Well it’s been a minute since the last update, time to get y’all up to speed again.
I was hoping to get the rearend installed last weekend with Mike’s help, but it was not to be. As I mentioned previously, my last minute decision to replace the bushings in the upper ears was what bit me in the *ss. Mike was over Sunday but the bushings weren’t due to be in until Monday. I know what’s involved in changing out those bushings, and wasn’t even gonna attempt to do it in the car.
So the diff and the associated parts sat idle on Sunday.
It was probably for the best, because I had another issue that required attention before the diff could go back in anyways. In my attempt to disconnect the rear brake line from the flexline/bulkhead connector, the rusty and weak 41 year old brake line had twisted and ruptured.
I was attempting to remove it so that I could swap out the bulkhead connector to the new AN specific one that was required with the braided hose upgrade. It wasn’t terribly surprising, I was dreading the task because I had a feeling something like this would happen. The air was still a little blue afterwards nonetheless.
So long story short, I had picked up a 61” length of 1/4” ni-copp replacement brake line, a union and a couple extra inverted flare fittings. All day Sunday was spent cutting out a length of old stuff back to a suitable union location just underneath the body mount by the back tire, bending up the new line, flaring and fitting it in.
Here’s the section we cut out with the damaged fitting on the end:
It went about as well as could be expected, it’s still a dirty, miserable and time consuming job.
Monday the new Moog bushings arrived...
... and Monday night I got down to business removing the old ones. What I found to work best was to drill a series of 3/8” holes through the rubber all around the metal center, then knock it and the remaining rubber out:
A little tip I picked up off the internet to make removing the outer shell easier was to cut the shell laterally from the inside with a hacksaw. This trick worked slick as snail shjt, and both old bushings were completely out in just over half an hour.
I next installed the new bushings with nothing more than a handful of parts from around the shop. Homemade bushing press for the win!
Wednesday nights are usually set aside for visiting with my dad when he wants to come over and catch up, but this Wednesday he cancelled which opened up another evening to get some more done. As soon as I got home from work, I dead-lifted that heavy b*tch up onto the jack and slid it back under the car.
After dinner I was all business and got it fully reinstalled. Upper and lower CA’s, the RideTech adjustable shocks, springs, swaybar, driveshaft, the works. Had to partially disassemble the brakes on each side to reconnect the parking brake cables, but even those got done. The pictures don’t really do it justice, but it looks so much better in there than when it came out:
Wednesday turned out to be an exceptionally good day, because also Wednesday after dinner I managed to find and buy a NOS AstroRoof seal on eBay.
I’ve been searching and hoping to find one of these elusive unicorns for over a year, so needless to say I was overjoyed that one came available. I think the universe is trying to tell me it wants this car saved.
Tonight I jacked the front of the car up and levelled it using a 2’ level on the rocker panel. From there, I filled the rearend with fresh new 80-90W dino oil and the Frod Racing friction modifier I picked up a zillion moons ago. Threw the transmission in neutral and rotated the axles several times to get the components lubricated and happy.
It’s been a pile o’work to overhaul this thing, more even than I expected, but I’m glad I did and feel every minute was worth it.
That about brings us up to date, next weekend will be all about filling and bleeding the rear brakes, as well as converting the fronts over to the braided flex lines and new fittings and bleeding them as well. The weather here has been steadily improving and the ice in my alley is almost entirely gone, sooooo....
It might just be the first test drive of the year to start breaking in the rebuilt diff next Sunday! Between the improved exhaust and headers and the posi in the diff, it should be a whole pile more fun to drive!
Thanks for checking in on things again guys. Really appreciate y’all.
D.
