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Old Dec 29, 2004 | 02:14 PM
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Had to pop start my vette the other day at work and jerked the car pretty hard when I popped the clutch. When I came in this morning I found 3 of these lying in the parking lot exactly where I popped the clutch. Two are about 3/16" thick, one is about 1/16". I'm guessing some kind of shim but don't know for sure. Took a quick peek under the car and didn't see anything obvious. Any ideas???



Thanks!

Ron
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Old Dec 29, 2004 | 02:20 PM
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Rear trailing arm shims...the later "slotted" design as opposed to the earlier "2 hole" design. If you have this kind of shim, they should be retained by a large...6 inch or so....cotter pin through the frame.

69's didn't originally use this type of shim. Chuck
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Old Dec 29, 2004 | 02:22 PM
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Those are for sure the shims for the rear trailing arm! You will need to get your rear aligned, or at least get the shimming back in so the TA won't move.
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Old Dec 29, 2004 | 02:22 PM
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Chuck wins the prize! You must have a pretty loose rear end at the moment.



If you look closely you can see the head of the shims retaining cotter pin in this old pic.


Last edited by Paul L; Dec 29, 2004 at 02:41 PM.
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Old Dec 29, 2004 | 02:28 PM
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Man I wish mine would have come out that easy. You're half way there on a rear suspension rebuild now. You better keep going.
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Old Dec 29, 2004 | 02:36 PM
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Originally Posted by jdmick
Man I wish mine would have come out that easy. You're half way there on a rear suspension rebuild now. You better keep going.
Yea, get it fixed, I would not drive to much like that
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Old Dec 29, 2004 | 02:41 PM
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Originally Posted by jdmick
Man I wish mine would have come out that easy. You're half way there on a rear suspension rebuild now. :




Maybe pop the clutch a couple of more times and the trailing arm will come out. OR just to do a wicked HOLE SHOT
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Old Jan 4, 2005 | 11:49 PM
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Thanks everyone for the quick responses. I was able to get the shims back in until I can get it aligned properly.

Odd thing is that the frame does not have the hole for the retaining cotter pin. The shims are just kind of resting inside the frame "bracket".

I haven't taken a real close look yet, but during a quick inspection with the wheels still on I couldn't find the hole on either side of the car. Is it common for these holes to be missing on a '69 roadster?

Thanks again!

Ron
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Old Jan 5, 2005 | 03:21 AM
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Corvette didn't use the slotted shims till mid 1970 as I recall. Before that, 63 and up used the "2 hole" shims. Those shims did not need a cotter pin to retain them, as the T Arm bolt went through one of the holes to retain them.

Problem was at alignment time, you had to pull the T Arm bolt to change shims.

My late 69 has the holes in the frame for the cotter pins, but they weren't used. Somewhere along the line, your shims have been changed to the "later" style slotted shims. Chuck
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Old Jan 5, 2005 | 07:31 AM
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Originally Posted by Chuck Gongloff
Corvette didn't use the slotted shims till mid 1970 as I recall. Before that, 63 and up used the "2 hole" shims. Those shims did not need a cotter pin to retain them, as the T Arm bolt went through one of the holes to retain them.

Problem was at alignment time, you had to pull the T Arm bolt to change shims.
I didn't know that they had the 2-hole design - what a dumb idea, shim changes are nearly impossible without major frustration and/or pain..... at least they got smart and changed it....

The shim shown in the picture appears to be stainless, it's from either VBP, Ecklers or one of the other suppliers. If there are shims missing, you better order another shim/bolt/cotter pin kit - it's only $30 and comes as a complete set.

Once the shims are installed properly you should drill a hole for the cotter pin to secure the shims.
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Old Jan 5, 2005 | 08:35 AM
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Originally Posted by Chuck Gongloff
Corvette didn't use the slotted shims till mid 1970 as I recall. Before that, 63 and up used the "2 hole" shims. Those shims did not need a cotter pin to retain them, as the T Arm bolt went through one of the holes to retain them.

Problem was at alignment time, you had to pull the T Arm bolt to change shims.

My late 69 has the holes in the frame for the cotter pins, but they weren't used. Somewhere along the line, your shims have been changed to the "later" style slotted shims. Chuck
Makes sense. Thanks again for the quick reply!
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Old Jan 5, 2005 | 08:59 AM
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Originally Posted by Chuck Gongloff
Problem was at alignment time, you had to pull the T Arm bolt to change shims.
Yeah....and the "cheezy" alignment shops just jammed them in, wrote up the bill...and sent you on your way. Might be why yours fell out!!
Eddie
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