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'70½ BBG Gremlin begins it's journey to rebirth |
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Fluffy73
AMC Addicted Joined: Nov/21/2007 Location: Castlegar, BC Status: Offline Points: 3059 |
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Parts are at my buddies' shop getting new bushings pressed in. Should be back this week. Then the fun begins.
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I am genetically incapable of being Politically Correct.
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mrblatzman
AMC Addicted Joined: Oct/01/2008 Location: Alabama CSA Status: Offline Points: 2154 |
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This has nothing to do with paint....but that short heater hose that goes from the valve to the core...Order Dayco hose 80402...Its longer than what is necessary, but dead on with a molded 90 degree bend...They are available on e=bay, Rock Auto..enter number in search and not AMC...Cut it the right length and its perfect... |
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Thankyou....Bob
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blumontag
AMC Addicted Joined: Mar/05/2013 Location: minneapolis Status: Offline Points: 834 |
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Gonna be fantastic!
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72 Gremlin X
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Fluffy73
AMC Addicted Joined: Nov/21/2007 Location: Castlegar, BC Status: Offline Points: 3059 |
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Finally!! Some progress. Got the uppers back today from my mechanic. He pressed them while I waited. Two weeks + to press in some bushings is a little much. It's funny, at the outset of this, I considered buying the bushing tool to do this myself. After having to pay a shop hourly for removal and installation.... I could have bought the tool AND an upright hydraulic press. Lesson learned!
(Nothing against the shop I use, they DO get busy sometimes and if you're patient like me, you do sometimes get pushed to the side. But the work they do is generally really good.) Only one picture today. Everything together and ready to be assembled! It's 35°C in my shop right now. Think I'll wait until the sun goes down before I begin reassembly. |
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I am genetically incapable of being Politically Correct.
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Fluffy73
AMC Addicted Joined: Nov/21/2007 Location: Castlegar, BC Status: Offline Points: 3059 |
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It was so Hot yesterday.
"How hot was it?" It was so Hot yesterday.... the cat melted. This morning, we actually had to turn on the air conditioning. Gotta love Canada. Frigid winters, sweltering summers. It's only 30°C in the shop right now, so I managed to get some reassembly done. Had to wait a few extra days to get one matching lower balljoint. I ordered all the parts years ago from Rock Auto. You think they'd send me identical lower ball joints?? Nah. Uppers, yes. Lowers? Not a chance. I know I'm being pedantic, but if I've gone this far, everything should match. Here's another example of "Ain't it fun living in Canada? Rock Auto price on a lower ball joint is $27 + shipping. Lordco (local parts chain) wanted $94! I almost walked away but luckily the parts guy I normally deal with did whatever he did to knock $30 off that. Put the passenger side together loosely just to see if I could remember how everything goes.... And just a quick shot of the underside to show the steering/sway bar, etc. Could not locate a new replacement pitman arm. So, I just cleaned up and repainted my "old" one. It's not the original one to the car - I seem to recall replacing it a few years ago and the car hasn't seen much mileage at all in the last decade. It's tight, should be fine. Eventually, I'll pull the engine for a full cleaning and detailing. For now it'll just have to do. Of course, I said that about my Humpster, too.... and well, 20 years later it still hasn't been done. I gotta save a few projects for the future! One thing I am really digging, though not that it matters much - but for future ball joint replacement, it's just a bolt-in process. No more drilling rivets or having to remove control arms. Should one wear out, wouldn't take more than an hour to replace one now. Edited by Fluffy73 - Jun/23/2021 at 4:48pm |
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I am genetically incapable of being Politically Correct.
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Fluffy73
AMC Addicted Joined: Nov/21/2007 Location: Castlegar, BC Status: Offline Points: 3059 |
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Got ambitious last night. After helping a friend install an air
conditioner in his place, I figured I might as well try and get one
spring in. Well, I got BOTH in. Now it's just a matter of tightening all the castle nuts, installing cotter pins and then get cracking on the brakes. Too bad it's going to be ridiculously hot over the next few days. We'll see how the nights cool off. I could probably have it on the ground tomorrow if I tried hard.
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I am genetically incapable of being Politically Correct.
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Fluffy73
AMC Addicted Joined: Nov/21/2007 Location: Castlegar, BC Status: Offline Points: 3059 |
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Both sides pretty much back together. Just need a couple little cotter pins for the steering, torque the backing plate bolts, refill/bleed the brakes and put the drums back on.
Having completed this task, for those who are thinking about doing it, I have a few pieces of advice. #1 - It may seem like a daunting task, but it's really not that complicated. Try to buy all your parts in advance and double check them. I had one mis-matched lower Ball joint that took a few days and more money to replace. #2 - It's worth it - if not LESS expensive to invest in the tools to do this yourself. The bushing tool is about $250 and a good hydraulic upright press is around $100. You'll easily burn that up getting a shop to remove the bushings and press them in. If you have more than one suspension to do, those tools will pay for themselves. #3 - Definitely track down the correct tool for spring re-installation. A fellow on here used to sell them (my apologies, it's been so long I forgot your name & handle on here). It definitely makes the re-installation of the spring less complicated and much, much safer. I was going slowly and took a break in between and STILL had both front springs and controls arms back in around an hours' time. Not complicated at all. Edited by Fluffy73 - Jun/27/2021 at 11:15pm |
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I am genetically incapable of being Politically Correct.
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LakesideRamblin
AMC Addicted Joined: Dec/21/2015 Location: So. California Status: Offline Points: 2683 |
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Looks great!
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LakesideRamblin
69 Rambler 360 73 Javelin 360 "If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn't sit for a month." T. Roosevelt |
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3250man
Supporter of TheAMCForum Joined: Jun/14/2019 Location: WA Status: Offline Points: 285 |
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Great pics! Hope it goes well with the build.
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1974 Mellow Yellow N-code AMX (restoring)- "Steve"
2016 Chevy Colorado (RIPP supercharged V6) 1973 Corvette 1974 Trans AM Red P-code AMX |
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patrec
AMC Apprentice Joined: Sep/02/2014 Location: marquette, mi Status: Offline Points: 112 |
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Nice build and good work. Looks like it will a nice car.
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