Back with a vengence
The past 4 weeks have been frustrating for this project. Hey, the job pays the bills but it's wrecking havoc on my restoration! :-)
FINALLY got to do some work on the car in the past few days. The trailing arm removal turned out to be a MAJOR issue. Once the castellated nuts were removed from the bolt that goes through the frame and the t-arm, the things just would not budge out of the bushing. The rust has welded them to the inside of the t-arm bushing. So, had to get a 9" Sazw-all blade and but the buggers out.
First, remove the shims in the t-arm cavity inside the frame. There is a cotter pin that goes through the frame and the shims, remove that. Then work on the shims with some penetrating oil and work them back and forth until them come out. This will expose the screw shaft on each side to cut them with the Sawz-all. Also, make sure to remove the parking brake wire from the assembly. Once the screws are cut, they just drop right out.
There is some rust along the inside edge that is showing a little rot. I think I can clean that up, hit it with some POR when I get to that point without having any major frame repair but it will take some more looking once I get to that point.
I've been researching the rebuild of the t-arms. In particular the rebuild requires some specialized tools: spindle knock out/set tool, bearing press, and a mic to check run out when re-installing the spindle to get the shimming correct for the spindle to rotor. So, when I take a tally of the parts and tools to do the job this is what I come up with:
Trailing arm bushing - $21 x 2 = $42
Bearings and seals - $42 x 2 = $84
Spindle shim kit = $29
Miscellaneous spindle small parts kit = $26
Parking brake rebuild kit = $78 (covers 2 wheels)
-----------------------------
Sum total of parts = $259
and then if you need the tools for spindle removal, insertion, and runout mic, etc that's another $190 from the dude on Ebay for a total of $449.
Van Steel standard rebuild service - $300 per arm x 2 = $600 total
So, for $150 more I also get them stripped and painted and a 5 year warranty on the work. When I add it up, it spells no-brainer doing a complete side by side comparison. Looks like I'm using VanSteel for the rebuild of the t-arms and while they're out (about a 2 week total round trip), I'll focus on the front end suspension tear down and rebuild.
I have to take an inventory of suspension parts to order this week. The end is in sight to complete stripping the frame and then work my way back up out of the pit putting it all together again.
FINALLY got to do some work on the car in the past few days. The trailing arm removal turned out to be a MAJOR issue. Once the castellated nuts were removed from the bolt that goes through the frame and the t-arm, the things just would not budge out of the bushing. The rust has welded them to the inside of the t-arm bushing. So, had to get a 9" Sazw-all blade and but the buggers out.
First, remove the shims in the t-arm cavity inside the frame. There is a cotter pin that goes through the frame and the shims, remove that. Then work on the shims with some penetrating oil and work them back and forth until them come out. This will expose the screw shaft on each side to cut them with the Sawz-all. Also, make sure to remove the parking brake wire from the assembly. Once the screws are cut, they just drop right out.
There is some rust along the inside edge that is showing a little rot. I think I can clean that up, hit it with some POR when I get to that point without having any major frame repair but it will take some more looking once I get to that point.
I've been researching the rebuild of the t-arms. In particular the rebuild requires some specialized tools: spindle knock out/set tool, bearing press, and a mic to check run out when re-installing the spindle to get the shimming correct for the spindle to rotor. So, when I take a tally of the parts and tools to do the job this is what I come up with:
Trailing arm bushing - $21 x 2 = $42
Bearings and seals - $42 x 2 = $84
Spindle shim kit = $29
Miscellaneous spindle small parts kit = $26
Parking brake rebuild kit = $78 (covers 2 wheels)
-----------------------------
Sum total of parts = $259
and then if you need the tools for spindle removal, insertion, and runout mic, etc that's another $190 from the dude on Ebay for a total of $449.
Van Steel standard rebuild service - $300 per arm x 2 = $600 total
So, for $150 more I also get them stripped and painted and a 5 year warranty on the work. When I add it up, it spells no-brainer doing a complete side by side comparison. Looks like I'm using VanSteel for the rebuild of the t-arms and while they're out (about a 2 week total round trip), I'll focus on the front end suspension tear down and rebuild.
I have to take an inventory of suspension parts to order this week. The end is in sight to complete stripping the frame and then work my way back up out of the pit putting it all together again.
posted by Steve at 10:56 AM
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