zwede

First drive this morning in the '71 with the new rubber (73-up) bodymounts. Happy to report they work GREAT!

The ride is vastly improved. It has a much smoother, more solid feel. Doesn't feel like a kit car anymore. Road noise is reduced to the same level as any new sports car.

What surprised me was that exhaust noise is reduced also. It's actually reduced so much I'm now thinking it is too quiet!

So conclusion: Highly recommended if you have a 68-72.

goofygrin

Nifty.

How hard is it to change these?

Is it a case of a super dooper "While I'm here" thing being possible (e.g. if you have to lift the body all, why not rebuild the frame?)?

:cheers:

groovyjay

Clad it turned out great. I bet my whole car will rattle with the new poly mounts, just the way I like it! :lol: :cheers: :steering:

Smokehouse69

Markus, you owe us a write up on how you did it! That is my biggest complaint about my car, the kit car feel from the solid body mounts.

NHvette

:cheers: Zwede - We have discussed this briefly before - and good to see that all turned
out as expected - maybe better.

I just ordered a set of POLY body mount bushings !!!
Do yo uthink the poly will be as firm as the Aluminum ? I hope not.
It was an easy deci$ion to make. I went to order a couple #4 reinforcements
from ZIP and they have all the poly stuff on sale - plus the "ZIP-10" 10% discount.
The body mount set in POLY (no bolts/washers) was $47 before discount - so
about $42 for the set. I think the rubber mounts were $18 EACH !!

Zwede: Qs -
Did you use the original bolts (long enough) ?
Were the holes in the body big enough to accomodate the rubber bushing and
steel spacer ?
Did you consider poly ? why not ?

Thanks -DaVe iN nH


[Modified by NHvette, 4:56 PM 1/30/2003]

zwede

I'll see about writing something for the tech section on the forum... stay tuned.

zwede

Reason poly is cheaper is obvious when you compare the two. The rubber has molded steel re-inforcements inside. It is a pretty clever design. After the bolt is tightened, the steel inserts in the two halves will contact eachother. However, there will be no direct contact between the steel and the body. There will always be rubber inbetween.

The poly is just that: A poly donut. Much simpler.

Will it be as harsh as solid mounts? Probably not. But it won't be as comfy as rubber.

I bought a kit that contained all the rubber mounts and bolts + nuts + shims. $145 from Gruhala.

Yes. Except #3 where the double metal in the birdcage was misaligned by the factory. I had to dremel it out.

See above...

Twin_Turbo

Markus, are the alu mounts that you took out in good shap??? I'm looking for a set of those puppies

Marck

NHvette

Marck, the Aluminum mounts are pretty cheap.
My originals were corroded breaking into power in places - after 30 years or service.
I would definitely spend on new ones here. :yesnod:

conway62

Zweede,
Did you have to remove the body to change the mounts?

joe73vette

Aren't the rubber ones an inch thicker than the solid ones? DId that affect steering column alignment or anything else? Joe

Twin_Turbo

What's a good place to get them? I'm not gonna blow my money w/ large parts houses since they charge insane international handling fees. No way I'm paying something like 25$ so some employee puts the stuff in the same box and prints a similar address label as they do for a US customer but then rip me off by charging 25 or so bucks.

Marck

zwede

Same here. One was shattered, and the other ones very corroded. Went straight in the trash.

zwede

I had to lift it about 4", but didn't have to completely separate it from the frame.

zwede

The difference is much less. From my measurements it looks like about 3/8".

Only change was the steering column. I had to loosen the lower mounts where the column attaches to the firewall. Pushed it down and tightened the bolts. There is enough adjustment to line it up perfectly. It also bought me 3/8" of hoodclearance, something I desperately needed!

zwede

Mark, I had a similar issue some time ago when I still lived in Sweden. I needed aluminum mounts to mount the subframe to the floor on a Camaro. I found that a machine shop could cut and drill aluminum discs very cheaply. I got 6 discs for $20.

Ganey

Markus

Way to go! You have done an excellent job of upgrading your 71 Vette.
This is something I have been rec. all the time on this forum. Alan71 has done as well. Specially designed per Duntov to not affect handling.

:cool:

NHvette

:iagree:
... and was going to post a similar response. You could also use blocks of
hard rubber. I have heard people make body mounts out of hockey pucks.
No shortage of those in your region.