I just got my 65 chevelle on the road yesterday after a 3 year restoration. The first problem I had was that it was making a loud popping sound that turned out to be coming from the springs. It turned out the coil spring was not seated in its groove. After fixing this Most of the poping sound went away. Now what happens is when I go over a speed bump or push up n down on the top of the passenger side fender I can make a sound that sounds like sheetmetal popping. I have no clue where the sound is coming from. I have tightened and checked every bolt on that side of the car. The inner fender appears to be away from the frame so I dont think it is slapping there. Anyone have any ideas? It is driving me nuts.

Thanks,
Tim

tim g
my 67 did that n it turned out to be the pass
side anti-sway bar mount,i took it apart and it sounds dumb, but i greesed the bolts,bolt holes,and the mount where it contacts the frame.the sound went away!this might be it.
ofcourse it could be 20 other things. hope ya find it.
67rat member #199

[This message has been edited by 67RAT (edited 06-24-99).]

Tim,
Also:
- Check the upper end of the stabilizer link bolt. It can contact the upper control arm.
- Also check tie rod adjuster clamps. Clamps should point down with the bolt head to the rear.

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Fred Aldrich
Web Site: www.GeoCities.com/~69_chevelle (http://www.GeoCities.com/~69_chevelle)



[This message has been edited by Fred Aldrich (edited 06-24-99).]

My car made a wierd sound in the frontend after rebuilding it. Forgot to grease the new ball joints.

Your sway bar can make that noise. either too tight or not quite in the right place.

Could be a loose bolt in the upper control arm. Its worth a look.
kevin d

Check the front crossmember (rad support) to frame mounting on the right side. Looks like this area could have been weakened over the years from battery leakage. On my 64 the mount had broken away from the crossmember, resulting in the crossmember riding on the frame. This resulted in a very similar noise when I would go over small bumps, especially with the right wheel only. Cut out the broken metal and replaced it with new and welded the mount back on, noise dissapeared.

This is after going through the items that 67Rat and Fred refered to, then replacing the springs and all the rest of the parts on the front end including the shocks. Poor problem diagnosis but a nice tight front end now.

well, I worked on it a little. I tightened the control arms and the noise stayed. I took the sway bar bracket off on the passenger side, and the noise still stayed. I did have the tie rod adjuster clamps pointing up. Fixed that and the noise still stays. Havent checked the crossmember riding on the frame yet. Will try that tommorow. Any other suggestions? I appreciate the help.
P.S. Can a sway bar be too big. I got the 1 1/4" bar for my 65. Just thinking I may have over done it.

thx
Tim

Tim, by any chance did you put in new upper control arm bushings? If not, check them. On my 67 there was just enough wear so that it made a banging noise. It sounded like something hitting the fender.

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Scott

Tim
Just another idea, before I redid my front end there was enough wear on the lower control arm bushings, combined with the sagging springs, that the control arm would move backwards and allow the spring to touch the frame. You could see the rub marks on the spring. But this was not a "sheetmetal" type of sound. That sound on mine was the rad cradle as mentioned earlier.

Good luck, these strange noises sure are fun tracking down.

JimC

Tim
Just another idea, before I redid my front end there was enough wear on the lower control arm bushings, combined with the sagging springs, that the control arm would move backwards and allow the spring to touch the frame. You could see the rub marks on the spring. But this was not a "sheetmetal" type of sound. That sound on mine was the rad cradle as mentioned earlier.

The sway bar should not be a problem, that is what I am running on my 64 with stock length end links.

Sorry for the duplicate post, my system here at work gave a little hic-up.

Good luck, these strange noises sure are fun tracking down.

JimC

[This message has been edited by JimC (edited 06-25-99).]