aobrien

I recently rebuilt the front suspension on my '58 Vette. I couldn't have done it without the help of the CF and especially Tom Parsons (DZAUTO). Thank You!

My learning curve was so large and frustrating that I decided to write an instruction manual for the community and for myself (when I need to do it again in 30 years).

This "Classic Chevy Front Suspension Rebuild" manual applies to:
1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954 Chevy Passenger Cars and
1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962 Corvettes

https://staticssl.ibsrv.net/autocomm...OBrien_1v1.pdf

Let me know if you find any errors, corrections, or have a better method of performing a task and I will incorporate the changes into the document.

Also, if you use this document let me know how long it took you to perform your rebuild. It took me about 8 months starting from ground zero. I like to think that if I had this document when I started then it would have only taken 2 months.

Good luck with your rebuild!
Aaron.

91DRM

God love him! He may be the forum's original Curmudgeon but the man knows his ****!

6D2148

Outstanding! Great job! I already rebuilt mine, but here is a big THANK YOU from all the future c1 owners that will benefit from your efforts. Chip

GUSTO14

Thanks Aaron, I don't own a C1, but heck, there's still time, so I saved a copy for future use.

Good luck... GUSTO

reno stallion

Thanks very cool

K2

Wow! Thanks to you on behalf of the whole C1 community. Impressive work. I rebuilt mine about 40 years ago and hope I'll not have to do it again in my lifetime so I appreciate the incredible detailed work you did to document this. Truly a valuable documentary for anyone contemplating doing this work on their own early Chevy.
Thanks to you and Tom and anyone else who contributed their knowledge in making this rebuild guide.
Klaus

thoyer

I rebuilt the front axles in both the 60 and 58 so I understand the effort involved there. I also write the newsletter for our local Corvette club so I understand the effort there also! Great job on both ends.

You have gathered a wealth of information and put it into a well written article that many will find helpful for years to come.

Thank you.

Tom

Hermn59

Christmas came early! I have the 53-62 Front Suspension Rebuild Kit - Super / Deluxe for my 59 in the CC shopping cart, so the timing of your post couldn't have been better. I will track my time and let you know how it comes out. Thank you for sharing!

tonymcilroy

Just started the process. This will be invaluable to me. First problem I ran into I'd just getting the suspension out of the car!!

aobrien

Thanks for the kind words everyone.

Hi Hermn59 and tonymcilroy, let me know if you find anything lacking in the manual and I'll try to improve it.

A couple of other points that weren't in the document (perhaps I will add later):

• You might consider purchasing an extra set of seals. One of mine had ripped.
• The non-standard upper outer pivot pin was purchased from http://www.bobsclassicchevy.com
• I used a paint pen to index the bushing/a-arm so I could tell if they were starting to slip. If you look close you can see it in some of the pictures.
• If you rebuild the brakes then make sure to have the drums machined/turned and the new brake pads arc'ed.
• If you want to powder coat your drums, then make sure to do it before you turn the drums. The heat will cause the drums to change shape slightly.

DZAUTO

I missed this previously, but have now saved it to my hard drive.

Hermn59

What is the purpose of the clips on the 3rd arm cradle? Are they required?

Hermn59

These are the clips I was referring to:

jprop

That's a great read and I don't even own a C1. Well done!!!

aobrien

Hi Hermn59, Plasticman designed the cradle, but I believe the clips are just there to hold the brace on the 3rd arm while you are fooling around with the jack... the clips aren't required they just make it easier to use.

Hermn59

I would stress the use of the engine stand. I began disassembling the crossmember last weekend on the floor. I think wrestling an alligator might have been easier.

The lower lower outer bushing on one side required a 3/4 air impact to remove. Fortunately my buddy owns a tire store and saved me from myself. I had spent hours on it, shattered a socket, and nearly beat my brains out. Now it’s time to get it cleaned, blasted, and painted.

A big thanks to Tom and Aaron for this material!

68hemi

WHY?? You ARE the book.

tonymcilroy

My is all apart most were not that tight. The upper inside bushings and shaft on right side were so worn they virtually fell out so need to weld in the new bushings. Spent hours just cleaning all the parts with wire wheel on an angle grinder. Be a couple of weeks before I can work on it again.

aobrien

Glad to hear that you guys are making progress!

Did you come across anything that you wish was in the document that we should add to it?


Hermn59, A shattered socket?!?! That's impressive! Do you have any pictures?

My front end came apart pretty easily. I did have a problem installing the new upper inner shaft... it was too much oversized... I had used a breaker bar with another cheater bar on top of it to get the shaft fully installed into the cross member. All of that torque deformed the threads which lead to a whole different problem to solve.

Drothgeb

I remember reading in it somewhere that stainless bolts were used to re-attach the crossmember. And I wanted to point out that stainless bolts typically have half the tensile strength of grade 8 bolts.

I started rebuilding mine this week, hardest part was getting the crossmember bolts out. I have a hydraulic cart. It worked great for removing and the rebuild. Once I’m done with the rebuild, just roll it under the car and jack it up into place.