FLYNAVY30

I'm trying to run a 13/16 front sway bar from the '73-'74 cars on the front of my '64. The problem is that the C3 sway bar mount bushing and brackets were significantly bigger than the C2 brackets (at least on my '64). I have a set of poly mount bushings with the correct 13/16" inside diameter, but I need to trim about a half inch off the top, and 1/8" off each side in order for them to fit correctly into the mounting brackets on my car.

Has anyone successfully trimmed poly bushings? They've been in the freezer for the past few days....I'm thinking band saw to take the half inch off the top, then belt sander to shave an 8th off each side? I imagine this is going to make a significant mess, so I plan on doing it in the driveway with the garage door closed.

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Easy Rhino

That's how I would try it, but I don't know.

FLYNAVY30

My other thought was that I have a 14" Fein metal chop saw.... throw the aluminum cutting blade on there and keep the material well lubed with WD40 to help dissipate the heat build up. I have successfully taken 1/16" off a piece of aluminum with that saw and it will likely build less heat than the belt sander.

Easy Rhino

A quick google search finds answers all over the place, but seem to agree to avoid getting it hot.

63 340HP

A sturdy vice to secure the workpiece (most important), and a Portaband, is your friend for rough cuts (holding the poly by hand is very risky).

A #60 belt sander for finishing. Water in a spray bottle helps lubricate and cool the cut, as oil can make the saw slide & bounce off the poly rather than cut.

Most of the cuts and shaping is hidden under the bracket, and it should have some crush, so don't get too hung up on appearance.

FLYNAVY30

Much appreciated. Definitely not worried about aesthetics....as you said, its under the bracket. Making the above outlined cuts will leave it oversized in width and height by about an 8th of an inch, which given the minimum compression of the poly vs. rubber should be about right....I think. Good call on the water vs. oil....I hadn't thought about the blade bouncing as opposed to cutting.

3JsVette

Would it be easier to modify the C3 brackets or make new brackets? I don't know. Just throwing it out there.

ghostrider20

My poly bushings came with a bracket, so I used that. Painted it black.

roadster65

Could you not use a heat gun to "soften" them up, and / or "shrink" fit them … just a thought - GV

FLYNAVY30

The problem is that the C3 brackets have the bolt holes centered on the bracket where the C2 bracket is offset. If you use the C3 bracket, half of the bushing will not be in contact with the frame.

FLYNAVY30

No, too much material. I suppose the other option would be to get the poly bushing for the stock 3/4 bar and drill out the hole to 13/16.....

skids

Put the bushing on a wood dowel sized so it fits tight,to hold it,and cut your bushing on a band saw. Boom, done.

roadster65

That's a great idea, you could use some "lube" to help it fit … or have some "new" brackets fabricated … or modify some pipe brackets, like the ones they use to attach pipes to walls.

Tampa Jerry

As mentioned above, use a belt sander. I would also get a cleaner for the belt. The belt will load up with material very quickly. I use a rubber block that cleans the belt of the material with friction. You can get them at most woodworking shops. Jerry

SWCDuke

I don't recommend poly pillow block bushings. The bar twists slightly and since the OE rubber bushing is tightly compressed against the bar, the slight torsional "give" is in the rubber. Poly won't give so their will be relative motion between the bar and bushing, which mean wear.

The OE rubber bushing might be sufficiently compressed to use with the 1/16" larger C3 bar. Give it a try.

Poly link bushings are a good idea. They will also wear due to relative motion between the bushings and bar socket. IIRC the "torque spec" for the OE rubber link bushings is to run the nut to the end of the bolt thread to compress the bushings. Poly won't give much without crushing, so if the bushings are long enough there will be more thread to run the nut tighter as the poly seats into the bar sockets, but they will eventually wear to the point where you run out of thread at which point they will need to be replaced, but that's fairly easy job.

Duke

FLYNAVY30

Thanks Duke. At the moment, I've got the stock rubber 3/4 bushing, a stock HD rubber 7/8 bushing, and then 13/16 C3 rubber bushings, and 13/16 C3 poly bushing. I was only thinking poly for the pillow blocks because I thought it might be easier to cut/trim than the rubber 13/16 bushings.