Front Shock Bushings

bigbrownpilot · Post by **bigbrownpilot** » Wed May 07, 2014 5:22 pm

Sorry to have been off the forums for so long. I'm still doing little projects all the time on our '62. A few weeks ago, I was doing something under the hood when I noticed the upper shaft of the right front shock just wallowing in the upper mount. The rubber bushings were totally shot and I had a "floater" And here I though these cars just handled that bad! I love driving our car, and the shocks themselves were OK. I didn't want to wait for new rubber bushings, so I decided to get a set of those red polyurethane bushings they use in the sway bar end-link kits and see if they would work instead. Of course, the hole is just a bit too small to fit over the upper and lower shock shafts, but that's why God created the Dremel tool! I found a stone the same size ad the opening in one of the rubber bushings and within minutes, I had reamed the polyurethane bushings out to the same diameter as the bad rubber bushings. I also decided that the upper and lower shock mount holes were not providing a good wear surface, so I reamed out four of the washers that came with the sway bar end link kit and put them in between the inner upper and lower bushings and the mount with the concave side facing out so they are self-centering. The outer upper and lower bushings then sit with the slightly raised part facing into the hole in the upper and lower mounts, and when I torqued them down, they compress with the outer surface against the outside of the upper and lower mount, and the raised inner part against the extra washer. Wish I had a picture to show exactly what it looks like, but was trying to finish up before bad weather hit. Anyway, the difference in handling is phenomenal compared to before. Also re-did the sway bar end links in poly. OK, so they are red. My car isn't a concours restoration, and if I ever show it at a local fun show, all I need to do is hit everything with black spray paint once it's parked and nobody's gonna know! They don't squeak, either. Just a nice, tight ride with a lot less body roll, all for about $25.00 for everything!

Dave

SGTCornewell · Post by **SGTCornewell** » Wed May 07, 2014 7:17 pm

You need to post pics and part numbers! I can live with red bushings to have A tight front end.

bigbrownpilot · Post by **bigbrownpilot** » Wed May 07, 2014 8:21 pm

Wish I had taken pics. Just go to Auto Zone and get some sway bar bushings ! Easy and cheap! But you will need to enlarge the holes to make it work.

crm114 · Post by **crm114** » Sat May 31, 2014 9:38 am

Doesnt Energy Suspension offer actual shock bushings? You probably have to order them:

http://www.energysuspension.com/univers ... hings.html

Most local parts places that carry Energy should be able to get these.

What OD where your original bushings? What OD where the sway bar bushings you got?