Anyone out there ever do body mount? got a 70 skylark and I'm pretty intimidated to replace the bushings because of how involved ive heard it is and I have heard people have issues with the old hardware stripping when trying to remove it. Have any tips?
Check in the rear wheel wells for rust repair. I bought new metal mounts for that area. Spend some time on a work bench to sort the full layout of every pad and spacer/washer combination before starting. Be sure you get a BUICK kit or you will be short a pair of pads. http://www.energysuspensionparts.com/3.4155g I love this kit in black poly. I torqued em' tight for a solid body.
Drill a very small hole in the "cup" area above each bushing that the bolt actually attaches to on the body and saturate the bolts with a GOOD penetrating oil like P'BLASTER or KROIL ($). Whack the head of the bolt with a hammer and drift punch. Allow the penetrating oil to soak overnight. Use a good quality SIX point socket and breaker bar to loosen the bolts. Cycle the bolts back and forth as you remove them. Soak more if you hear the bolt "crying".Hope that none of them break. Use a piece of 2x6 or 2x8 at least one foot long and floor jack and several jackstands for to raise and support the body and frame separately. You will need to remove the bumper in most cases. The body will need to come up about 1 to 1&1/2 inches to remove old bushings. Do one side at a time; you may have to shift the body around to 'center' it after putting in new bushings.
I just did this install a few weeks ago. The most difficult chore is getting onto the upper nuts located at position 2 and 3 (see energy suspension install instruction sheet). Do one side at a time and other than lining up the holes on the washers and mount holes in the body it wasn't too difficult. To be fair my car is from AZ and been in dry storage for 18 plus years. I bought these off Ebay http://www.ebay.com/itm/161635566207?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
This 3.4155G is for Buick. Sorry for my error. I edited it (3.4160, not correct). This set has two more pads than the others. Buick used 12 if I remember correctly. It filled every hole in my boxed 67 GS frame.
For the closest to OEM try Fusick Olds. http://www.fusickautomotiveproducts.com/prodinfo.asp?number=BM682K
Did you guys end up pulling the hood and front fenders when you did this work? I'm worried about the alignment of my front sheet metal if I can ever muster the courage to take this on...
I'm a novice at body work and did not remove the hood or fenders. Results were fine though. Saw nothing out of place.
I had to pry up the inner fender metal that covers the area where the upper body mount nuts are located. My engine is currently out so I had more room to work. My inner fenders were already bent from god knows what so it didn't hurt my feeling to bend them up and back down. The correct part number is what I listed in my last post. The other number is for the older models. I verified it with Energy Suspension Tech Dept to confirm before I ordered it.
We used Poly mounts on our '67 Skylark. Most of the bolts were rusted and the cage nuts broke loose in the body. We cut holes in the floors (which, Thank God, were solid) to access the top. We used 8 grade hardware to bolt it all together, then welded the pieces of floor back in. To do it, we loosened all the bolts. Then we put 2X4s under both rocker panels. We jacked the car up and put HD stands under both ends of the 2x4s. We then put two floor jacks under the frame on one side. We then removed all the bolts from that side. Next we lowered the floor jack just enough to get the mounts out. I sprayed some satin black paint wherever I could reach. We then installed the new mounts and installed the bolts, leaving them loose. After we did the other side, we made sure the frame was properly aligned, then tightened all the bolts from front to back. IMPORTANT! When you do it this way, be extra careful of the fan's relationship to the shroud! And watch all brake and tranny lines and all wires. That is why we lower the frame as little as possible to get the job done. Sounds like a hard job, but I've done several vehicles both with and without a hoist.
I'm in the middle of this now. Got one side done tonight and it was not the most fun. I have cribbing stands that are about 10" high under the tires and then a 4x4 under the rocker pinch seam. Raised it about 2" or so.
