blueacre

I am nearly ready to put my 71 Convertible body back on the frame. A couple of questions that others may have info on.

A friend of mine has a new set of polyurethane mounts and washer for a 73 and up car. Since it is not a numbers matching show car, I was thinking it would be preferable to use the later model rubber bushings rather than the original aluminum spacers and shims. Has anyone else gone this way ? Any problems ?

The body mount bolts were all rusted and I had to cut them out when I removed the body so I don't have the correct sizes. I can get new grade 8 bolts locally if I have the correct lengths. As I remember it the No 1 and 4 mounts use bolts and nuts while the No 2 and 3 position use bolts only that screw into captive nuts in the frame. I beleive they are all 7/16 bolts - correct ? Does anyone have a set out of the car and could measure the lengths for me for each of the 4 mount locations ( 8 bolts ) ?

Any info on the above appreciated
thanks
Gary

mahi1977corvette

I would order these through one of the Corvette suppliers like Ecklers.

leadfoot4

My wife had a '79 'Vette, which she bought brand new, when we were first dating, and kept through '97. Around '93-'94, I replaced the body cushions with a set from Energy Suspension. Yes, rust was an issue, and I had to do some cutting of the old hardware. Unfortunately, I don't remember the exact size of the bolts, but I'm thinking they were at least 3/8" diameter.

Using these cushions was a positive thing. The originals were pretty well dried out, and while the body wasn't really sagging, the car had its share of squeeks and rattles. The new cushions helped quiet it down a bit.

69/03vette

I put the 73 rubber mounts on my 69 when I rebuilt it. The only difference I saw was the body sat a little higher off the frame (I mean a little), but it was enough I didn't have to trim my rocker panel covers for the sidepipes like I had to with my 70. I think as far as ride not as noticable as I hoped.

BryanB75

You will have a better ride from the poly bushings. Lots of drag racers use the solid mounts to help eliminate any flex. I have them on my Malibu

gbvette62

I don't know if this helps or not, but it gives you a place to start anyway.

I have a set of 64-82 body mounts on the shelf that came from Central. They measure 3 1/2" overall, with a 2" shank and 1 1/2" of thread. They appear to be 7/16", but I can't find my thread gauge to confirm this or the thread count. I have one of Paragon's bolt charts and it lists body mount bolts as 7/16" x 14, but with a length of 2 1/2", not 3 1/2"? I don't know if this helps much, but it may give you a starting point.

The number 1 body mount gets a bolt, but numbers 2, 3 and, 4 all use cage nuts.

The difference between the OEM aluminum body mounts and Poly ones would be minimal, I would think.