While cruising down the F/Way this afternoon my 63 made a hard lateral move in the rear-end, and I heard a slight metallic sound hitting the pavement under the car. I knew something was amiss, so I eased it over to the slowest lane, slowed down and continued towards home about 25mi away. I got off the FW nearer to home and did a visual of the rear-end of the car. All seemed to be well until I felt the passenger side spacers (2 remained) and they came out in my hand. I slow-rolled it the last 4 mi home and parked it. The last time the car was serviced, the guy said he found those spacers loose and tightend them down. It appears that I will now have to have the alignment done again. My questions; 1) Is there a best way to keep those spacers tightened and in place, or is this a sign of something else amiss? 2) Is there anything that I should check-out before I have it re-aligned, ie: Could something have been damaged/compromised by driving it without those spacers? I certainly didn't hear or feel anything rub, etc. while driving home. It just allowed the back of the car to wander when the load shifted on the suspension. However, that aside, I had about a 250 mi ride thru the coastal mountains, beach, and back up the freeway around SF and Santa Cruz Ca. on a pleasant day. I've owned this car for 30 years now, and it has always got me back to the barn when things get out of sorts, thankfully. I would like to keep this problem from recurring if possible and help keep that history intact. Thanx- lib

 

I solved the problem by using c3 shims with the lock hole in them, and drilling the frame to accept the long cotter pin that is inserted through the frame and shim holes.

 

This is what I used.

http://www.vbandp.com/detail.aspx?ID=454

 

slotted shims and no lock holes sounds like a recipe for disaster...and non-slotted shims become a removal/alignment nightmare.

 

I don't understand how they came out. Don't thay all have the bolt through them? Or are there different types of shims that do not utilize the Trailing Arm Bolt?

 

63-68 or 69 used shims that had a hole for the T/A bolt. Obviously, the bolt needs to be removed to take the shims out. If the bolt seizes in the bushing sleeve, you have a big removal problem. From 69 or 70-82, the shims were slotted at the end to slide over the T/A bolt, with another hole at the other end of the shim. The frame had matching smaller holes through which a long, heavy cotter pin was inserted to retain the shims. These are much easier to remove, even if the bolt and bushing sleeve are seized together. The problem is when you used the slotted shims with nothing to keep them in place but friction. Drill the holes in the frame pocket for the cotter pin and the slotted shims will stay in place. The hole-only shims are available, but most shim kits are the C3 slotted style.

 

Thanx for the info. If I understand the posts correctly, I can order the C3 spacers and modify my C2 (drill a hole in the frame for a different cotter key)to make them work correctly. I notice that Zip, Eklers, etc. list their shim kits as 63-82 correct. Is this the same design as offered by Vette Brakes in the link that was posted in a previous reply? The illustrations at the websites appear to be very similar- lib

 

If you use the slotted shims and haven't drilled the frame for the long cotter pin to retain them, the key to retention is to drive the last shim (a thick one) in with a hammer. If you just insert them by hand and depend on torquing the pivot bolt to clamp the stack together, that isn't going to work - the frame pocket is double-reinforced at the bolt hole, and isn't going to give when you tighten the bolt. The cotter pin is the cure.

 

Any particular spot to drill the hole at? I would like to see a picture or diagram so I could get an idea what the measurements are.
I'm preparing to rebuild the rearend on my '64 and I want to incorporate this modification on mine so the slotted shims can be used.

 

Just position a slotted shim on the outside of the frame, seated against the protruding end of the pivot bolt, and use the round hole in the shim as the template for drilling the hole; do the same thing on the inside.

 

The hole in the shim is MUCH bigger than what you want to drill in the frame, though. Get the cotter pins before you drill. ACE Hardware should have some that are long enough - they might even have them in stainless.

 

I used 2 non-slotted shims on each side, then installed all the slotted ones I needed. Once that was done, I just wire tied them together. The non slotteds tied to the slotted will keep everything together. Simple.

 

 

On my 67 I noticed that the spacers are loose. They obviously have the TA bolt through them and that is what keeps them in place, but should I be concearned if they flop around? I can reach in with my finger and flip them up and they fall back down due to gravity. If I need to add shims, do I add them on the inside of the trailing arm or the outside? Thanks, Dan

 

If the shims move around and you have alot of play, then you need to add more shims. The easiest way to do it is with the slotted shims, so you can just add what you need and they'll slide in to place. If your trailing arms have moved around from the lack of shims, the best thing to do would be to take the car to an alignment shop and get a rear wheel alignment done (shop near me does a computerized 4 wheel alignment for $89). If you add shims on the inside or outside without actually knowing what position the trailing arms are in, you might be throwing the alignment off even further when you add your own shims.