´58 Rear suspension "issues"

[Dutchbird]

Those rubbers sure looks squeezed Can you measure the leingth of that metal tube? Just for fun...Millimeters is totally fine.

I already did Anders, but not in millimeters............(6 cm)

ATTENTION: Poor Anders asked for the length of the tube SEVENTY-THREE posts ago.

Will someone please show him a picture of your tube with a scale beside it? Length matters (right, Anders?). Thank You

SORRY, BUT I SAW "POOR ANDERS" THREAD YESTERDAY (post 64) FOR THE FIRST TIME AND MADE HIM MY HONEST EXCUSES FOR THAT!!!

OK, it's my fault to be offline so long -sorry again- but jumped in at post SEVENTY and was searching for him since and given the length in post SEVENTY-TWO the same day (6 cm = 6 centimeters, sorry no inches because this is Europe).

Got to my garage again a few minutes ago so here's the request with a scale beside:
(Note: 6 cm = 60 millimeters)

[Guest]

There we go Cool................................

[Astrowing]

dutchbird,

where did you get those yellow/orange bushings? Have you also done your upper and lower arm bushings as well as the track arm bushings? Thanks!

[Anders]

Got to my garage again a few minutes ago so here's the request with a scale beside:
(Note: 6 cm = 60 millimeters)

Bingo!
You are forgiven Dutchbird
Thanks!
It looks like your old rubbers have been tighteen until they in the end reached the length of the sleeve. How long is your new one?

[Anders]

Mounted the shocks and tires today, and let her down on the ground to have a look at the situation. The Isulators are not on as I wanted to see how things looks and lines up without it. This shows "where the car want to be" without nothing interfear. You see that there is plenty of room between where the thin Isulator is suppost to be tight (?). The suspension was soft and nice, and there was no sounds from anything fight agains anything. Sorry for the blurry pic.
As shown, my "sleeve" is 70 mm. On the pic where all the different Isulators are, you see from left: The totally useless washer that came with the car when I bought it. It bended like a cone every time the car compressed. Then the two Stonehard, also without function,Rubber Isulators. The height on them as induviduals was not even close to original as you see. Then Origianl rubber, but hardend due to age. Then my new Blue soft ones and my 70 mm Sleeve. After that, Original washers, that stands the pressure! Old bolt and new bolt. The new is longer, but if that will be a problem, the two washers will bring it back to original length if I drop the bolt from top down.

[c4clewis]

I know this is late Anders, but I vaguely remembered this thread while I was perusing tbirdparts.com today. Would this new set have helped you out before you had to make your own set of rear bushings?

[Anders]

I can not say if they would work or not. The urethane parts seems OK, but if the big ones is made of the same material I think they are waaaaay to hard. And the big washers looks like the joke I have before Carl helped me find a pair of original ones.
It would be interesting to know what shore rate the big ones have.
I will be out with my car in a few weeks and after that, I can evaluate how my ideas work. Stay tuned

[Yellowbird]

Is there any way for you to measure the elastomer (rubber) parts and give dimensions? I.D., O.D., thickness, diameters of the holes?
Having the durometer (shore hardness) would be a big plus.
Since I too have a '58 I've been following your progress. Did someone machine these parts or did they mold them for you? Is there a reason that the big parts are urethane instead of elastomer (rubber)?

I appreciate any information you can provide.
Thanks.
Leonard

[Anders]

My car have already most bushings changed to urethane ( works great on the lower arms ) but it was impossible to find the ones for the upper control arm, so I vent to a workshop that do stuff like this. I´m not sure about the correct word in english, but here it´s called "vulcanisering" and it´s a process where they kind of roll on rubber ( in your choise of shore ) untill they have just more than your diameter, and then they cock it so it´s kind of melts together and creates a solid piece and then they lathe it to the right dimention.
For the big ones, that works as dampers for the movement, I did the same, but in 45 shore. The company guessed that the original shore would be around 65 in 1958-59-60 ( they have the shore mesure gadget ) as the original old I got how have dryed and was 90 shore.
( First I have something that look like the one on the picture you posted and those was stonehard and therefor totally useless)
As I haved tryed to explain the function of the badly designed ´58 rear suspension I will first try my 35 shore ( big rubber blocks ) and if I find them too soft I will let them make new ones in 65 shore.
Regarding dimensions and process, please go through the thread as it is explained somewhere....

Is there a reason that the big parts are urethane instead of elastomer (rubber)?

My most personally opinion and best guess is that the companies that do them have no fricki´n clue how they should look like and how it should work and therefor do something that looks right on a picture.... The simple truth is that if they are solid, hard or tighten, the movent of your travel will be seriously limited and therefor the movement will damaging your car where the upper control arm goes into the support frame due to the simple reason that a heavy car like these will not stop "jumping" after you hit a bump or similar just becuse your travel is limited. The forces just goes to the next weak spot in line.

[Yellowbird]

Vulcanizing (by the way, your English is much better that my Dutch!!!!) is a term where the rubber is bonded to another material. Some tire patches are "vulcanized" to the inside of the tire.
I'll look for dimensions on the thread. All of the parts appear to be a simple molded part, that's why I was looking for dimensions. Aluminum molds could be made pretty inexpensively with several parts possibly per mold. I'll look into it and see what develops.

[Anders]

My Dutch also sucks. But my Swedish is excillent!

[Yellowbird]

Geez, Anders please forgive me. I don't know what I was thinking!!! I don't want to cause an International Incident lol!!!!!

[Anders]

She´s up and running again!

Got the car good enough in order to give it a spin and see if the winters effort was worth the time spended.
It was! The rear suspension works GREAT. No more stiff feeling over speedbumps, no knirks, squeeze or klonks.... Now that was a big, not to say hughe relief.
Engine starts and runs great, idle seems just perfect, tranny shifts supersmooth and she don´t leak from the engine, tranny and the rear axle.
But the brakes SUCKS!
Need heavy adjusment.
Love my new Coker tires as well. Chrome is back, but as you see, not yet put on. Hood will come on now as everything in the engine bay seems to be in order.

[Jimz Bird]

Lookin' GREAT!!!

As is said down south - "You done good, boy"

[simplyconnected]

Ruth is working better than stock, thanks to your engineering efforts, Anders. She looks sharp.

How old and what type of rear shock absorbers are you using? Are they 'heavy duty' shocks?