I bought these rods off of someone here on the forum. They are in perfect shape just dusty. They came to me assmebled just like in the picture. Looking at the picture closely you can see that each rod is labeled left and right. Should both lefts be at the top or both rights or is ok like it is. The reason I ask is that I know some people have had problems with them loosening up and the adjustments changing and wonder if this could be the reason. I just wanted to know before I fly out into the garage and put these on.

 

Looks OK to me. Good luck knocking out your shock mounts!!!

 

Use heat -- makes the job fast & fun too.

 

When assembled correctly to the bracket, the strut end labeled right faces the passenger side of the car and left faces the driver side. For example, on the driver side strut, right is on differential end and on the passenger strut, right is on trailing arm end.

If I my eyesight isn't failing me, it appears the struts are correct in the photo.

 

I don't believe it will really matter. All changing the mount direction will do is change the direction you need to turn the tubing to increase/decrease the camber. If you have them in thew same orientation, then both struts will turn the same way to increase or decrease camber.

Here is my lessons learned.

1) Measure distance from the a point on the trailing arm to a point on the differential. I used the shock mount arm and a bolt on the diff. Record this number for each side.
2) Remove old rods, install new.
3) Use camber nuts to set rods parallel to halfshafts. Lock camber nuts.
4) Turn strut rods to adjust camber. Use your old measurement as a baseline.
5) This will get you close enough to drive to an alignment shop. I had my guy ensure that the rods were parallel with the halfshafts then he set the camber. Told him about the loosening nut problem and put enough torque on them to ensure that they will never loosen.

 

Thank you, I couldn't figure out why they have camber bolts that adjust up and down.

 

I'll give someone a good deal on the one's I just took off my 69. I put the double nuts on each end as a lock nut, but then I couldn't get enough adjustment out of them to get the "0" camber I was after. They came loose the first time I drove the car and I didn't notice it until after a 200 mile trip at max negative camber. I went back to stock. There is something to be said for OEM.

Ralph.

 

Mine are installed the way you have them pictured. They have been on the car for 5 years and never had one loosen. Just tighten them real tight. They will be fine. Much stronger than the stock ones also.

 

Lots of good tips here since mine came with no instructions. Added this one to my list of saved topics.

 

Biggest (and only?) prob with these is coming loose if not very tight after adjustment. You'll notice a nice improvement.

 

The left and right are indications of which hand threads are at that location. The label isn't important for orientation to the car, just which direction the threads go for adjustment.

Mine installed so that the "nuts" on those adjusters in the center bracket were facing the rear of the vehicle (don't know if that's right, but it keeps debris from mucking them up, and that was how the old ones were oriented).

BTW, I just installed these on my '77 and the shock mounts were the hardest to get apart.

Brian.

 

I am going to have to wait for installation of these. I slid under the car this morning and found that my diff has been leaking. So no real point in changing them now. I guess I will get them when I pull the diff for new seals. Looks like the front end of the diff is leaking, while I am at it, might as well get the sides also.

 

A similar post appeared on the C1 and C2 forum. A guy from VB&P posted that the orientation of the rods is important to keep the rods from loosening. They weren't sure why this was the case, but by trial and error, they found certain orientations would loosen and others would not.

Unfortunately, I cannot find the post using the search. A call to VB&P should give you the answer.

 

I recranked on mine after the alignment, then I painted a thin red line along the nuts and shafts for a quick visual checks, if the lines line up everthings cool, about 50 miles later I checked and one line (driver outbd) was misaligned and the nut was loose, I retightened the nuts and drilled a few small holes in the assembly and safty wired everything, haven't come loose sence.

 

Just a thought but with these would it be worth it to drill a hole and insert a spring pin or a bolt. Then they can't rotate.
Or weld on the nut washer.

 

Those are SmartStruts by VBP for sure. The stickers on them look like they came from Van Steel (good people). The orientation of the rods IS important to keep them from loosening. The bracket itself should have a small front and rear sticker and with the rods pre-assembled where they belong, thread position is not an issue.

If the sticker is not there, do just as gearheadz said, be sure the right hand ends are towards the passenger side of the car (driver’s side near rear end and passenger side T-arm). If not, it is possible that the constant up-down movement (while very minor) could loosen the nuts.

Here are two links to the installation instructions (which do not yet address this but I will see to it soon):

Click Here for # 52000 Instructions in HTML format.


Click Here for # 52000 Instructions in Adobe PDF format

FYI - The relocated mounting points on the bracket are the ticket to the SmartStruts. The factory mount did not allow for the rods to be parallel to the half shafts. As a result, it was physically impossible for the stock setup to maintain alignment through the wheels range of travel. The very small difference in rod mounting location makes a very big difference in handling. The SmartStruts help keep the rear wheels perpendicular to the road as they travel up and down - all the time.

Sincerely,
Alan G.
Vette Brakes & Products, Inc.
http://www.VBandP.com

 

Thanks for posting Alan. I printed the instructions off and will use them when the time comes. I was thinking these must be shared by VBP and Van Steel. They look exactly the same just a difference in stickers.

 

You're welcome. I'll make sure that Van Steel gets some revised instructions to ship with his orders...

Alan G.
Vette Brakes & Products, Inc.
http://www.VBandP.com

 

Great info guys! The bad news is it appears that I have my smart struts reversed, so these things are not too smart huh? I did not have a front and back sticker on my bracket. I installed new shock mounts also, so is it possible to remove them without screwing up the threads? So Eddie whatcha doin sunday.

 

No one has mentioned this but the shock mounts have a small Flat on the bottom of the thread. Its easy to miss...so don't think you can pound the shock mounts in and then align them later. They must be installed in the correct orientation. If you do this and take your time...that job is a snap....and well worth it.