1980 Volare Cop Car

[Ash_Whole]

turns out my crossmember is slightly bent. i canot get the swaybar out. will need to pry it apart. times like this i wish i had a Port-A-Power

 

[Ash_Whole]

i cleaned off the clamps and found the spot welds/clamps

 

[Ash_Whole]

then i drilled them part way

 

[Ash_Whole]

i had to air chisel gently and still wouldn't come aprt like i thought it should. turns out the rubber is welded to the clamp and the middle. was a pain in the to remove the clamps and then the rubber itself.

 

[Ash_Whole]

on a side note i had a couple of plates made to box the lowers. yes i ripped off FF but saved a couple weeks and a couple bucks. the Canadian dollar sucks plus the shipping. easier top just go a couple of KM to the shop here

 

[Oldiron440]

Your idea is sound, what gauge material are you using?

 

[AMC Diplomat]

with all the bits off, time for the work on it. strange , the bars are mount differently. one is bolted, the other is pinned.

View attachment 57219

View attachment 57220

The one with the bolt in it is probably an aftermarket replacement, like Moog, so someone has been there before.

 

[Ash_Whole]

Your idea is sound, what gauge material are you using?

i think 11ga, maybe 10. same thickness as the arm

 

[Ash_Whole]

so threw a couple hours at it today. decided to finish stripping the first torsion bar of its brackets. cleaned it off, found the riveted spots. drilled two small holes in it. came off pretty easy.

 

[Ash_Whole]

quickly did the same to the other bar. then off to the end bushing

 

[Ash_Whole]

ready for a battle, but i was surprised how easy compared to the other side this was.

 

[Ash_Whole]

that was easy, in the home stretch......

all i had to do is get rid of this rivet and slide it off.

 

[Ash_Whole]

after two hours, i have managed to drill through the rivet, used the torch to get the end cherry hot and still cannot get it off. shop was closing so i went home. sorry no photo's but if the phone was in my hands, im sure it would have been lit on fire or smashed.

round three is tomorrow. gotta be smarter than the Plymouth.

at least i remembered to slide on the dust boot before i assembled everything

 

[AMC Diplomat]

This guy has a pretty good set of pics of one torn all apart: Post in thread 'Torsion-Bar nightmare' Torsion-Bar nightmare

I don't know how people get these off the ends of the bars without ruining them. I figured they all "rust weld" on after so many years.

If all else fails and you need to reuse it, try sticking the end in a bucket of evaporust for week. Next to a heat source. And hit it with a mallet everyday and put it back in the bucket. You might get lucky enough that the evaporust will get between the bushing shell and the bar and that might be enough to force it off

 

[Ash_Whole]

that evaporust will have done nothing. i started with drilling the hole to the actual size, go the remaining pin out. i doubt it was holding me back.

i then spent and hour and more than likely $400 ion Oxy Acet gas heating it. once glowing i buzzed it with the air hammer. it moved then stopped after a few mm..

 

[Ash_Whole]

then i used the remain portion of the gas to heat it even more and used the air hammer again. went easier now that it moved slightly.

now soaking everything over the weekend. i suspect i am going to run a cylinder hone through the end housing to get them to fit

 

[Duke5A]

I have one complete Moog torsion bar end bushing in the housing. Rubber is in excellent condition. If it helps you in this project, it's yours.

 

[Ash_Whole]

you know why they call it "Universal Ball Joint Tool"? cause it universally fits nothing properly.

 

[Ash_Whole]

*** SEVERAL PRINCESS AUTO DRILL BITS WERE HARMED IN THE MAKING OF THESE POSTS, READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED***

fit i used a knife to circumcise the old bushing. then ran a bunch of drill bits through till the sleeve came loose. then clamped the sleeve in the vise and pull out the sleeve. then the bushing popped out.

 

[Ash_Whole]

upped arm was along the same procedure. trim the bushing ends, inner and outer. drill the rubber, work it back and forth, remove the rubber, slide out the shaft