Started wrenching on the rear tonight. whats the best way to remove these 44 year old bolts??? I am thinking about cutting them off those top ones are a mother i cant get any leverage. what do you guys think
???:thumbsup:

soak them for a day with a good penetrating oil, and just unbolt them. jim

I got some off tonight and i did soak them pretty good maybe later i will spray them again. Do the rear springs go bad or wear out are they reusable??

I got some off tonight and i did soak them pretty good maybe later i will spray them again. Do the rear springs go bad or wear out are they reusable?? You mean the rear coil springs? Yes ofcourse they go bad after awhile. If the car is sagging in the rear and the ride height is too low, then that's a sign they need replacing. they're not that expensive anyway.

I got six of the eight rear arm bolts out of my 66 without breaking them by soaking them with pb blaster a day or two before trying to remove them. I think I spent four nights/afternoons to get all out. I used an impact on all but the front lower. I did make sure to use six point sockets. Two bolts broke in the process.

The upper ones are easier to reach with the springs out.

If you are removing the axle, you can just remove the front bolts and do the rears out of the car with better access. For whatever reason, I have changed all the rear bushings, the springs, the shocks, brake lines and axle seals with out removing the rear from the car.

Got the rear out last night. soaking them worked. but man that concrete floor is cold. Is it worth it to replace the control arms??? should i replace the bushings if so how do i remove them and put the new ones in i dont have a press????

Got the rear out last night. soaking them worked. but man that concrete floor is cold. Is it worth it to replace the control arms??? should i replace the bushings if so how do i remove them and put the new ones in i dont have a press???? Some auto parts stores have shops in the back where they do things like turning brake rotors and such. These places usually have a press, and can and will perform services like pressing old bearings off of pinion gears, and pressing bushings out of control arms for a small fee. You would need to bring them te new ones to be pressed in also.

i am thinking about reusing the stock control arms i will just sand them down and por15 them. i will have new bushings put in them

Is swapping out rear-ends as easy as unbolting the axle from the trailing arms and disconnecting the drive shaft from the differential? I just want to make sure I'm not under thinking this.

pretty much. this is my first time. disconnect the driveshaft,the shocks and the brake lines. then unbolt the control arms those were a mother but if you have any experiance with wrenches i am sure you can do it. like the guys told me soak them with penatrating oil that really worked. i put a jack in the middle and jack stands under the axles and shimmied it to the floor. i did it the first night for maybe 2 hours and the second night for 2 or 3 hours by myself. if you have any questions just post them they will get answered

i still have to have the rear built so i am not sure if putting it back in is as easy as taking it out. I think i am going to buy new control arms now because the cost as much as the new bushings and new tubular control arms come with bushings. good luck

Thanks for the info :thumbsup:

I just jack the car up and put jack stands under the frame just in front of the back wheels. I use my big floor jack under the centre section of the rear axle to take the load. Once the bolts are out, brake line, driveshaft, and brake cables are disconnected you can just gently lower the axle to the ground. Just reverse the procedure to install.

i still have to have the rear built so i am not sure if putting it back in is as easy as taking it out. I think i am going to buy new control arms now because the cost as much as the new bushings and new tubular control arms come with bushings. good luck


UMI sells some pretty stout tubular arms for not too much coin.

UMI sells some pretty stout tubular arms for not too much coin.


I second Daves comment with UMI, they shipped them to me very quick, and were packaged very well not to get damaged. Could even still smell the fresh paint when I opened the box.

Matt