Do you need any special tools to replace the rear strut rods? I need new bushings so I thought I would just replace the entire strut this way I can avoid going to the machine shop to have the bushings pressed.
Any thoughts

I did the same thing and replaced the entire strut. The only special tools I used was a torch and a big hammer. They are suppose to come out with a idler arm fork tool but mine had seen much better days.

You may want to consider replacing them with the adjustable kind, instead of those troublesome cam bolts the strut adjusts similar to a turnbuckle. This would not be good if you are trying to maintain the car as near original as possible however.

I have high performance strut rods in mine...they lock in place and are strong.....not expensive either..polyurethane bushings. you might have to burn those old bushings out of your strut rods if you want to use them.

scott78 said: . . . replace the rear strut rods? I need new bushings so I thought I would just replace the entire strut this way I can avoid going to the machine shop to have the bushings pressed. Any thoughts

Hi, Scott. Just finished ALL the bushings on mine in February. The inside of my strut rods are in awful shape. I put over two hours into each end just to make them serviceable again. Had to drill and burn the old ones out - they were original. Afterward, installing the new poly bushings only took about twenty minutes for all four. I used my small bench vise for a press.

The ride and handling are much better now, but I still intend to replace my sad stock struts with Smart Struts from Vette Brakes.

Either way, you can't go wrong. New bushings make a world of difference to a thirty-year-old car.

John

Hi Scott...I would recommend the purchase of a shock mount removal tool. It is available from all of the corvette suppliers and is under $15. It screws on to the shock mount thread and once tightened, allows you to pound the shock mount out without damaging the thread. One of them came out with two blows using a small sledge while the other I had to beat on for what seemed like an hour. Neither thread was damaged in any way so there was no need to replace the original shock mounts ($40+ and not original). I think that a pickle fork would have seriously damaged the seized mount.
I bought a set of smart struts from VBP on sale since one strut was damaged. Kept the originals (like any removed original part) for the next owner after I die.
....Mark