Torsion-Bar nightmare

Thats good to know. I know first hand FF boots wont go over the hex, well not without a little slit on each side which I covered with a SS band that most use on header wrap but for my use they were of but id like to have the non gloss look like yours in the pic.

Got lucky, the boots on my car were like new (some how) after cleaning the crud off. Good thing because, at the time, they were seemingly made from unobtainium.

Trying find some thick short fiber grease. I don`t want to use the chassis grease as most drip oils.

I used Valvoline synthetic grease on the t-bar ends and haven't seen any leakage from the boots.

Photo of the FF t-bar pivot bushing kit.

Wish there was a way to send photo's in a PM but, I'll post it here instead.

500, Thanks for the pic. I wish now I never cut the old one off. It wasn`t bad other then small light cracking on the boot ends. Poly it is. Thanks

I remember the one on the bar I reused was just fine also. Not even cracked and the clamps were still there but as far into the car as I was at that point, it would have bugged me forever that I didn't replace it. Then I ended up replacing it with a poly bushing after the first season the car was back on the road because SOMEBODY f****** the rubber bushing up to get it on the bar.

Hi guys!
Thank you very much for the lively discussion. Last time working we did a few more things.

Since my delivery of the K-frame mounts will take some time, we decided to remove the upper control arms and also replace the bushings. I ordered them a year ago from Rock Auto. Actually we wanted to postpone this work until the TÜV has checked my car. But since the actions with the torsion bars we are so far from getting it done that it doesn't matter anymore.

Enclosed the photos of the work...

Many greetings from Hannover, Germany

Usually with this kind of work, what starts out as replacing (for example) sway bar bushings, ends up being every bushing, ball joints, tie rod ends.........You know, the "while I'm at it' "might as well while I'm in there" snowball thing. Trust me, I know!

By the way, TUV??? What, or who, is that?

Aspen500 said:

Usually with this kind of work, what starts out as replacing (for example) sway bar bushings, ends up being every bushing, ball joints, tie rod ends.........You know, the "while I'm at it' "might as well while I'm in there" snowball thing. Trust me, I know!

By the way, TUV??? What, or who, is that?

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Yes, I guess you're right... The 1950 Chevy Truck from my dad needed work over 18 years to get finished. But for my car I thought the work wouldn't be that much... I don't know if that saying is a thing in english: On german we say "Hinterher ist man immer schlauer" what means something like "Afterwards one is always smarter...".

So coming to the TÜV:
On german it means "Technischer Überwachungsverein". Yes, it looks like a typical german word. Looks very bulky. Translated word for word it means something like "Technical surveillance association". In germany it is necessairy by law, that every motorized vehicle needs to be in a technical perfect condition. Every two years a vehicle needs to be inspected technical by TÜV and earns a badge on the licence-plate. If the technical observation shows up that your car is not safe or damaged you won't get the badge and the car is not allowed to drive on public roads. That was the "normal" part of the technical observation every vehicle needs to get through every two years.

In my case, and every other vintage car fan/owner, it is necessary to get a "full acceptance" of the car. Cars from other countries, like US, need to be observed in a special way, because some parts are not allowed by law, like sealed beam headlights or red indicators. On top the body is not allowed to have any rust holes (this is by the way also a criterion for normal cars). Another special thing is, that the car should be in a original condition. No custom parts are allowed which got no official enrolment.

So for vintage cars (which are older than 30 years) car registration gives you the possibilitie to get a reduction of car tax. When the TÜV will give your car the predicate of a historical vehicle you only must pay the tax of 194€ per year. Otherwise your car will be sorted in the normal tax groups, which are based on engine size or amount of CO2 pollution. And that will be very expensive. For example My parents are owning a Ford E150 with a 5.8l V8 and are paying about 1000€ car tax per year, because the car is from 1991 and not 30 years old.

On top of the car tax you are obliged to take out liability insurance for every vehicle that is registered.

So you see in germany it is a very expensive and time-wasting hobby we decided to live .
I hope my explanations were understandable. Sorry for possible spelling mistakes. I wrote the text in a hurry and couldn't check it twice or three times All in all I hope my english is okay for you to understand my messages

Many greetings from germany

Here we say that Hindsight is 2020
Referring to vision and how you can see clearly what you should have done after the fact.
Old cars are a great hobby, stock or modified. I've been involved with customers car projects that included Porsche, BMW, Mercedes, VW, Fiat, MG and even one old Volvo. The thing that is the same no matter what brand of automobile that is being restored or the country it's being done in is the passion and drive to bring it back to life.

Now that I know what TUV is, it's really amazing what you are doing!
We have nothing even close to that here. In fact, in my state (Wisconsin) there are no inspections at all, not even safety inspections. Only exception is vehicles over 10,000 lbs GVRW, then they need a DOT inspection and need to pass the inspection, to get a DOT certification sticker. Otherwise, you can drive any rotted out POS you want. If they had a "no rust" requirement, people would have to buy a new car every 5 years or get the body fixed. Off topic, sorry, but last week I had to replace the fuel pump on a 2014 GMC Sierra pickup because the fuel line nipple on top of the pump rusted off (came in on the flatbed for a fuel leak). The truck had holes in the rockers and MAJOR rot above on the wheel opening on the bed already and not even 5 years old. That's an example of Wisconsin and what road salt does and the crap we have to work on every day at work. Some shouldn't even be on the road anymore (basically beyond repair) but all we can do is advise the customer and let them make the decision.

Aspen500. I agree with what you said – but being we do have members who might not know what DOT (Department of Transportation) or POS (Pile of Something Smelly?) and so forth is, you might want to consider a few things. After all, you didn’t know what TUV was (. . . well, neither did I).


About the year 2000, or so, Oklahoma (USA) eliminated the need for yearly safety and emissions inspections. With that said, the Highway Patrol and other Police departments can still pull over and fine you (or impound) a vehicle that doesn’t meet safety or emission laws.

On one hand, I didn’t like to go out of my way to get car inspected every year. The other hand, there is cars out there that do not need to be on the road for various reasons (like what Aspen500 mentioned).

Another forum member, BrianNZ (New Zealand), mentioned before (I believe – but could be incorrect) that vehicles there need to be inspected twice a year, there.

When we did have emissions inspections – all they did was open hood to see that components were in place (parts didn’t have to operate) and they placed a test strip into the exhaust pipe exit to check the presence of leaded fuel (which I always thought was odd – other than airports – where can a person purchase leaded fuel at?).
BudW

Point taken Bud It's easy to forget that we all aren't in the same country or speak the same first language.

Hi 1337m4723,

My place of residence is quite close to the German border. That is why I regularly come to Germany.
Here in the Netherlands they also have an Technical surveillance association for vehicles (except two-wheelers). This is less strict than the TÜV.
What I ask myself, would I be arrested in Germany and possibly be fined if my vehicle does not comply with the TÜV rules? Like many older American cars are equipped with sealed beam headlights and red indicators. In addition, in the Netherlands it is possible to drive around with customized parts to an extent. There are few old-timers here that are 100% original.

I once heard that a motorcyclist was arrested in Germany because he did not have the original exhaust fitted. But that can of course also be due to the higher noise production that the agents noticed.

I'm curious how it works.

In Maryland if you get regular daily driving tags you have to pass inspection and whatever emission stuff that came equipped on that year car. If you have historic tags then no inspection or emission testing but the car is supposed to be only used for parades, car shows etc. No daily driving or you can be ticketed. They were pretty lenient but because people were using old junkers to drive daily because of no inspection, cheaper insurance, cheaper tags they are now cracking down on it.

Aspen500 said:

Volare77, about the bolt that holds the end bushing on. This is the one that came with my end kit (aftermarket from NAPA a few years ago), didn't need to cut any extra length off.
View attachment 32049

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Aspen 79, It took some searching but i found some grade 8 bolts with the perfect amount thread so practically none was inside the t bar. I cut the excess thread off that was sticking out..

Hi guys! Thank you for the lively discussion here

Very interesting how the laws are defined in other countries.

SixBanger said:

Hi 1337m4723,

My place of residence is quite close to the German border. That is why I regularly come to Germany.
Here in the Netherlands they also have an Technical surveillance association for vehicles (except two-wheelers). This is less strict than the TÜV.
What I ask myself, would I be arrested in Germany and possibly be fined if my vehicle does not comply with the TÜV rules? Like many older American cars are equipped with sealed beam headlights and red indicators. In addition, in the Netherlands it is possible to drive around with customized parts to an extent. There are few old-timers here that are 100% original.

I once heard that a motorcyclist was arrested in Germany because he did not have the original exhaust fitted. But that can of course also be due to the higher noise production that the agents noticed.

I'm curious how it works.

Click to expand...

As far as I know the rules in the EU are designed that way, that a car must comply with law in the country the car is registred. In your case it should be okay, when your car is legally in the netherlands. To an anual car meeting in hanover (street mag show) some guys from sweden are joining every year and there weren't any problemsg with the german law as far as I know. As long as your car is safe and fully legal in your contry there shouldn't be a problem. BUT I am not an law expert. I can't imagine that you'll get in trouble, but maybe there is little chance left...

Also I can't imagine the motorcyclist got arrested because of the not fitting exhaust. The police won't arrest somebody because of a not legal vehicle. They are "just" gonna impound your vehicle. And at that point I am not sure if they can do that when your car is legal and safe in your country. But they can do it for sure with cars which are registered here in germany. But they won't inprison the driver, as long as he is not a "danger" for the public in person or a criminal.
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Coming to my last works on the front suspension. We changed the k-frame bushings and renewed the upper control-arm-bushings. AND I was abled to pull the shoes ower the torsion bars. (See pictures below)

Due to some job issues I won't be able to put the suspension all together before christmas. But I am optimistic that the work could be finished in January 2019.

Thanks for your answer. So I could cross Germany without to much going on. Have plans to make a trip to Austria in spring. Are there in 2019 big classic cars meeting coming in Germany or other country in Europe?

Anyway, great progress of your restoration project! It is almost a kind of therapy for techies. Keep going on.