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Do you realize both strut rods in the back are bent?
Yes, but as I said I am the only owner and the car has never been
aligned and as far as I know came from St Louis that way. I always
thought that they were just contoured with the spring. I just marked
and replaced the struts back where they were originally when I replaced
the rear end.
Donnie, for what it costs to replace the strut rods, I'd definitely do it. Just take a good look at the replacement parts. I bought a pair made by Moog (chosen due to having a good rep for quality) several years ago. They come natural. When I painted them black it was obvious that one was bowed. I returned it no hassle for a straight one, but take a close look before you put them on the car. Keep up the great work.
Want to thank everyone about the heads-up on the strut rods. I will definitely replace them and new shocks when I am through with the reconstruction.
I have another question, if anyone has come across this before.
I replaced the gas tank, sending unit and all straps and anti-squeak
pads. In the AIM, the torque on the cross member bolts in front of the
tank is listed at 20-30 lbs, but on the straps over the tank as 100-140 lbs.
This seems high for just a metal strap. Any comments would be helpful.
They are bent they are supposed to be straight. Typically that happens when someone jacks up the car using the strut rod.
I finally remembered that the first time I had the trans oil changed, when I returned the next time was told to they couldn't do corvettes because they didn't have the right lift. That was probably when the rods were bent.
Have some pictures after I finished the rear end work and half shafts.
Holy **** I wish I had your time money and motivation!! I can't imagine the stress pain sweat and empty wallet you have from this rebuild great job keep the pics coming
I thought I would pass this idea along to others in case it might help them.
When I needed to remove the strut rods, the shock mount was stuck as always the case. I soaked the mount with PB blaster several times and left over night. Then the next day, use the tie-rod pickle fork ( tie-rod one and not the ball-joint one) to knock the mount out. The tie-rod separator works better because it fits the shock mount tighter and has a longer handle to hammer on. I had to hammer pretty hard with a 4# hammer, but it finally broke loose and eased out. Before installing again, I used a power wire brush and cleaned all rust off and used anti-sieze before reinstalling. Hope this might help someone if they are having trouble.
Am converting to o-rings on the brake calipers now.
Thought this might be interesting. This is the original spare tire that came on the car built in December of 1972.
It has never been on the ground, but in the spare tire compartment all these years.
Hi I still cant beleive how bad chevrolet built these cars in the first place.
I live in south australia in Australia which is regarded as the driest state in the driest continent in the world and it still rusts with no paint on it.
I am in the middle of doing a rebuild on mine ,not as bad as yours is ,but no paint on drive shafts and half shafts etc is amazing.
Has Chevrolet decided to build there corvettes any better now,no wonder we build cars here and export them to USA with Chev badges on at least built properly .
Any way your project looks great doing good job look forward to following your project as you are about as doing similar to me .
Ian
Would it be a guess that you cleaned it up for its picture then? That looks amazingly clean and detailed for a 40 year old tire.
Yes, I cleaned with soap and water. There was only dust and dirt on the tire.
I did repaint the rim, but that is all. The tire is surprisingly fresh looking as in the picture.
I guess in the carrier with no sun light protected it.
I just replaced it back into the carrier as it was. I have 4 new BF Goodrich tires on the ground.
Hi I still cant beleive how bad chevrolet built these cars in the first place.
I live in south australia in Australia which is regarded as the driest state in the driest continent in the world and it still rusts with no paint on it.
I am in the middle of doing a rebuild on mine ,not as bad as yours is ,but no paint on drive shafts and half shafts etc is amazing.
Has Chevrolet decided to build there corvettes any better now,no wonder we build cars here and export them to USA with Chev badges on at least built properly .
Any way your project looks great doing good job look forward to following your project as you are about as doing similar to me .
Ian
Thanks for the compliment. Where I live, we have to contend with very high humidity which is less than having to contend with salt on the roads as they do up north.
I am working on the brakes and transmission now. Will post more pictures later.
My car has been in a garage for 25 years but the suspension parts in the rear are still rusted and have been a bear to get apart. Stupid trailing arm bolts are stuck
Driving my original camaro in the 70's on salted winter roads nearly destroyed that car i n three years.
[QUOTE=DonnieP73;1583734074]Want to thank everyone about the heads-up on the strut rods. I will definitely replace them and new shocks when I am through with the reconstruction.
I have another question, if anyone has come across this before.
I replaced the gas tank, sending unit and all straps and anti-squeak
pads. In the AIM, the torque on the cross member bolts in front of the
tank is listed at 20-30 lbs, but on the straps over the tank as 100-140 lbs.
This seems high for just a metal strap. Any comments would be helpful.
Not sure about the 73 AIM but my 78 AIM was in Newton Meters in stead of Ft. Lbs.
Want to thank everyone about the heads-up on the strut rods. I will definitely replace them and new shocks when I am through with the reconstruction.
I have another question, if anyone has come across this before.
I replaced the gas tank, sending unit and all straps and anti-squeak
pads. In the AIM, the torque on the cross member bolts in front of the
tank is listed at 20-30 lbs, but on the straps over the tank as 100-140 lbs.
This seems high for just a metal strap. Any comments would be helpful.
Here is the new tank.
What size are the nuts on the straps? Heck a big block head bolt is 105 ft-lbs. Could it be inch-lbs? Never mind, it is inch-lbs, just found it in my 69 AIM. Section 8, page B1. Actually, it's written as "100-140 LBS IN".
Aside from the great work you have done, I think the coolest thing is the fact that you are the original owner and kept it around all through the years. Great project to keep you busy in retirement.
I am working on a `68 and my strut rods are bent too. I also thought they were purposely bent (even though not the same bend) to facilitate alignment(beyond what the eccentric washer thingy can compensate). I guess add that to the `stuff to purchase list`.
What size are the nuts on the straps? Heck a big block head bolt is 105 ft-lbs. Could it be inch-lbs? Never mind, it is inch-lbs, just found it in my 69 AIM. Section 8, page B1. Actually, it's written as "100-140 LBS IN".
I forgot to let anyone know on the section, but on the tech section, Alan had informed me that the torque was in inches and not lbs. I was just over looking the note in my AIM.
Alan also gave me the conversion.
Multiply inch pounds by .0833 to convert to foot pounds.
This forum has been a great help to me and everyone has been a great support.
Thanks to all.
04-23-2013, 12:44 PM
