Well, for New Years, Zac and I spent the day yesterday installing new stock type upper trailing arm bushings in the 12bolt housing of the 70 conv.
There were certainly some "stressful" moments, but we did get it done and I "test drove" Mama's conv to work today. No more clunking.
I've been jacking with old Chevys for about 45yrs now and have saved more "junk" than should be legal. Among the stuff I've saved is old inner and outer bearing races to use for "tools" when pressing things together or apart.
In my stash of old bearing races, I came up with some that were just right to fit over the ends of the bushings. I went to the hardware store, bought a 3ft length of 1/2in x 20 (fine thread) all thread and nuts and made an 8in bolt (locked 2 nuts together on one end to make a bolt head). I passed the "bolt" through the races, adapters from my ball joint set, bushing, more races, screwed on the nut and was able to both pull out and push in the bushings from the lugs on top of the housing.
I had a coupld of spare upper arms in the attic, so I put new bushings in them and had them ready to replace the oriiginal arms after getting the old bushings replaced in the axle housing.
I put jack stands under the frame ahead ot the lower trailing arms, lowered the axle housing all the way and then slightly jacked it up and put a third stand under the housing just aft of the pinion yoke. I just removed one upper arm at a time, replaced the bushing in the housing and re-installed the arm. Thus, I didn't have to struggle trying to get the bolt holes to line up. I've changed upper bushings several times on housings that were out of the car. This was the first time to do it in the car-------------------------------AND I HOPE THE LAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :angry:

I think I had more fun on the day I ran a drill bit through my finger than I did changing the upper bushings in the housing (back in my days of working on B-52s)! Today, I have multiple wounds (even more than I had after coming home from Nam!).

Now it won't wheel hop as bad at the dragstrip in Nashville.:hurray: Jb

Tom,

Hopefully you had time to eat the traditional pork and sauerkraut on New Years Day?! Good job on the in-car bushing replacement.

Happy New Year.

Removing the old bushings is easy...I just hit them in a couple places with a wide blade air chisel, partially collapsing the outer metal bushing. Then, give it a whack with a hammer and it'll fly right out.
Installing them, I use a similar method to what Tom has outlined above...a length of all thread and some cupped spacers I have made up. An air impact gun helps a lot on this step to draw the new bushings into place. ;)

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm, maybe you're able to snake your way up under there to take a BFH and big punch and whack those bushings, but this old body just ain't as agile as it used to be. Plus, I have a bad habit of whacking hands/fingers in those kind of cramped areas (I have the wounds today).
I failed to mention that once I got the bearing races and home made "bolt" positioned in place and finally got the impact gun in place, it did do the job of slowly pulling/pushing the bushings through the lugs on top of the housing.
Bottom line---its done and back on the street.
Besides, since its the wife's car, everything has to be just right. And the only way to make sure of that is for me to road test it------------frequently.:thumbsup:

You know, I was also hoping this would cure (or at least greatly minimize) the wheel hop. :D

I just finished putting upper trailing arm bushings in, and without these articles I would of been lost
Thanks
and boy was it a bear to do..... I drove the car and I still have wheel hop, so I am going to lower the car and check the pinion angle
Michael