Body off frame restoration - mounts??

[Hoog]

Hello All: Well my 66 is going through a body off frame restoration. The guy doing the work asked me if I had a line on new body mounts. I thought Fusick, but maybe I'm blind looking at their catalog. Anyone else have suggestions? Hoog

[69W34]

Hoog no one is making the rear body to frame square isolator or the rear shackle bushing, back in June i sent an excellent set of both to Steel Rubber and have heard nothing so they are due for a call ....... btw look for news in 4.6 of the Driver on my exhaust pieces. Also issue 4.5 is in the mail.
Bill

[Sparky]

Bill/Hoog,

I may have a solution if Steel Rubber falls through. Of course, I'll need half way decent samples too. There is place called "The House of Rubber", or at least there used to be near me, that did ANYTHING in rubber of all kinds! I was thinking that I could get "large" billit chunks of the proper rubber and cut/drill them to size. Seems easy enough if: A. They have the correct type stock. B. I have a decent sample to go by. Making a rounded (doughnut) mount should be no problem either......

Also, my ultrasonic cleaner on high heat with a glycerin solution tends to re-vulcanize rubber parts. I've restored old crappy hard rubber parts MANY MANY times this way.

Sparks

[69W34]

Hoog / Sparky there is a problem with this, yes steel makes the front pieces ... BUT ... what they call out for the rear is incorrect .... I have been in contact with them to correct this problem. I sent a very good example from which to work and a set of rear shackle bushings in my last conversation ( 2 weeks ago) they are getting closer but we all know Rome was not built in a day.

Bill

PS .... Hoog with or with out a car will you be able to attend Hershey..?

[69W34]

There is news on this front ...... so stand by for a press release

[Hoog]

Also, my ultrasonic cleaner on high heat with a glycerin solution tends to re-vulcanize rubber parts. I've restored old crappy hard rubber parts MANY MANY times this way.

Sparks

Are you able to provide further information on how you do this?

[RussBarnes]

In October at the SEMA show I stopped by the Steele booth and mentioned to them that the rear leaf spring upper bushing they sell was the wrong size as reported here in 2010. The guy I talked to said he would check into it and call me - he never has!

Therefore I took a different approach. Since I am changing many of my suspension mounts to Polyurethane I found that the replacement poly bushings for the front lower A frames are a larger diameter and longer than the stock rear rubber bushings that press into the frame for the upper shackle mount. So I went to a friends house and used his lathe to resize a Energy Suspension bushing set and the large bushing from the front of a 73-78 Caddy Eldo. I turned them down by buying a long bolt, turning the hex head off, chucking that in the lathe and lightly tightening a flat washer and plain nut to hold the poly bushing while I turned it. CAREFUL if you tighten the bushing too much it will swell and when you loosen it after turning the OD, it will be too small when you loosen the nut. I got the outside within a few thousands of the stock one and then turned the poly one around, rechucked it and shortened it to match, as well as the steel sleeve that goes inside. I used the poly grease that came with the Energy Suspension bushings to grease everything and it all went together well and feels pretty good, but it will be awhile before I get it on the road.