E.Murray

I thought I was done with my '68 after 3 years, but may have worn trailing arm bushings (separate thread going to try to be sure) after its first drive last week. I was really (REALLY) hoping to have it done for a show last weekend. Didn't happen thanks to the spooky handling. The next show is in 2 weeks. I will have exactly one and a half days to work on the car before that show. I'm toying with just saying "screw it" and dumping another $1500 into the car to put new trailing arms and strut rods in. If I get complete arms (from either Vansteel or Bairs, most likely), is it a job that can be done start-to-finish in a day and a half? It doesn't look too terrible. Unbolt brake caliper, spring, shocks, strut rods, trailing arm pivots. Put in the new ones. Align rear. Done. Or am I oversimplifying?

Easy Mike

Food for Thought: What is Plan B if you spend $1500 for trailing arms, do not get them installed in the one and a half days allotted, and miss the show?

mobird

I just did trailing arms in my car. Can definitely be done in a day and a half. Really depends on your mechanical ability, available tools, and most importantly HOW RUSTED THE TRAILING ARM BOLT IS!

If it is relatively rust free, it may just tap out nice and easy. If that's the case, you could do this in 2 hours a side in my opinion. If it is rusted in there, you only have a couple options: 1. try LOTS of heat from a torch to see if you can unseize it (tried this, didn't work, and made me nervous using the torch right next to all that fiberglass and the fuel tank! 2. Sawzall the bolt/shims in half carefully (best option) since you will be replacing them with new parts anyway.

If you do have to sawzall the bolts out, trust me, get a REALLY nice sawzall blade. I went with the Diablo blade from Home depot. They are a little pricey (I think it was like $20) but it made the job way more manageable. And make sure it is one of the long sawzall blades, not the little 4" ones.

kansas123

I wonder if you might could get a feel of the condition of the bushings by jacking the rear, removing the tires, and disengaging the strut rods, half shafts and springs. After these are unhooked, try and swing the arms side to side to see how much play there is. Any looseness could be attributed to missing shims, bad TR bolt, and/or bad bushing.

GTR1999

What condition are the arms in? Did you rebuild them 3 years ago? if they are rebuilt and just need bushings you can do that in a day with the correct tool and new rubber bushings, you will need to align the car afterwards.

If the arms are old then you might need to rebuild them, now whether that is something you can do or just buy new arms and install them is up to you and your budget.

If the arms were out in the recent past then the front bolt should come out but if not then you probably have to cut them out.

E.Murray

I'm assuming the worst as far as "time since rebuild." This poor car was a basketcase of insecurity when I bought it. Looked like nobody had shown it any love in decades. Amazingly good "bones" but nothing but Bubba fixes since the '70's. The trailing arms that are in it look pretty cruddy visually (rears where the spring bolts up are all beat to crap). That's why I'm assuming full-bore to all new arms instead of an incremental improvement. But I was out of time and budget a year ago, so it's finally to the point of "whatever it takes to get the silly thing back on the road." My schedule is more than a little nuts right now, so Question One is whether I can get it on the road in the available time (regardless of yet another hit to the bank account). Which is why my original question is time-focused. Assuming I have to cut the old bolts (and yes I have the general experience and tools), can I do it in a a day and a half?
Thanks all for the great replies. I've been doing oddball and fun cars for 20 years and this is easily the best forum I've experienced!

doorgunner

If you have problems you should still be able to remove both arms in 1.5 days. Watch a few youtube videos on the subject...that should help things go better. Buy a pack of quality saw blades/those bolts are hardened.

SB64

E, I went with the Vansteel arms after coming to the same conclusion that my originals were in pretty bad shape. Your also right, the the new units are pricey but worth it. You should be okay with your experience and time frame. I guess we will see how you make out. Oh, dental floss through the long bolt hole when reinstalling made things a lot easier to pull the bolt.

RVZIO

Rescue Rogers

Yes it can be done, line up a helper. The alignment is time consuming and would be quicker with someone on the other side of the car

540 vette

Hopefully there will be no rust in the frame pockets.

derekderek

One trick I read here. A guy cut the outside of bolts. Drilled the inboard side of the bolts. Start small and keep going bigger til you drilled it gone. Needless to say you don't have to go very deep. Might have even cut outer side on outside of pocket. Then drilled inner side far enough that arm came in enough for cut off outer end to fit inside pocket to leave.

E.Murray

I've messed around a little with it (last weekend) and I don't think it will be too terrible. The car has no rust, so the pockets are great. And I was able to back the nuts off without trouble. Though even even with the nuts loose, I couldn't budge any of the shims. Should they be that tight? I think I'm going to go with the Vansteel units and see what we see. Thanks.

kansas123

Yes, they should be tight/snug.

E.Murray

Well, crap. Vansteel doesn't have any rebuilt arms in stock. Neither do Bair's, Zip, or Duntov. I badly wanted to get them put in next week, but the only way to do that would be to buy brand new (at double the cost). Grrrr.

540 vette

How did he get the drill in there. The best way is to get a sawzall and cut the bolts on either side.

kansas123

Mine were rebuilt with my original spindles by VTech and I am very happy with their work.