73 front end rebuild

[vigman]

Ok....10 yrs ago
(before the car went into drydock)

I had the front end rebuilt, New rancho suspension
Ball joints, tierod ends, bushings, springs ETC.

Now because of that FLIPPIN power steering leak my driver side lower bushings are shot!

So off she went to the shop.

New bushings are being pressed in ( Ball joints are OK) and I'm changing the springs back to stock.

( car sat up to high )

But I was going to change to urethane a arm bushings but the Frame guy ( had some minor cracking on the lower mounts ) stated that the urethane are a pain to install,squeek,and ( depending on the manufacturer) have a tendency to loosen up the bolts.... Back to rubber I went.

The car is going to be a sunny day cruiser, not a race car.


Any thoughts on these issues

Mike

Charging the reworked AC today too!

 

[Tom73]

I agree, stay with rubber for a weekend/sunny day driver. Leave the poly for the racers.

tom...

 

[69MyWay]

If you are not going to Auto X or performance drive it, than the stock rubber is fine.

 

[vigman]

Progress report

So the stock springs & the rubber bushings went in yesterday. The shocks were shot ( but a LONG time ago I bought Midas lifetimes...boy are those guys gonna be suprized when I drive up).

When the car wen't on the lift Somebody engaged the emergency brake, and OF COURSE IT STUCK ON! 2 hours later... we got it all apart (Ordering new stainless cable, hardware & shoes)

Parts will not be in till Wednesday..... More to follow.


Mike

 

[vigman]

More failures

The new master booster now hangs up, it will not let the pedal all the way back up.

If you remove the pin from the booster the pedal return spring is fine.

So master vac booster has to come back out.

The new stock horns are in & working
BEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPP

The Rancho's are back in and the heigth is corrected.

The shop when taking the suspension down for the 2nd time forgot to remove the tin locknut from the top of the shock.. stripped the $hit outta it ( got 2 new bilsteins for FREE!)

The power steering control valve goes KLUNK when changing direction and the top boot is shot. But no leaks!

The A/C VIR assy is replaced & still holding 21 inches of VAC from 4 days ago! Yee haw!!

Got the new electric fuel pump installed.. that's ok.

The Quadra BOG is leaking now won't hold idle..( it was on it's last legs before I changed the pump)

So that's the deal..I'm researching some old vette motors he has lying around to see if he has a correct 73 block that I can bulid my new mill around.

Mike

 

[69MyWay]

Getting closer.

You know, I just traded out an early 70's four bolt 350 and a pair of bow tie heads (cast iron) to do the roll bar work on my car. Turns out he may not be able to use the heads as they have aready been ported and polished and the racing rules he follows require near virgin heads.

Anyway, seems to me the block was a 73 or 74. I may be getting it all back soon in favor of giving him cash.

If so I will let you know on the block exactly what the production sequence is.

 

[80convertible]

Vig,

Everytime I fix something, something else breaks nearby. Never fails. Now I know why there are so many C3s available. Their owners knew what I did not, the damn cars break all the time! I too researched the poly vs rubber. I think quality poly with graphite really reduces the squeaks, but they are harder to install. Often need modifying. Another reason to stay with rubber is that it flexes better. This will reduce wear on the weakest link in your suspension. The graphite will not deflect causing old parts of the suspension to endure more stress. In your case, you have rebuilt most of it. In my case, everything is old and cracked. Want to trade?

Regards,

Jim

 

[vigman]

Do ya have a C-2

Convertible???????
Getting tired of this one.
The more I do the worse it gets.....
and I can see that EVERYTHING needs attention in one form or another.

Mike

 

[Paranoid]

I used Energy suspension Poly bushings on my rebuild a year ago. Did all the work myself. Hardest part was removing the old rubber bushings. If you use the lubricant provided with the Poly's you should have no squeaks. I installed the polys using my fingers....very easy. If I can do it......