Well, I've started diggin' in and thought I would tell you guys how it was goin'. I had a thread last week that you might check out....asking you grizzled veterans of the front end, for advice.

Here are little conversations I had with myself as I delved into the project:

1. "Wow. It's pretty greasy and gritty under here. How did I let it get this bad?" redface.gif

2. "Hey! That came off pretty easy. This won't be so bad." :cool:

3. "Hmmm. Now THAT's on there pretty tight." graemlins/angry.gif

4. "What the hell....why didn't I shoot all of this stuff with penetrant every night for a week before starting?" (I did give a few things 1 courtesy squirt) :mad:

5. "Crap. This is going to take forever. How did I fool myself into thinking I could be driving it by Friday night?"

6. "This is the dirtiest, greasiest job I've ever done on my car. I hate it." (this coming from a guy that LIVES to get dirty working on cars) graemlins/sad.gif

7. "Thank goodness I'm replacing EVERYTHING and that I went with polygraphite, cuz I'll be darned if I do it again."

8. "Geez, I can't believe I thought I could do this in my driveway by myself. Thank heavens for fellow TC'er jmhardin....and his shop." graemlins/waving.gif

9. "Ok, it's Friday and I've only got 1 side tore down. I'm like 25% into this."

10. "How can my brother do this for a freakin' livin'?"


AND so on. It's been pretty labor intensive. I had to drop my passenger-side header to get the rear lower A-arm bolt out. Never saw that one coming. The driver's side lower shock mount holes were stripped out and had a nut and bolt holding it on (which I hear is actually pretty common). The passenger side upper A-arm had the rear bolt completely missing (that screws into the upper cross shaft). :confused:

One bright spot is that despite me not being able to afford the manual disc swap...my passenger side drum brakes look mint. Hopefully the driver's side will be good as well.

I've gotten the lower A-arm and coil spring sandblasted and painted. Got the bushings and lower ball joint pressed out and the new stuff is ready to go in. Still need to grind the rivets off of the upper ball joint and then get the upper A-arm cleaned, sandblasted, painted and prepped tho.

This is going to take forever. :(

My P-S-T Polygraphite kit arrived on Thursday. I will be doing the same thing in about a month. I am not looking forward to it, but then again, I am because I do really enjoy learning.

cmt454, I agree. I asked jmhardin to help me when I needed it, but otherwise let me learn as much as I could on my own. I hope I never have to do it again, but if I do, I'll have this experience to fall back on.

It's weird, cuz I've struggled with stuff for an hour with no progress. Then, BAM, I get more done in 15 minutes that I've gotten all day. Real spurty like that.

Maybe I'll finally get done about the time you get started. smile.gif Let's hear about your project. smile.gif

I am redoing my entire suspension. New Moog stock springs, KYB shocks, New rear upper arms, SSM lift bars, total front end rebuild. The rear end is out and getting new axles, gears, c-clip eliminator kit etc. I just got done with a new trans install with a new torque converter as well. I am trying to maximize what I have power wise for better et's and more importantly, the 60 foot times. I am hoping to get the 60's in the low 1.7x's or maybe high 1.6x's. The track by me opened yesterday, was a great day for it, but I am not ready. :(

Sounds like when I redid my front end. It was the hardest job I've had to do on the car and I've since redone the whole hassis, motor, and drivetrain.

Front end took me 3 months smile.gif

Tim.

Sounds like you're making progress graemlins/thumbsup.gif Just remember to work SAFELY!! Lots of "stored energy" in suspension parts.

It's cool you're tackling this yourself. There's a post over in "bench" about "Why people are so cheap about cars....". There's nothing like a project of this type to give a "new guy" some appreciation of the work and aggrivation involved in being a mechanic. ;)

Your local parts store ("HELP" rack) should have new shock clips if your new ones don't have 'em in the hardware kits. graemlins/beers.gif

I didn't even know "shock clips" existed. I always just welded nuts to my lower arms to make it easy.

I had replaced many individual suspension components over the years, but my first complete rebuild was on the El Camino.

When I decided to tackle my front-end, the first thing I did was buy a shop press. It would have taken forever without it. As it stood, it took me about a day and a half (with lots of coffee breaks).

You think that's fun? Wait for your first rear-gear change/posi installation. :cool: I've gotten to where I can do it in half a day under the car, but the first time took me about three days on a home-made stand (was replacing rear suspension anyway). Talk about "the old in-out, in-out, in-out". :D

"HELP" came out with them a while ago. They're really just oversize Tinnerman clips with a machine threaded lug welded to them :cool:

Justin,

I'm in the same boat with you! Never did a front end rebuild before and got mine presently all tore apart with new bushings, ball joints, tie rod ends, hotchkis springs etc... ready to go back in. A-arms, sway bar, dust shields, spindles, caliper brackets etc... are being powder coated this week.

Biggest mountain I had to tackle so far was the bolt that holds the rear bushing of the lower control arm on the drivers side was rusted fast to the sleeve in the bushing. Really couldn't get a good swing at it with the BFH so ended up cutting the bolt off on each side of the bushing with a sawzall.

One thing seems to lead to another now because my flex hoses for the disc brakes are in bad shape so I decided to replace them as well. Figured while I've got it apart I'm getting new calipers that my wife picked up for me last night at Advanced Auto(gotta love her). And now since my engine is currently out at the machinist, I figured I should probably replace the front brake lines since it is all easily accessible. Probably should buy new rotors while I'm at it! It will never end but I've gotta say I'm really enjoying this new hobby. Does get expensive but to me it's really worth it. I'm learning a lot and the guys here(grizzled veterans) are awesome!

Good luck Justin!

Originally posted by 70_FathomBlueMalibu:
1. "Wow. It's pretty greasy and gritty under here. How did I let it get this bad?" redface.gif

2. "Hey! That came off pretty easy. This won't be so bad." :cool:

3. "Hmmm. Now THAT's on there pretty tight." graemlins/angry.gif

4. "What the hell....why didn't I shoot all of this stuff with penetrant every night for a week before starting?" (I did give a few things 1 courtesy squirt) :mad:

5. "Crap. This is going to take forever. How did I fool myself into thinking I could be driving it by Friday night?"

6. "This is the dirtiest, greasiest job I've ever done on my car. I hate it." (this coming from a guy that LIVES to get dirty working on cars) graemlins/sad.gif

7. "Thank goodness I'm replacing EVERYTHING and that I went with polygraphite, cuz I'll be darned if I do it again."

8. "Geez, I can't believe I thought I could do this in my driveway by myself. Thank heavens for fellow TC'er jmhardin....and his shop." graemlins/waving.gif

9. "Ok, it's Friday and I've only got 1 side tore down. I'm like 25% into this."

10. "How can my brother do this for a freakin' livin'?" :D This could have been the script for when I did the same job. Good thing I did mine on a 3 day weekend. I needed the whole thing. Keep diggin' and remember, the second side is easier graemlins/thumbsup.gif !

Jeff

Thanks for all the replies guys. I have a couple of regrets, such as having to go back with the old 34 yr. old stock springs and not doing the manual disc upgrade. Just don't have the cash. :(

The springs seem to be in good shape, as do the drums, so I don't feel real bad about it.

John D., I'm not really a new guy, as I've been piddling in this hobby for the last 12+ years or so, but oh boy......the last 6 years have been an education. I have a ton of respect for the guys that do this for a living. graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Jeff, thanks for the vote of confidence. I sincerely hope the other side is easier. That's what I keep telling myself. I guess I should shoot an email to you, eh....it's been a while. redface.gif

Thanks to all and I'll keep you guys updated as I go along. graemlins/beers.gif

I can't tell you how much I enjoy reading this thread...Not your pain Justin...just that there are so many of us who have been or are going through the same thing... I just got my tie rods, intermediate rod, rebuilt steering gear and new rag joint on today. The PST kit is fully on as are the new cross drilled and slotted rotor Wilwood big brake kit. The springs are in, the shocks are in....I'm really close to putting the motor and transmission back in, putting the wheels on and setting up my SSM bars.. It has been an experience and surely has taken longer than I expected. It is funny that as the project goes along you forget the early parts as so cleaverly stated by Justin in his first post in this thread....Thanks for reminding me Justin!!! I don't want to do this again in the near future but I just got my '70 Cuda back from the engine shop and the steering sure feels loose...Oh well, maybe I don't learn from my mistakes/experiences and will be doing that suspension soon. What a hobby!!! Skip

Just a couple of thoughts if it's not too late. After you grind or drill the rivot heads off, punch the remaining rivot out of the hole. Don't try and pry the ball joint off the upper arm. Great way to break a large screwdriver.
Understand dollars are tight but if you could find new springs, now's the time. It's a lot easier to replace spindles later than to replace springs. You won't need to drop the lower arm down all the way and compress the spring again to install disc spindles at a later date.

Just finished mine a few weeks ago. Replacing the front end is no fun, but I can tell you the other side should go much faster.

On those upper ball joints. Smack the rivet with a hammer to flatten it out, use a center punch to make a little starter hole, use 1/8 inch bit first to open it up then finish with a 1/4 inch bit. Then punch rivet out. Took me 2 1/2 hours to get the first one out, 30 minutes to get the second one out. You learn as you go along.

I did mine in stages because I wanted to see what made the most difference. Did center link, tie rods, idler arm, end links, shocks, first. Then upper ball joints. Then lower ball joints, upper/lower bushings and springs.

Did not really work well until I had it aligned. When you are done it will ride like new. Good luck and keep your eye on those springs.

On those upper ball joint rivits, I usually cut a slot in them with a small (2") cutoff wheel on an angle die grinder. Then I take an air chisel to what's left of the head. It takes about 2-3 minutes per joint. ;)

When you go to install the coil spring, run a chain through the whole setup. This includes the frame, spring, and lower control arm. Safety first. I had one get loose once, almost bit me good in the face. :eek: graemlins/clonk.gif It doesn't have to be a big chain, but it should have welded links. Your old smallblock springs won't have near the energy of a new big block spring, but it'll still hurt if it gets you.

Apologies - "new guy" to front end rebuilds ;)

The trick I've had success with dealing with the rivets is:
Nail it good with a center punch.
Use a SHARP 1/2" bit.
Usually about half way through drilling the rivet head the bit will grab and twist the head off the rivet, or it'll cut through and make a washer out of the rivet head.
Smack the stub out with a drift punch.

if it makes ya'll feel any better, tonight i just punched about 200 steel rivets out of a
C-130 (i am an aircraft structural mechanic in the airforce) and most likely will have to replace them all tomorrow night if it isn't done by then!

Originally posted by 70_FathomBlueMalibu:

1. "Wow. It's pretty greasy and gritty under here. How did I let it get this bad?" redface.gif

By driving and enjoying..

2. "Hey! That came off pretty easy. This won't be so bad."

<snicker snicker>

3. "Hmmm. Now THAT's on there pretty tight."

Won't be the last one

4. "What the hell....why didn't I shoot all of this stuff with penetrant every night for a week before starting?" (I did give a few things 1 courtesy squirt)

Remember that for next time :D

5. "Crap. This is going to take forever. How did I fool myself into thinking I could be driving it by Friday night?"

Because you are a guy who LIVES to work on cars

6. "This is the dirtiest, greasiest job I've ever done on my car. I hate it." (this coming from a guy that LIVES to get dirty working on cars)

See?

7. "Thank goodness I'm replacing EVERYTHING and that I went with polygraphite, cuz I'll be darned if I do it again."

Wise man once say, "Do it right first time, never have further worries"

8. "Geez, I can't believe I thought I could do this in my driveway by myself. Thank heavens for fellow TC'er jmhardin....and his shop." graemlins/waving.gif

Neat to have pals smile.gif

9. "Ok, it's Friday and I've only got 1 side tore down. I'm like 25% into this."

Too late to stop now...

10. "How can my brother do this for a freakin' livin'?"

He already has all the calluses you are getting.


This is going to take forever.

Yeah, but MAN you will feel good when it is done!
graemlins/thumbsup.gif

And by the way, you haven't lived until this one goes through your head during a front end rebuild: "Yuck, this grease is nasty, and it smells weird too. Wait, what's this? Hair, great. someone ran over Rover... No, this hair is too long to be dog hair... what did this thing drive through? A CROWD? EEEEEWWWWW! it's BLONDE!!!" followed by repeated shuddering and funny looks from the customer who stopped by to see how his car is doing. :D Yuck!

Keep on plugging, the dirty work is the fun part.

K

Thanks for all the replies guys!

I took the upper A-arm to work today. I was able to take a cut-off wheel to the rivet heads. Later, a buddy knocked the rivets the rest of the way out while I was busy working and he wasn't. :rolleyes: Then I had one of the machinists press out the bushings and the spindle from the ball joint.

It's great to use company time for personal use. tongue.gif Only down side was that when I went to use the sandblaster....it was broke. :( graemlins/angry.gif I hope it's fixed by tomorrow.

Still pluggin away! graemlins/waving.gif