G-Body Solid Body Bushings

[y5e06]

All,



I'm in dire need of new body bushings for my '87 Monte. the car is just in the very early stages of work and is pretty rough, however my original body bushings

are shot.
-Has anyone experience real-world drawbacks to using the aluminum solid bushings?
There is often commentary (on other sites etc.) about worries of squeaks, galvanic corrosion, etc. However, solid bushings are used frequently on the subframe cars such as 1st/2nd gen f-bodies etc. also many of the modern cars have a mix of aluminum and steel components in the engine and suspension areas.
-harshness issues? modern cars done have body bushings and solids are oft used in the A/F cars.
-corrosion concern? I don't live in the rust belt and i won't drive in rain much.
-noise issues?

I am thinking of the TRZ pieces for G-Bodies
https://www.poormanmotorsports.com/p...ount-bushings1
however these come bare 6061 and recommend not powder coating due to tolerances.

if I get overly concerned with possible noise i can use these isolators from SC&C
http://scandc.com/new/node/982
or just cut my own from material i gather elsewhere.

I contacted SpeedTech to see if they made any for GBodies, since they have real nice ones for F/X cars
http://www.speedtechperformance.com/...rod/prd118.htm
already anodized. but they don't make any for G's.

I found a place locally that annodizes aluminum so i could have that done but i haven't inquired as to price. I'm afraid to ask...
http://bic-texas.com/hard-coat-anodizing/
6061 should anodize nicely.


I'd rather have delrin versions but I don't have a lathe nor ever used one so the results, if i had access, would be pretty sketchy.

car, for relevance:


near term plans:
18x9 w/ 275s (done)
5660 front springs
tall upper/lower b-joints
upper A-arms
rear 150lb/in springs (2" drop)
exhaust rework
Body bushings

farther out:
serpentine setup (in a box)
T56 (under the work bench)
C6 Z51 brakes
box the frame w/ supports

someday:
3-link rear
watts link (8.8 or 10bolt? dont' know how yet)

oh, and i didn't post this in the body section as this really isn't 'body work' and is more along the lines of chassis mods...

[F-Body International]

Works great on F-Body cars. Nothing but positive reviews there from me.

Anyone have negative reasons for use of solid body mounts on this page???

[68Formula]

I'm sure you'll get a lot of the usual conjecture and myths from people that haven't tried it (or input from a friend of a friend). For once, I'd like to hear from someone who did it, and then went back. Although we probably never will, because the people that have done it never felt the need to go back.

BTW, you missed the "concerns" about paint cracking and radiators falling apart (my favorite made-up negatives for using solids). Sorry, if you're paint is cracking, then you have paint problems. And if your radiator breaks apart, you have radiator problems.

Noise shouldn't be an issue, as with solid, there's no relative movement or deflection. Harshness... if you have good shocks and smooth (delrin) a-arm bushings, then the additional compliance shouldn't be necessary. You want the suspension absorbing the road inputs, not the body, anyway. BTW, the shot bushings on it now certainly aren't helping the ride.

I did subframe solids on my F-body (mine were shot as well). At the time, that was the ONLY change I made, so I did a before and after drive that same day. No noticeable change in harshness at all, but took out a ton of body lean, and made the car feel more responsive. Haven't had any corrosion issues (mine were anodized), but it doesn't see rain or snow either. I think you're okay galvanic-wise, and aluminum corrosion usually isn't an issue. Before the body would sag front/rear a little when you jacked it by a corner, now the entire side jacks up as one, and that's even without subframe connectors yet.

Improving torsional rigidity is one of the best suspension improvements you can make, although it's often thought of last thing people consider. By tying the body to the frame solid, the structural rigidity of the assembly goes up significantly. The frame deflects less AND the body will deflect less.

[68Formula]

In trying to see if there were other options for G-body solid body bushings (you have the advantage that they were very popular for short track racing, so there's a lot of trick stuff), I came across these needle bearing control arm bushings:

https://www.circletracksupply.com/ne...r-gm.html?cat=

I wonder how well these would hold up on street use. If they could, they'd probably be even better than delrin control arm bushings in terms of deflection and friction.

[y5e06]

Thanks for the responses.
... those needle bearings are interesting. only cost 2x of what I already paid for poly front lowers.

I didn't really expect there to be a problem but i want to vet all the possible real world issues. As often is the case with the internet there is much conjecture of what *could* happen.

these aluminum ones are near the same price as poly replacements, so why not try them? I will be pulling the frame from under the car some time in the future, so if there are issues then I suppose I can reevaluate and address them at that time (isolators, necessary anodizing etc).

yes, the car is floppy as hell. I look forward to the bushings and suspension improvements in helping it along. and the paint is already cracked, door sagging, hood rubbing, body creaking, and I'm sure much of it is due to the trashed original bushings. If the suspension and bushings help *enough* then i'll look to doing the T56 before the frame work, if not then I will reconsider my order of things.

[Yukon Cornelius]

I could spin some delrin ones up if you supplied the measurements.

[SSLance]

I know someone that made delrin body bushings for his G-Body with good results. He was very careful measuring the heights of each individual mount and replicating them exactly with the delrin...this is where solid mounts get a bit tricky. These bodies and frames are wet noodles, lots of slack in them. When you tie them together with solids, one will typically have to give a bit to match up to the other. This would be my only concern...

I went with Poly mounts and noticed quite an improvement in stiffness overall with little to none NVH transmitted thru to the body. I also have 100% delrin suspension pivot points and am happy with that as well when street driving.

[68Formula]

Thanks for the responses.
... those needle bearings are interesting. only cost 2x of what I already paid for poly front lowers.

The poly arm bushings would be the bigger concern when it comes to squeaking. Hopefully they have zerk fittings so you can lube generously and often.

[y5e06]

I could spin some delrin ones up if you supplied the measurements.

Thanks for the offer, I may take you up on that. I'll see how things play out in the short term.

68Formula][/COLOR]

The poly arm bushings would be the bigger concern when it comes to squeaking. Hopefully they have zerk fittings so you can lube generously and often.

I plan on adding them to the shells already, even probably recomended to not do that by the mfg. I'll tig on a thicker piece of stock, drilled & tapped for the zerk, and make sure the inside of the shell is smooth and burr free.

[79T/Aman]

needle bearings in the upper A-arms has been around for some time and work fine on a shaft but well greased solid bushings move very freely without the high cost and maintenance.
But lower bushings are two separate mount points and twist and bind independently of each other making it impossible to keep both lower bushings on the same axis under loads, this will still cause binding and probably failure of the needle bearings, I see it as more of a solution looking for a problem that can already be solved by using spherical bearings instead of bushings.