Woah what a job but what a difference! I suppose I should thank dsapper for his guidance on the steps to make my car feel more modern, thanks buddy!
So using the "Body Bushing Replacement Procedure" from another forum I dove in on Saturday morning.
After taking some basic measurements, I found my body was out of alignment with the frame by a few 1/4 of an inch here or there and chalked it up to the wide factory tolerances from the 80s & 25 years of rubber bushing rot.
Unlike the write up, I left the 3 middle bushing bolts about 50% of the way to make sure the body didn't walk on the frame (Thanks David!). Also, I jacked the body up with a different kind of wood tool than is suggested in the write up that I felt worked better and was more safe. I don't have a picture but instead of a T-bar I made an S-bar that allowed the wood to be braced by my square Jackpad and then interface the body.
I replaced all positions & added the GNX bushings. Also, unlike the write up I only moved the body up enough to just barely remove the factory bushings and insert the Prothane bushings. Maybe it was because of the Texas heat and my Westwardly facing garage but this was one of the more miserable jobs I've ever done.
Positions 7-6-5(GNX) 4 and 2 were very easy/simple and straight forward.
Positions 3 and 1 were a bit more tricky and I'll explain why I had challenges with them in hopes that it will help others.
Position 3 is just tough to remove and I ended up moving it out via the frame channel up to position 2.
Position 1 was tricky because it requires the re-use of the factory spacers/washers and you really need a helping hand. It's also easy to over tighten the bushing and thus pull the front of the body down too aggressively and cause some alignment issues. In the end I got it right, but it was a pretty big pain in the ass.
The rear bumper went right on and lined up the first time no problems at all so that was nice.
The front bumper turned out to be a real pain in the ass because the bumper fillers OR body (stll not sure how) were set back about .75" until I got the car off the Jack Stands and drove it around for about 10 miles. After that the body settled down and just about everything lined up exactly right. Then the front bumper lined up perfectly but it had to be moved up .25" or less because the body sits a little bit higher now with the Prothane bushings.
After taking measurements the body/frame are still just slightly out of alignment but a little less than before but you can't tell unless you're measuring. Honestly doubt this car was perfectly straight the day it rolled out of the assembly plant.
After about 100 miles of city driving I went to re-tighten the body bushing bolts and they were ALL loose as the body settled in further. To be sure, I will re-check them next weekend.
Now onto the results...
INCREDIBLE! Before the car felt like it was shuddering down the road, almost like it was riding on really bad tires, it had an additional axes of motion that I wasn't used to coming from a background of unibody cars built for speed. Now the car FEELS more like a modern car! Between the new GTA wheels, BFG Tires, KYB Gas Adjust Shocks and this upgrade things are trending in the RIGHT direction.
Next up: The SC&C Basics package with new lower control arm bushings. Hopefully the results will be as incredible as this upgrade!
So using the "Body Bushing Replacement Procedure" from another forum I dove in on Saturday morning.
After taking some basic measurements, I found my body was out of alignment with the frame by a few 1/4 of an inch here or there and chalked it up to the wide factory tolerances from the 80s & 25 years of rubber bushing rot.
Unlike the write up, I left the 3 middle bushing bolts about 50% of the way to make sure the body didn't walk on the frame (Thanks David!). Also, I jacked the body up with a different kind of wood tool than is suggested in the write up that I felt worked better and was more safe. I don't have a picture but instead of a T-bar I made an S-bar that allowed the wood to be braced by my square Jackpad and then interface the body.
I replaced all positions & added the GNX bushings. Also, unlike the write up I only moved the body up enough to just barely remove the factory bushings and insert the Prothane bushings. Maybe it was because of the Texas heat and my Westwardly facing garage but this was one of the more miserable jobs I've ever done.
Positions 7-6-5(GNX) 4 and 2 were very easy/simple and straight forward.
Positions 3 and 1 were a bit more tricky and I'll explain why I had challenges with them in hopes that it will help others.
Position 3 is just tough to remove and I ended up moving it out via the frame channel up to position 2.
Position 1 was tricky because it requires the re-use of the factory spacers/washers and you really need a helping hand. It's also easy to over tighten the bushing and thus pull the front of the body down too aggressively and cause some alignment issues. In the end I got it right, but it was a pretty big pain in the ass.
The rear bumper went right on and lined up the first time no problems at all so that was nice.
The front bumper turned out to be a real pain in the ass because the bumper fillers OR body (stll not sure how) were set back about .75" until I got the car off the Jack Stands and drove it around for about 10 miles. After that the body settled down and just about everything lined up exactly right. Then the front bumper lined up perfectly but it had to be moved up .25" or less because the body sits a little bit higher now with the Prothane bushings.
After taking measurements the body/frame are still just slightly out of alignment but a little less than before but you can't tell unless you're measuring. Honestly doubt this car was perfectly straight the day it rolled out of the assembly plant.
After about 100 miles of city driving I went to re-tighten the body bushing bolts and they were ALL loose as the body settled in further. To be sure, I will re-check them next weekend.
Now onto the results...
INCREDIBLE! Before the car felt like it was shuddering down the road, almost like it was riding on really bad tires, it had an additional axes of motion that I wasn't used to coming from a background of unibody cars built for speed. Now the car FEELS more like a modern car! Between the new GTA wheels, BFG Tires, KYB Gas Adjust Shocks and this upgrade things are trending in the RIGHT direction.
Next up: The SC&C Basics package with new lower control arm bushings. Hopefully the results will be as incredible as this upgrade!
Whish you'd taken some good pics and I'd move it to the "How to" section for others if they are willing to do the work.
