My 68 Super Bee project

[Whatsiss]

Actually, ‘68’s package holes were opposite direction to each other. Very few Fm radios back then. The hole that ran parallel with body was for a rear defrost fan setup.(blew air up from trunk area)

Well whatever it was, it’s a speaker hole now

 

[ckessel]

Started laying out the wiring harness while waiting on the crimpers to come in, and I found out that the previous owner put in a generic floor pan. This means nothing is marked out or where it “should” be. I’ll have to take measurements for the 4 speed floor hump, the seats, the dimmer switch and probably a few other things. Does anyone have a picture of where the dimmer switch is supposed to go? Or have measurements from something that isn’t the floor pan? View attachment 1175822 View attachment 1175823

On your crimpers, if you don't have them yet, I highly recommend the ones American Autowire makes. #510587. They are specifically for the Packard style terminal that our cars and some others makes use. I've found that the universal units, like the Pertronix ones with the multiple dies, are not bad but can still crush not crimp the terminal. The usual parts store ones just mangle the connectors. I did find out that Tyco, a manufacture of terminals, tools etc, make units specifically for the terminal type. Packard, Weatherpak, Molex etc but I didn't want to shell out north of 2k for them. The ones from AA also do the double wire type terminal which you sometimes get on the old cars.

 

[Nxcoupe]

Speakers always mount from below the package tray, never in from the top. That's 'I'm 18 and my first stereo speaker install' style. I did it that way so my friends could see my new Kraco speakers. They were that cool. Not. They go up from the bottom and attach there so the package tray lays flat. Car looks good, keep at it.

 

[Whatsiss]

Hey guys it’s been a real long time. We ended up moving somewhere with a smaller garage so I haven’t really had space or time to work on it until now. I’m in the process of swapping out the front dum brakes for disc breaks and seeing all these bushings I figured I should probably swap those out while I’m in there. Can anyone help me figure out the names of the following bushings or recommend a whole kit that I can get to swap them out? Thanks!

 

[Jerry Hall]

PST is a vendor here. Order a suspension kit from them.

 

[coronet68mx]

I can't belive those tie rods and ball joint last that long.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

And FWIW you've circled a bunch of parts but missed the upper & lower control arm bushings...

 

[Whatsiss]

And FWIW you've circled a bunch of parts but missed the upper & lower control arm bushings...

Sorry I tried looking it up on my phone quick then got frustrated, so I snapped a picture really quick before I had to go be social somewhere with my wife. But I’m sure they’ll need to be replaced as well.

 

[blue69runner]

Those upper bushing are fun. Ask me how I know. There is a guy that shows how to get them out and get them back in on the net. The upper control arm that is. Need a press. Have fun but be careful.

 

[Whatsiss]

Those upper bushing are fun. Ask me how I know. There is a guy that shows how to get them out and get them back in on the net. The upper control arm that is. Need a press. Have fun but be careful.

I just ordered a whole front end kit so we'll see how it goes

 

[Whatsiss]

I just noticed that I don’t have a front sway bar and it doesn’t look like there are mounts on the lower control arm for them. Did some of them come without a front sway bar?

 

[ckessel]

It depends on the option package chosen for the car. Easy enough to add on.

 

[hunt2elk]

I believe all Super Bees and Road Runners got front sway bars. Does your K-frame have the 4 small holes drilled for the sway bar bushing brackets?

 

[Whatsiss]

I believe all Super Bees and Road Runners got front sway bars. Does your K-frame have the 4 small holes drilled for the sway bar bushing brackets?

It does have 4 small holes drilled for the brackets in the K-Frame but it doesnt look like there are mounts on the lower control arm. It is worth noting that this isnt a real superbee its a clone, it started life as a standard coronet.

 

[Jerry Hall]

It does have 4 small holes drilled for the brackets in the K-Frame but it doesnt look like there are mounts on the lower control arm. It is worth noting that this isnt a real superbee its a clone, it started life as a standard coronet.

I think all the V8 k frames in 68 had the holes drilled for sway bar mounts, but a regular Coronet wouldn't necessarily get a sway bar. As stated in a previous post, one is easily added.

 

[Whatsiss]

I think all the V8 k frames in 68 had the holes drilled for sway bar mounts, but a regular Coronet wouldn't necessarily get a sway bar. As stated in a previous post, one is easily added.

Ok sweet, thanks for the info. Sounds like a later on upgrade once she's up and running.

 

[Thrashingcows]

Those upper bushing are fun. Ask me how I know. There is a guy that shows how to get them out and get them back in on the net. The upper control arm that is. Need a press. Have fun but be careful.

You don't necessarily need a press to remove or install those bushings...yes it does make it a lot simpler but I've done it many time with my big bench top vise.

I usually just cook the rubber with a torch until the center sleeve pulls out, then just pry the hot gooey rubber bushing out. Now you should just have the outer shell, use a chisel and hammer to catch the side of the shell and deform it unit you can tap it out. Then when you want to install the new bushings just make sure everything is nice and clean, lube both the bushing outer shell and control arm bore and get it started with a few light taps. Then use a piece of pipe or large socket and position that on the inside of the control arm so you are pressing the bushing in from the outside towards the pipe of pipe, then start cranking away on the vise....usually slides in pretty easily.

As for no brackets for a front swap bar you can always get a set of worn out beyond use control arms and have a local welder remove the brackets and weld them onto your usuable units, I did this on my coronet 25 years ago. Or go with an aftermarket bar...I used a big firm feel front bar on my 68 T/C wagon and it came with all the brackets and such needed to install it.

 

[Whatsiss]

So I was finally able to get everything apart on the passenger side. even replaced the lower control arm bushing which was a whole ordeal. really not looking forward to doing it again on the drivers side. But now that I've started re-assembling the passenger side I've run into a new issue. The inner tie rod end is hitting the torsion bar, and I cant for the life of me figure out where I went wrong. As far as I could tell all the replacement parts were the same as the ones I took off. Here is a list of everything I removed and replaced.

idler arm
inner/outer tie rod ends
tie rod sleeve
lower ball joint
upper control arm with all the fixins
shock
spindle
bushings for the struts

It also looks to me like the upper control arm is being pulled pretty far down. I have a new bumper replacement for under the upper control arm, but I wasnt able to install it because it didnt come with a new nut and the original nut doesnt fit it. But it doesnt look like there is clearance now to install it. I've tried using a floor jack under the lower control arm to move it up and down with no luck.

If anyone can point out anywhere I've gone wrong, or knows a way to fix the tie rod hitting the torsion bar I'd really appreciate it!

Thanks!

 

[Whatsiss]

After fighting with it for a couple days I think I've found the issue. I took the new idler arm out and put the old one back in, same issue it was just as high. then I took the new tie rod ends out and compared them to the old ones and they are much beefier, this is where I think the problem is. If anyone has recomendations for Tie rod ends that actually fit I would appreciate it. I'll be out of town for quite a while coming up here soon, so in order to get the car off jack stands sooner than later I elected to keep moving forward and come back to fix the tie rods later. I tool the zirc fitting off the top and for now it barely clears, so I taped over it and I'll deal with that later. since then I've got pretty much the entire passenger's side done! now just on to the drivers side.

 

[Richard Cranium]

I’ve never seen tie rod end that look like that. What brand are they?