67 Fury, drilling out sway bar-frame brackets

[edbods]

Someone (I think CBODY67) mentioned that they looked like an afterthought and they really do. A shame there's no real aftermarket brackets now though.

 

[Gerald Morris]

@Gerald Morris - I used the Mevotech set and it was so stiff I had to double check they weren't poly! (their website says it is "High Grade Natural Rubber")

In a few weeks I hope to have the old girl back on the road and with time should be able to tell if these hold up or if a mistake was made drilling out a bolt hole. Looking at the bracket, even with the 1/4" hole I drilled, the weak spot seems to be the post that connect to the stub frame and not the actual bracket that holds the bushing.

Hmmm, I have some Mevotech rubber here too. Come to think of it, THEIRS was what I last put on Gertrude, 3 springtimes ago. Be Advised on Mevotech: This outfit is one of those "global" businesses, like far too many once reputable ones which started out in THIS country, back when that mattered to more folks. I scored Lucky on my order for Mevotech rubbers, it ALL came from the U.S.A!

Blessed as I am, I KNOW Good and Well Mevotech vends some Asian crap too. While Indonesia and Korea produce good rubber as a rule, certain larger, more populous ones have poorer quality control. Comes of how the slaves are handled in those places......

Yes, the POST is by FAR the weakest point on our links! Hell, I might experiment on one stripped one I have here by cutting the post down past the old threads, then using a good die, threading the stump for 3/8 x 24, which then can go into a good rod coupling and be extended with some good rod. Hmm, might just use 3/8 x 16 there....

It occurs to me one might use a bit of steel tubing to strengthen the link post, but care needs be taken with the K-frame brackets also. The original washers were better, larger and black oxide coated. I'm glad I still have a good number of these.

We might have to do a little Poor Man's R & D on this subsystem here....

 

[Gerald Morris]

Someone (I think CBODY67) mentioned that they looked like an afterthought and they really do. A shame there's no real aftermarket brackets now though.

Wise Words from C-Bod67!

 

[Gerald Morris]

Hmmm, I have some Mevotech rubber here too. ....

Since I'm going to put Gertrude up in the air this weekend, I went ahead and popped a couple rubbers into my links this past noon. Used naught but Dawn dishsoap and my fingers.

The trick is to curl them down into their own holes, then w a spot of soap and no more on the top corners, slide them in, and wiggle the top corners out, 1 at a time. I'll put these on the swaybar before I hang it to be sure. Still need to clean up the strut rod straps a bit too.... I'm making a new thread for this job. Stay tuned, Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel!