The relay rod stud is a standard wear part in the Corvette front end, but is only used on manual steering.  It is adjustable to compensate for some wear, and is available in repro, as is the seal and clamp.

Larry

Mine is manual steering...I'll take it apart and see how it looks, how do you adjust it, tighten the cap on the end?

Exactly.  Just grease it with wheel bearing grease or something like it, then tighten the big screw in the end until it is tight, and back it off until you can get the cotter pin in.  There is a spring inside that should be partly compressed when you are done.  Be sure the ball isn't too badly worn when you are cleaning.

Larry

I took the tie rods off last night...inspected my relay rod stud and it looked ok...greased and put back together. Probably get the Idler arm off tonight and start on ball joints...any tips on ball joint removal?

when I did mine I replaced everything with poly, alot of the stuff you get from the aftermarket is made overseas, junk in my opinion, some say poly squicks, not if you use poly greese at time of assembly, upper ball joints last forever, its the lowers that usually wear out, with the poly the ride is alittle stiffer, handling is alot more crisp, the only things I didn't replace was the  rear end snubber, and the rear end cross member mounting bushings, and the control arm bushing, because they are a pain to get out and I got lazy,  but I did add the diff CM reinforcing kit and the "smart strut'' kit  from VBP, that really made a differance in handling. I recomend you get their  catalog alot of good tips and its free. 

Well I finally got all my parts and got the passenger side of the front end back together last night. I plan on tackling the driver side tonight. I wound up getting a kit for my relay rod stud...why not since I've come this far and everything else is new except the front springs. I took my control arms down to a friends shop and had him press out my bushings and press in the new ones. All of my ball joints were original I think because they all had rivets. My biggest hassle last night was getting the front spring back in. A huge pain doing this alone and trying to get it in just right. I can't wait to get finished and have it aligned to see how it drives. I enjoy doing this stuff myself, but this front end rebuild is a pretty big job. I'm not sure if I had to do this again I might have it done at a shop.

Definitely a big job but, one that will be well worth it in the long run. The only thing I didn't do myself was the upper and lower control arm bushings. Had that done at a shop. I also put new 550 springs on the front, alone. Talk about a fun time... Anyway, after alignment was done which took the shop 3.5 hours and they only charged me $78.00, the car drives like the brand new one I drove in mid 1976. I love my c-3.... You will love it tooo.

Well got it all done this morning except putting the wheels back on and puttin it on the ground. Have to torque the bushings and check toe in. Watching OSU beat Texas A&M at the moment. I'll get back to work after this game. I'll also have to adjust my ride height in the back and have it aligned this week.  

Sounds great ! Now just get er down on the ground and rolling into the alignment shop. Then let the cruising begin...

Got it on the ground. I torqued my bushings, torqued rear spring bolts and hooked up my rear sway bar and adjusted my rear ride height a little bit. Hopefully get it to the shop the next day or so. I just pulled it out of the garage and then backed it back in so my tires would get straight, but front end feels real good so far. Set my toe in to 1/8th in. Hopefully everything will be OK on the trip to the shop. Only about 8 miles...I'll take it easy on the way.

I believe you said everything is new except the front springs so the rear is new also?

New rear spring, bolts and spring bolt rubbers. Shocks are a few months old. I have not replaced rear strut rods or bushings. I'm sort of anal about stuff like this. My wife say's I worry to much.

I forgot to mention that the ride height of the frame to the ground is OK. It's the same, it's just the body to the ground that's not right.

Lon, I've tryed to post the photos but no luck, Norsky sent instruction, still couldn't. oh well, when you measure any thing make sure you on level ground, the body itself could be off or have a sag if not on level ground, at times I can see the front clip flex up and down depending on road conditions,I believe the body mounts on our cars are solid, not rubber, check out the "smart struts from VBP, they reduce camber change at the rear wheels due to wheel travel, they work and not too expensive. anips2009-10-17 18:37:00