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Front End Rebuild

I support my local guy who tries to be an old-school parts-store. I buy MOOG hard parts, and urethane boots and bushings in my stock front-end cars.
 
I got everything from Summit. They matched Rock Auto pricing for a combination of Moog and PST. Moog where NVH was a concern and PST poly anywhere I didn't want the give of a rubber piece.
 
AR67GTX said:
Which parts are you curious about?
Click to expand...

Not completely sure. Possibly the tie-rod ends getting thicker?

Did you paint your front end parts to duplicate factory markings and such?
 
67 GTX said:
Not completely sure. Possibly the tie-rod ends getting thicker?

Did you paint your front end parts to duplicate factory markings and such?
Click to expand...

I did not. I tried to stay with what would look reasonably original without trying to be original. Also I wanted fairly durable finishes. I didn't finish the lower arms as the factory received and installed them. Most everything I painted with semi-gloss black or cast iron finish paints.

 
Vermont Rock said:
I rebuilt my entire front end. I bought complete kits ( individual available ) from PST, Performance Suspension Technology. www.p-s-t.com. They offer original & polygraphite. Great customer service 800-247-2288. Free catalog.
Click to expand...

I also did PST Super kit. It is being installed as we speak!
 
AR67GTX said:
I did not. I tried to stay with what would look reasonably original without trying to be original. Also I wanted fairly durable finishes. I didn't finish the lower arms as the factory received and installed them. Most everything I painted with semi-gloss black or cast iron finish paints.
Click to expand...

Which paint did you use to give that cast iron look? Or am I mistaking that for primer?
 
67 GTX said:
Which paint did you use to give that cast iron look? Or am I mistaking that for primer?
Click to expand...

I think I used Plastikot Cast Finish on it. But sometimes I've used Eastwood chassis paints like Detail Gray. I've learned to first apply a light to medium coat of a black rust-resistant primer first since many of these detail paints are (or were in the past) lacquer based and not too rust resistant.

I rebuilt both front and rear suspensions at the same time and sandblasted everything myself which was a pretty big job with a small pot sandblaster. However, it was the rear springs that about finished me off so if you are sticking to the front end for now that's not too bad. if your components have a lot of rust or scale on them and you aren't set up to sandblast, you might want to consider getting a quote from a local powder coating firm. In the past, the cost of sandblasting and powder coating was pretty comparable with what I had in it considering my sweat labor. Sometimes they have a limited selection of colors but they usually have a semi-flat and gloss black and something that will pass for a natural cast finish.
 
AR67GTX said:
I think I used Plastikot Cast Finish on it. But sometimes I've used Eastwood chassis paints like Detail Gray. I've learned to first apply a light to medium coat of a black rust-resistant primer first since many of these detail paints are (or were in the past) lacquer based and not too rust resistant.

I rebuilt both front and rear suspensions at the same time and sandblasted everything myself which was a pretty big job with a small pot sandblaster. However, it was the rear springs that about finished me off so if you are sticking to the front end for now that's not too bad. if your components have a lot of rust or scale on them and you aren't set up to sandblast, you might want to consider getting a quote from a local powder coating firm. In the past, the cost of sandblasting and powder coating was pretty comparable with what I had in it considering my sweat labor. Sometimes they have a limited selection of colors but they usually have a semi-flat and gloss black and something that will pass for a natural cast finish.
Click to expand...

And I imagine the powdercoating must also be more durable than anything we can do on our own.

What did you do with the rear suspension? My next project is to rebuild (not re-arc) my leaf springs, and then fix a few things on the rear end before I repaint it.
 
67 GTX said:
And I imagine the powdercoating must also be more durable than anything we can do on our own.

What did you do with the rear suspension? My next project is to rebuild (not re-arc) my leaf springs, and then fix a few things on the rear end before I repaint it.
Click to expand...

Powder coating is a lot more durable. The only drawback to me is if any of your parts are pitted in a visible area, that will show through the powder coating. I'm not aware they have come up with a process to economically fill pits before coating. I had one upper a-arm that after sandblasting, it had some visible pitting down in the folds of the metal and I primed it and then smeared a coating of body filler over it to fill the pits and sanded it smooth before painting.

On the rear I pulled the rear end, springs, hangars, etc. Although I used all rubber in the front suspension (except for the tension rod ends) I used poly bushings in the rear. I put a new sure grip and gears in so I stripped the rear down to a bare unit and blasted it, painted it and installed new axle seals. The original tapered bearings looked and felt good so I kept them. I took the leaves apart and sandblasted them, painted them, installed new friction pads and clamps. I also installed new shackles in the rear. I had a hard time finding original appearance shackles but someone referred me to Bill Rolik Enterprises who had them and several other hard to find pieces. While I was under there I also put in new fuel and chassis brake lines I've had up in the attic for years. The only real pains in this were a fair amount of sandblasting and I was real careful to keep the spring leaves for each side together and oriented the same end for end. I was constantly worried about getting them mixed up or turned around and have a real puzzle to figure out.

There was one other issue with the rear which was setting up the new rear end. It turned into a 6-month long saga involving having to pull it and reinstall 4 times to be set up and 2 new sets of gears. If your rear end is a good ratio for your use and seems to be in good shape I would leave it alone if you can. I farmed that work out to the local go-to vintage car mechanic around here and he was a slave to Richmond Gears. I think it's the Richmond Gears that were the source of most of the problems. Even now it's still not completely quiet.
 
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AR67GTX said:
Powder coating is a lot more durable. The only drawback to me is if any of your parts are pitted in a visible area, that will show through the powder coating. I'm not aware they have come up with a process to economically fill pits before coating. I had one upper a-arm that after sandblasting, it had some visible pitting down in the folds of the metal and I primed it and then smeared a coating of body filler over it to fill the pits and sanded it smooth before painting.

On the rear I pulled the rear end, springs, hangars, etc. Although I used all rubber in the front suspension (except for the tension rod ends) I used poly bushings in the rear. I put a new sure grip and gears in so I stripped the rear down to a bare unit and blasted it, painted it and installed new axle seals. The original tapered bearings looked and felt good so I kept them. I took the leaves apart and sandblasted them, painted them, installed new friction pads and clamps. I also installed new shackles in the rear. I had a hard time finding original appearance shackles but someone referred me to Bill Rolik Enterprises who had them and several other hard to find pieces. While I was under there I also put in new fuel and chassis brake lines I've had up in the attic for years. The only real pains in this were a fair amount of sandblasting and I was real careful to keep the spring leaves for each side together and oriented the same end for end. I was constantly worried about getting them mixed up or turned around and have a real puzzle to figure out.

There was one other issue with the rear which was setting up the new rear end. It turned into a 6-month long saga involving having to pull it and reinstall 4 times to be set up and 2 new sets of gears. If your rear end is a good ratio for your use and seems to be in good shape I would leave it alone if you can. I farmed that work out to the local go-to vintage car mechanic around here and he was a slave to Richmond Gears. I think it's the Richmond Gears that were the source of most of the problems. Even now it's still not completely quiet.
Click to expand...

I have a noise from my rear end as well. I think it might be the original wheel berings, and I'll test that soon. I'm hoping it's not the actual gear berings, because I wasn't looking to tear into the rear itself. But other than that, it sounds like I want to pretty much do everything you did.
 
Usually (maybe not always) rear wheel bearing (or outer axle shaft bearings) noise is pretty easy to isolate as it gets a lot louder in a turn where a side load is put on the bearings. If you have noise driving in a straight line that doesn't change in a corner - might be your rear end.
 
If the parts are pitted, the coater should load the powder in those areas. It can be sanded like primer and recoated.
 
AR67GTX said:
Usually (maybe not always) rear wheel bearing (or outer axle shaft bearings) noise is pretty easy to isolate as it gets a lot louder in a turn where a side load is put on the bearings. If you have noise driving in a straight line that doesn't change in a corner - might be your rear end.
Click to expand...

Ya, I've tried that but haven't noticed much of a change. What I'm going to really do to isolate the noise is jack the rear up, and put the car into fourth, and just let the wheels spin. I'll go under and put a stethoscope on the rear by the berings and see if I can hear any weird noises. I bet I will.

But I also hear noise going in a straight line, so I have to figure out if that noise is either the rear's main gears, or a driveshaft issue. I've checked the driveshaft joints, and there is no movement. But it could still be out of balance...
 
67 GTX said:
Ya, I've tried that but haven't noticed much of a change. What I'm going to really do to isolate the noise is jack the rear up, and put the car into fourth, and just let the wheels spin. I'll go under and put a stethoscope on the rear by the berings and see if I can hear any weird noises. I bet I will.

But I also hear noise going in a straight line, so I have to figure out if that noise is either the rear's main gears, or a driveshaft issue. I've checked the driveshaft joints, and there is no movement. But it could still be out of balance...
Click to expand...

OK - I've done that some when trying to figure out what was making so much noise in my new gears. You will be surprised how much noise it makes under there. I would set the axle solidly on jackstands so the u-joints are still in phase and point it in a relatively safe direction - just in case. It's pretty easy to distinguish noise in the center section from the outer bearings but if the noise is dependent on road speed you will have to have some one rev up the motor (and ready to put a firm foot on the brake just in case). I found that noise transmits down the driveshaft pretty well - there didn't seem to be much difference in noise levels between the differential and the transmission with a stethoscope. I actually had better luck holding a piece of rubber hose up to the area and my ear as the metal stethoscope I have will rattle against metal.

Good luck
 
*Update*
I got the torsion bars out yesterday. Man were they stuck in. Took a lot of hammering to get them out. Don't worry, not hammering on the bars themselves. But to the tool that I bolted to them.

Can anyone confirm the correct colors for the front suspension?
Are the upper control arms, torsion bars, sway bar, tie rod sleeves and centerlink semi-gloss black
Are the struts and lower control arms suppose to be natural/metal? And how far up the lower control arm does the wax go?

Thanks in advance!
 
Ok, here is a color schedule that I got from CudaChick some time ago. I think it's fairly accurate for all Mopars of the 60s and 70s. Hope it helps.
Mopar Chassis Color Chart

Legend:
BC: Body Color
GB: Gloss Black
SB: Semi-gloss Black
CI: Cast Iron Gray
N: Natural Steel or Aluminum
MP: Manganese Phosphate
CC: Color Code

(*): Some Mopar core supports are body color with semi-gloss black sprayed on the grill side. There are some variables from what is shown above.

Assembly: Front Unibody subframe assembly BC
Inner Fenders BC
Firewall BC
Core Support BC*

Transmission Components: Transmission N/CC
Driveshaft N/CC
Transmission and driveshaft Yoke N/CC
Differential Housing SB
Clutch Linkage N

Brake Components: Brake Drums SB/N
Disk Brake Shields N
Calipers CI
Master Cylinder GB or CI

Axle/Suspension Components Axles N/CC
Third Member SB
Upper Control Arm GB
Lower control Arm GB
Inner and Outer Tie Rods N/CC
Tie Rod Adjustment Sleeve SB
Center Link MP/CC
Idler Arm/Bracket CI/CC
Suspension Components(con’t) Strut Rods CI/CC
Torsion Bars GB/CI/CC
Shocks SB/CC
Rear End U-Bolts N/CC
Rear Leaf Springs N/SB/CC
Backing Plates GB
Spindles CI/CC
Anti-Sway Bars N/CC

Steering Components Pitman Arm CI/CC
Steering Box N/CC

Exhaust Systems Muffler Hangers and Clamps N
Exhaust System and Mufflers N

Gas Tank Components Gas Tank N
Gas Tank Straps N/GB
Gas and Brake Lines N
 
Interesting. I thought gloss black was used far and few between. But it seems based on that list that the front suspension uses it quite heavily.
 
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