Is it possible to remove the upper A-arm without removing the fan shroud/radiator? Thanks fir any useful tips.

 

A 1981 might be a little different, but I was able to take the mounting studs out and only loosen the fan shroud to get the arms out of my ‘76. The old C-clamp and socket trick works to get the studs out.

 

Yes you can press those studs out of the frame. Thus allowing A arm removal with a minimum of parts removal to the rest of the car. Several on this forum have recommended it over the years.
I personally hate the idea. Everytime you press those studs out and back in, they are likely to be a little less tight in the frame.
I have had my A arms out a couple times. I pull the radiator as well as the alternator, air-con compressor, etc. etc.
I want those studs tight!

 

I understand the sentiment, but once the studs are reinstalled the tension of the control arm cross shaft nut holds the stud in, even if the splines are worn out.

OP are you planning on only rebuilding the control arms or going through the whole front suspension? If it’s the latter it might be more advantageous regardless to remove the radiator and fan shroud to fully service and detail the area.

 

True enough, however, when doing alignment work. One must loosen those nuts to change shims. I certainly don't need my A arm moving around as I try to get my alignment perfect.
And if the splines wear enough. It could become impossible to get the nuts tight!

 

I plan on putting a set of coil overs on the front and lowering the car and might want to go with a set of offset cross shafts to get the alignment back. I don't want to remove the A-arms if I don't have to. This on a 75,pain in the ***.

 

How do your control arm bushings look? If they’re okay you don’t need to remove the control arms to install coilovers. Even with the factory cross shafts you should be able to get ~4 degrees of positive caster without an excessive amount of camber.

 

The A-arm bolts on my '72 all spin in their splines. I can get them tight – just have to use a wrench on the wheel side to hold the bolt head.

 

Well I'm happy I don't need to do that.

 

Would someone please explain the old C-clamp and socket trick in detail?

I’m in the middle of doing this in my big block engine bay. Very little room to work, and the engine block blocked the rear end of the passenger side upper control arm. On the left side, the exhaust manifold interferes. I see only two avenues to resolve this. One is to remove the engine, and that’s not going to happen. The other is to push the upper control arm studs out. That’s what I want to do. I’ve tried to tap them out with a hammer, but there’s so little room it isn’t easy.

Please help!

 

I need to do this some day on my '80. My plan is to remove the 4 core support bolts from inside the wheel wells and tilt the radiator shroud assembly forward, then remove the 4 fan to water pump nuts. There is a little bit more that needs to be depopulated but once that stuff is out of the way, you can lift the shroud out pretty easily. Might need to loosten the A/C pump bracket but the a-arms should come out after that. It's not as hard as people make it out to be.

I agree with 4-Vettes, no stud removal for me.

 

I wanted to follow up on my question above. The thing I couldn’t figure out was how to get the end of the c-clamp over the socket over the end of the studs; the A arm itself covered them and there was no way to get the clamp to work. So for anyone who needs to do this without taking things apart that have nothing to do with the suspension, here is how I did it:

I lifted the A arms and supported them with a long pry bar, which in my case happened to be the perfect length, jammed between the arms and the floor. That opened a large enough gap to get the end of the c-clamp through. I used a deep socket of the same size as the hex end of the A arm studs, attached the cranking end end of the c-clamp over the end of the socket, and the fixed end over the threaded end of the studs (with their nuts screwed on to protect the threads, just in case). Then, in the wheel well, I cranked down on the clamp. It took a little bit of effort, and to make it easier, I used a spanner to add leverage onto the c-clamp crank and save my hands for another day. Three of the studs came out with a bang, not unlike the sound of a tie rod end releasing. One resisted, and a couple of light taps on the c clamp over the threaded end and…bang! It popped out easily. With that done, the A arms slid out with almost no difficulty.

Please keep in mind, my car is an original big block, so there was literally zero room to get the upper A arms out without removing the engine for the right side, or the exhaust on the left. Nevermind the radiator shroud on the “leading edges”. Bottom line, removing the studs, while not as easy as changing a fuse, is an absolute walk in the park when compared to the alternatives, in my case.

I hope this can be helpful to anyone else facing the same task. As a guy used to working on old Porsche cars, where every maintenance item and factory installation is pre-engineered to make removal or maintenance easy, working on the Stingray is an absolute nightmare to me. The technology is nowhere near the Porsche level of complexity, on the contrary, but it’s like the old Chevrolet guys sat in a boardroom drinking bourbon, giggling about ways they could make it impossible for future me to get what should be super-simple things done on my simple (apart from the absurdly labyrinthine vacuum system) 1969 Corvette. For example, installing a new mechanical fuel pump with the engine and front suspension installed…thoughts of giving up increased with every passing hour. My neighbors must have thought I’d lost my mind as I giggled in absolute frustration when I realized that every single point of entry for any tool was blocked by the GM engineers during their boardroom drinking parties, giggling over my future frustrations. Almost every finger an knuckle was battered and bloody.

Having said all that, I love my Stingray! Seems like a big contradiction, but it’s the truth!

Mauro D’Angelo