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Body mount removal?

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Old Apr 8, 2010 | 05:24 PM
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Default Body mount removal?

I'm having trouble figuring out how to access The nuts on the body mounts located in front of the rear wheels on my 73. All of the other ones Ive been able to gain access to without much difficulty. Does anyone who has done a body off restoration have any pointers for me? I'd realy apreciate it.
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Old Apr 8, 2010 | 05:36 PM
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Hi C73,
There's a little metal access door in the wheel well right in front of the rear tire. It's about 3" wide and 6" high, and held on by four screws.
If there's a lot of undercoating or 'gook' in the wheel well you might not have seen it.
Good Luck!
Regards,
Alan

PS: Are you asking for pointers on finding the access door or for your restoration in general?

Last edited by Alan 71; Apr 8, 2010 at 05:40 PM.
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Old Apr 8, 2010 | 05:46 PM
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Default Thank you

Thanks for your quik reply Alan,
I found the access door sand removed it. When turning the 5/8 head of the bolt it just turns and turns. The rest of the mounts have a nut and bolt, and I'm figuring that this one must too. What I'm having trouble withis accessing the nut that I guess must be up in frame because I cant even see it.
Thanks
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Old Apr 8, 2010 | 05:46 PM
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This might help........


http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-t...with-pics.html
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Old Apr 8, 2010 | 05:55 PM
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Wow! Thanks a lot. I noticed on the box that your new mounts came in that it looks like there is no nut on that particular mount. I wander if its only like that on the replacement part or if the factory ones are the same?
Thanks
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Old Apr 8, 2010 | 06:33 PM
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Hi C73,
The nut for that mount bolt is in a little 'cage' on the top of the frame that prevents it from turning. When the bolt and nut are quite rusty your torque on the bolt breaks the nut loose by de-forming the cage. You can't get at that cage until the body's off, so I believe you'll need to cut the head off that bolt in order to replace it.
Regards,
Alan

Last edited by Alan 71; Apr 8, 2010 at 06:37 PM.
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Old Apr 8, 2010 | 06:41 PM
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Originally Posted by Alan 71
Hi C73,
The nut for that mount bolt is in a little 'cage' on the top of the frame that prevents it from turning. When the bolt and nut are quite rusty your torque on the bolt breaks the nut loose by de-forming the cage. You can't get at that cage until the body's off, so I believe you'll need to cut the head off that bolt in order to replace it.
Regards,
Alan
I used a die grinder to grind the heads off mine and removed the rest of the bolt when the body was off.
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Old Apr 8, 2010 | 06:56 PM
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Awesome! Thank you.
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Old Apr 8, 2010 | 06:59 PM
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Originally Posted by Alan 71
Hi C73,
The nut for that mount bolt is in a little 'cage' on the top of the frame that prevents it from turning. When the bolt and nut are quite rusty your torque on the bolt breaks the nut loose by de-forming the cage. You can't get at that cage until the body's off, so I believe you'll need to cut the head off that bolt in order to replace it.
Regards,
Alan

Originally Posted by stpman
I used a die grinder to grind the heads off mine and removed the rest of the bolt when the body was off.
I'm confused. Are you saying that if the nut breaks loose by deforming the cage the body must come off to replace the mount, or that you can replace the mount in this situation without removing the body by cutting the head off of the bolt?

I have terrible rattles in my 79 and my husband read somewhere (I think in the service manual) that the body mounts should be tightened every so often to eliminate rattles. I'd like to do this on my car to get rid of the rattles if its not too big a deal, but if there is much of a chance of the mount breaking free from the cage and spinning and then I can't fix it without removing the body from the frame I don't want to risk it.
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Old Apr 8, 2010 | 07:11 PM
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If the nut breaks loose the only way to fix it is to lift the body. I was taking the body off and the nuts turned and the only way to get it off was to grind the heads off the bolts and fix the nuts once the body was off
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Old Apr 8, 2010 | 07:13 PM
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Hi P,
It all depends on how rusty the bolt and nut are.
You can quickly see it's condition by looking through the access opening. If it's not too bad you can bathe the bolt head and shaft in some kind of rust penetrative for a few days and then try to turn the bolt. You should be able to feel quite easily if the bolt is starting to turn... but stop before applying too much muscle so as to break the bolt or spin the nut.
If your car has squeaks I don't think it's there! There are lots of more likely places... please describe what you're hearing and when.
Regards,
Alan
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Old Apr 8, 2010 | 07:17 PM
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Originally Posted by Alan 71
Hi P,
It all depends on how rusty the bolt and nut are.
You can quickly see it's condition by looking through the access opening. If it's not too bad you can bathe the bolt head and shaft in some kind of rust penetrative for a few days and then try to turn the bolt. You should be able to feel quite easily if the bolt is starting to turn... but stop before applying too much muscle so as to break the bolt or spin the nut.
If your car has squeaks I don't think it's there! There are lots of more likely places... please describe what you're hearing and when.
Regards,
Alan

Well, I've only driven the car for 5 hours, its in storage right now, but what I remember is not so much squeaks as rattles that are most noticeable on rough roads or going over bumps. The car is pretty quiet on a smooth highway. The rattles seem to be coming primarily from somewhere in the back. It really sounds like a bucket of bolts.
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Old Apr 8, 2010 | 08:15 PM
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I had the same body mounts rusted on. I lifted the body to change them and it turned into this.





And this is where i am at right now



Good luck
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Old Apr 8, 2010 | 09:40 PM
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Hi, I did a body mount replacement last year. On the forum there are photo's and great instructions on partial lifting of the body. You can lift the paas. side about 3+ inches. Drivers side about 3 inches.l As for the #3 mount. access I cut the panel from the top seam just above the access door to the bottom. Easy to epoxy back on. This way you have full vision into the mount. Check for major rust That one can get very rusted.

Mybad 79 was the member that posted the instruction and photo's.

Pepe Griffo
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Old Apr 9, 2010 | 09:21 AM
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Originally Posted by CHRISP73
...Does anyone who has done a body off restoration have any pointers for me?...
A. Don't pull the body if you don't have to.

B. Keep/mark the shim stacks at each mount. You'll want that information at body drop.

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