The '72 is on a hoist. My mechanic buddy and I saw that there are cracks in the trailing arm bushings. They are intact, but cracked. It would be a PITA to change them. Question: is this a bullet I need to swallow? The control arm bushings and ball joints are being replaced. The sway arm bushings are being replaced too.

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Yep, PITA.  You'll have to pull the half shafts, brake calipers, ebrake hardware, strut rods, shocks, and probably five other things that I'm forgetting.  Then the trailing arms can come out.  You'll have to have alignment redone. 

As in most jobs Corvette, getting to the part is 90% of the battle.  The bushings aren't that hard to change.

Only you can answer whether or not it's worth it.  If you drive the car a lot, do it.  If there is visible play in the arm when you pull on it, do it.  They'll affect braking and handling more than you think, so if you have any doubt, go ahead and change them.

It's a good "might as well" opportunity for u-joints, new ebrake pads, etc...






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"Let them that don't want none have memories of not gettin' any."
- Brother Dave Gardner

Yes... I was afraid you'd say that. You confirmed what my gut was telling me. Why have it if I can't drive it safely?

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If you are going to do the labor yourself, it won't cost much.  And it's a great opportunity to change every rubber bit you come across while you have it taken apart.  The car will feel better when you're done.  Not to mention handle a lot better!

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"Let them that don't want none have memories of not gettin' any."
- Brother Dave Gardner

I'm not doing much of the labor so this will be VERY expensive. My mechanic is letting me work on clean-up and undercarriage painting/de-rusting while it's on his hoist. If I had a buddy nearby who shared this hobby I'd do it myself. If I had a hoist I'd do it myself. I'd probably do the rear end but while so much is disassembled I'll let him do most of it and then swallow hard.

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It's possible to do it on jack stands, but you'll spend a lot of time getting intimately acquainted with your garage floor. Dad and I did both of ours, including underside painting, on 6-ton jack stands. It's not bad work, and probably actually easier to disconnect the spring with the car that low. You can probably get away with leaving the exhaust on. Something to consider unless you want the girl to take a big chunk out of your wallet.

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"Let them that don't want none have memories of not gettin' any."
- Brother Dave Gardner

Tough choice. But I could use the $1200 labor charge. To be fair that includes u joints, all bushings, ball joints and control arm bushings. It had better ride better!

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Actually, $1200 is not a bad price for the labor.  It's a substantial amount of work.  And a bonus that he'll let you under the lift to sand and paint. 

Too bad you're not closer, however.  I'd do it for a good microbrew.  (Just don't let me near your differential, apparently!)


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"Let them that don't want none have memories of not gettin' any."
- Brother Dave Gardner

Dang. Boise has a lot of good breweries. Id share a six pack for a job like this! I finished painting the black frame parts in the front third of the car last night. A few runs but it looks sweet. The mechanic said GM dipped the frames so the cars are not authentic without runs. Interesting.

Very few let you under a hoist for insurance reasons. I need to buy this guy a beer.

|UPDATED|5/21/2014 6:02:53 AM (AZT)|/UPDATED|


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As was previously stated, yes do it while your that far into the repairs. If you wait and have to go back later to do it you will end up taking apart many if not all of the things you have apart now. Also as stated take a good look at all the joints while they are apart. As you probably already know, with a corvette one thing leads to another and another and another! It will make a huge difference in the handling and you will be surprised the ride quality difference. Best of luck.
Rodney

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New ball joints and control arm bushings got this started. Now new calipers and rubber parts. It should be a different car!

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Well....kinda sorta.... The early cars had the frame paint applied by hand with mitts, similar to a wash mitt. I don't think these frames were ever dipped, tho....if they had been, there would be paint on the inside of the frames, and we wouldn't have such a problem with rust on them. They were painted with a spray gun , so runs are the norm, but....they were painted with the frames upside down, so any runs should be flowing from the bottom up, to be anally correct....

As far as the t-arm bushings, those really are best left to someone that has the correct tools, and know-how to install them properly. Those bushings are the ONLY thing on my '74 that I had someone else do, because I dint have the tool to swedge the end of the tube on the bushing, and I dint care to buy one. The service manual does havee instructions on how to make the tools needed, tho. Bu that would prolly cost more than buying the dern thing anyway....
 If the t-arm bushings are not done correctly, the alignment will never hold, and the handling could be nasty.



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Joel Adams
C3VR Lifetime Member #56    
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"Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comforting to cry in a CORVETTE than in a Kia"

Save yourself tons of time and money and get fully loaded trailing arms from Bairs or someplace like that and just swap eveything out. They come complete right out the new rivited rotors and all e-brake hardware installed. Did mine on the floor with just jackstands, out in a few hours and back in in a few hours.They will cost less than what you were quoted on labor. Or get the rebuilt arms and take to your mechanic and it should reduce your labor costs substantially. Just my 2 cents.

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DanT