know what I think of them when get them back. I have been really happy with tthe customer service so far, I even talked to the owner himself! I talked to him about having them do it and he sent me out two boxes to send my T/A's to him.
Unfortunately, they arent much cheaper than anyone else though, they all seem to charge about the same amount.
Everyone I talked to at Bair's really seemed to know what they were talking about and they seem trustworthy so far.
Did you get them out yet?

69shark

Steve, thats where I had mine done also. I might be able to find the boxes from when mine were doen if you decide to send them there.

Rowdy Rat

I'm very partial to Bair's... I've probably had them do five or six sets of trailing arms, a couple of differentials, and bought countless other parts from them over the years. Zack's experience with Bair's is typical... A first rate operation to do business with.

Zack,

"Yogi" is still around, but Brian has pretty much taken over operations at this point. The custom shipping boxes for the control arms are a great touch... Makes life a lot easier and protects the parts.

As far as cost...

Everyone wants value for their money, but in some cases, quality of the parts and labor are far more important than the cost involved. This is one of those cases. To be honest, there are other vendors out there that do a great job (Van Steel comes to mind), but Bair's goes a little further with some nice touches... Like re-riveting the rotor to the spindle and the previously mentioned shipping boxes.

They DO and they ARE... I'll go out on a limb and say you will be very pleased with the trailing arms when you get them back.

Regards,

SEE3ER

Zack, no, their not out yet, and I'm not looking forward to this job. I am however going to wait till the temp is above -8*!!! :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:
Tom, I'll let you know on the boxes, thanks for the suggestion, was thinking about pricing up VanSteel?
C3r

Chris@VetteFinders

I recommend calling VANSTEEL. http://vansteel.com

You won't find better customer service in this lifetime.


[Modified by Chris@VetteFinders, 9:05 PM 1/30/2003]

joe73vette

Bairs is the way to go: They sent new arms (in the cool boxes) and I sent my old ones back the same way. That made it a one-weekend job. Excellent quality, looks like new, and with a working parking brake, too. Joe

R. Bruno

:iagree:

NHvette

Well, I was young and dumb and .....

I bought mine from ZIP - and they are VanSteel products. I'm sure there
is a markup there.

However, with the Feb 10% ZIP coupon "ZIP-10", they may be a good deal.
Check it out.
:seeya

82dukman

Bair's In western PA :yesnod:

78Vette-SA

I don't think you could go wrong with either Bair's or VanSteel. Both do a great job, great customer service, and many happy customers. Flip a coin! :thumbs:

Mine went to VanSteel
Before:

After:

SEE3ER

Just how much of a PITA aren these things to remove anyways? :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

RCB69L36

And, what exactly are the telltale signs that your trailing arms need replacing?

:confused:

78Vette-SA

All depends. I had mine out in a few hours including the rear diff. But if the trailing arm bolts are rusted or hung up in there, it can take a while. Some have had great success with a sawzall. The other issue is brake lines, and lower shock mounts.

Nothing that difficult. Just take your time and keep a 5lb sledge and a sawzall around for backup! :smash: :smash:

SEE3ER

Well, brake lines and shock mounts should be OK, just changed then last year when installing new adjusatble struts...But I guess I'll start stocking up on saw-zall blades!!! :thumbs: :thumbs: :thumbs:

kgraumann

:iagree:

Only place I would send them. :yesnod:


[Modified by kgraumann, 11:29 AM 1/31/2003]

NHvette

I'd say that the TA bolts will be no easier to get out than your shock mounts
were. Both will typically fuse the bolt to the inner bushing sleeve - making
removal impossible without some degree of destruction. When I got my
rebuilt units from ZIP (VanSteel), I never took the "arms" out. I did swap out
all the guts to get new bearings and Ebrakes. So, the new shiny black arms are
still in the box - waiting to go into my 70 chassis. I hope that they come right
out. So far, everything on my 70 has unbolted with a hand ratchet.

Your mileage may vary. :seeya

Zack Wenning

On my car, one side had been out before, so that one was easy. The other side had never been out and took about 2 hours with the sawzall and 3 bi-metal blades....I hope you dont have to resort to that!
By the way, Bairs called today and said that they were shipping mine back ASAP!!! I feel like a little kid waiting for Santa to come!!!
:D

The Money Pit

I went with Bairs also. Quality was A-1,and while I was at it I went with offset T-arms. They offered to purchase my old ones,and I planned one day to run wider tires on the rear anyway. I would recommend stainless hardware when you reinstall the new arms,makes future alignments a breeze,and while you're at it VB's adjustable struts and composite spring. Sounds like a pile of money,but I hate doing the same job twice. Think of this as you beat the snot out of the shock bolts! :smash: :smash: :smash: