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I'm now working on the rear suspension of my 65 396 Roadster and found the strut rod bracket to be bent. Considering where it's located, kinda hard to figure out what someone backed over to cause the damage but 'bent it is' and luckily it didn't appear to cause any damage to the differential. It appears to still function well enough but I'll be pulling it and the strut rods down soon and wanted to ask about interchangeability of these brackets. As expected, I've seen '63' versions listed as being different from the 64-67 brackets but wondered if a 68 on up bracket might suffice? The only aftermarket versions I've come across, like Van Steel's brackets seem to be built to accommodate their adjustable strut rod setups.
Thanks,
Mike T - Prescott AZ
The C3 Strut rod bracket will fit. However, it lowers the center attaching point for the strut rods. this is good for handling but may give you a problem is you have under chassis exhaust.
Blue1972 - Wow, they really did do a 'bend adjustment' on your strut rods alright. In my case the rods are in good shape with original/wasted bushings but I happen to have a set of the GM small end bushings on the shelf otherwise I might have thought about the adjustable strut rod setups like Van Steels.
WoodDesign - Good to know, I'll include looking for brackets that used the small end bushings, I think that might be up to maybe '74?
Mike T - Prescott AZ
I’m going to say some PO made a poor jacking choice.
I put a C3 bracket on my ‘64. While it lowered the inner end of the strut rods, there was no interference with the exhaust. That said, I can see how some exhaust systems would interfere. In the picture below, I also installed GW adjustable strut rods.
Although that bracket is pretty sturdy, it could have been caused by someone not paying attention to how they placed a jack alright. I've sent out a few emails looking for a 64-74 strut rod bracket since I'm pretty sure they kept using the small strut rod bushings up through 74. Not concerned about the difference between midyear and later versions because the car in question has side exhaust so clearance won't be an issue.
Thanks,
Mike T - Prescott AZ
I've run across a few strut rod brackets on eBay advertised as being from midyears. I've seen the pics that show the difference between the 63 version and the 64 through 67 versions but since I've just started disassembling the rear suspension on my 65, does anyone know if there are stamped part numbers on that strut rod bracket so that I might be able to figure out what year it's really from?
Mike T - Prescott AZ
Midyear Strut Rod Bracket Interchangeability
