I want to replace my body bushings. Last night I started with the ones under the radiator support. Well I got the bolt off - now what? How do I remove the old stuff between the frame and support? How do I make enough room to install the new one??? That seems to be the hard part. I can cut/burn/hack ect.. to get the old one out but then I'll have a 1/8" gap to fit a 3/4" bushing. How do I get the new one in??? Thanks

You should do them all at the same time. And you need to remove the front bumper so the subframe will drop down enough (at least you do on a 67/68). Do a search here and you will find alot of discussion on replacing body bushings. I did mine last winter. It's a pain and takes some patience, and a couple of floor jacks and a bunch of jack stands. Here's a synopsis: Put some big mother jack stands under the rear axle. Then jack up the front and put some jack stands under the flat areas of the body near the fronts of the doors. Then loosen all the bolts (use lots of liquid wrench, take out the front seats to reach the tops of the rear bolts). Do the rear mounts first by lifting the front and pivoting the rear of the subframe down. Assemble them loosly. Then drop the car onto the jackstands under the front of the body so the front of the subframe drops down and do the front 4 mounts. You may need to pry the frame down to get the new mounts in. Have fun and take your time! Oh yeah, you need to disassemble the rag joint or loosen the steering column and the steering box. 35 ft-lbs on the front and 85 ft-lbs on the middle and rear bolts (you won't find that in any of the manuals).

Thanks for the reply. I was hoping I could replace one at a time but I guess not. The rag joint looks like it's hard to get at. Right now the front nose of the car is off, so are the doors and the interior is stripped. So I guess that by doing them all at once and disconnecting the steering the body will be able to move away from the sub-frame. Part of my problem is that I have lost all of my patience over the years.

You should be able to just do the fronts. But you will have to pry up the front clip to get the new bushings in. It supposedly is doable. You can also probably do the back ones by prying down the subframe. But you'll never get the middle ones that way. Those are the most important ones anyway abd should be replaced. If you plan on doing them all eventually, it will be easier in the long run to suck it up and do all six now.

Bob S. Am planning to do the body bushings on my 68 this winter and was wondering if to use the urethane bushings I have or to use the stock rubber ones. Reason I ask is because I did all the suspension last winter using urethane bushings which seemed to stiffen the ride, not complaining, it drives real nice, but wouldn't want it to be any stiffer. Would the urethane ones make it even a harder ride. Any info appreciated. thanks

I don't know, Benny. I did rubber. They sell aluminum body bushings if you really want it to be stiff. Somebody else will have to chime in on how the polyurethane bushing work out.

word of caution.
before you place jack stands under any part of the car body, ya might wanna put a board between the stand and the car to stop denting or a hole if rust is bad.

it took me less than an hour to do mine on my 69.i used 2 jacks.jack the body by the rocker and put the other under the sub frame.remove the bolts with a 15/16 socket.slowly let the sub frame down far enough to slip the new bushings in.raise the sub frame back up and install new bolts.

An ace mechanic that's done it before can knock it out in a couple of hours. It took me a week. Probably 2-3 hours elapsed time with the rest of the time spent staring at my car, scratching my head, cussing, consulting here for advice, staring some more. The next time I do it it will go a little quicker!

Getting back to Benny's question... has anyone else installed the poly or aluminum mounts? I would like to know if the ride quality is very much more harsh. Also I would like to know how much it effected handling.

I have a question for Benny too. How much did the poly suspension bushings improve the handling and how much did it impact the ride quality?

firebird_red, the old bushings were thrashed so anything would have been an improvement. I am confidant in saying the handling improved 1000% and is fun to drive. The ride did seem to get a little harsher but gives more feel of the road. Just my opinion. Am leaning to the stock body bushings.
benny

firebtrd_red, forgot to add that this was done at the same time as converting to discs brakes and I replaced pretty well everything, springs, tie rods, ball joints, sway bar, etc. Hard to say how much the bushings added to the performance but recommend them as replacements. benny

I replaced my 35 plus year old bushing and the improvement in my opinion was remarkable. It was one of the best improvements I did. Well worth the time. I used the original OEM rubber bushings and this was my first time doing it. Could have done it in less than 2 hours but broke the last bolt. Go figure! Lesson learned replace the bolts and washers also. Do not reuse any parts and slightly tighten the bolt before trying to remove it. This helps alot.

Finally back in action.

Go to this link for instructions on installing body mounts.

I used solid aluminum and there is no discernable ride harshness. I didn't change anything else at the time, just the bushings. The steering feels more solid.

Just FYI, I've done some more updates since then. A quick test drive (haven't done a full alignment yet) showed even with:
Hotchkis 1.25" antiroll bar, del-a-lum style control arm bushings, GR2 shocks, 245/45R17 and factory coil springs the ride is still very nice.

I think the stock springs, mild shocks, and "zero-friction" arm bushings make all the difference in keeping a nice compliant ride with good handling.

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