72 Corvette

[David72Vette]

Hi,  

I've recently purchased my first Corvette a 72 Roadster.

Im going through the manual and ticking off all the items listed under servicing however I cant seem to find the drain plug for the diff.  Can anyone give me any tips.

While under the car I also noticed that one of the control arms has rusted through.  Does anyone know a place in Australia where I can get a set.

Thanks for you help
Dave

[Cameron 77C3]

You could try:-

Corvette Alteration, 9971 8218 Scott. Dee Why

Ponti World 02 4257 1230 Dave. Albion Park

[David72Vette]

Thanks for your help.

Has anyone removed a trailing arm before and are there any tips for young players.

Cheers
Dave

[MADLT1]

hi david72,were you from and tell us about your vett,colour engine wheels that sort of stuff,pics would be good.:x

[David72Vette]

No worries MADLT1,

I'm from Melbourne and about 12 months ago I decided I wanted to buy a Corvette.  I've always been a Harley man and I've imported a few Harley's from the States a 53, 51 and a 71.  Considering the success I've had with the bikes I decided to do the same thing with the Corvette.

After a little bit of research (probably not enough) I decided I wanted a 72 Roadster Manual.  Engine size didn't really bother me.  I quickly found that that unless I had mega bucks to spend, I was going to have to buy something that was good driver quality.

I started looking on the net and came across a nice looking Red 72 Roadster manual with a 350.  The car was far from perfect but the interior was redone and the paint job was pretty good (Car is red but it was originally orange) and after speaking to the guy a number of times I decided to buy it.  I've spent many hours restoring old Harleys back to original condition and I wanted something I could play with and not drive myself crazy over.

Anyhow to cut a long story short I paid my money, got it sent to LA where a friend has a shipping businesses and got her sent out.  It arrived about three weeks ago and I'm pretty happy.  The car runs really well, changes nicely and looks great.  Now to the down side!!  I've pulled the windscreen out and found a bit of rust in the windscreen frame, no big deal I've cut the rust out and welded in a few pieces and it's as good as new.  I got under it last night to drain the diff oil (didn't know that you had to suck the oil out rather than removing the drain plug) and while the chassis looks in pretty good shape one of the trailing arms has a rust hole.:{

It needs to be replaced and while I'm down there I've decided that I'll do the uni joints, rubbers, wheel bearings etc etc.  After having a read through the manual I'm getting a little scared. (Rebuilding the top end on a Harley seems easy).  There are millions of vintage Harley forums so I thought I'd come into work this morning and see if there were any corvette forums - and here I am.

Here are some pics of the car

[jolinari]

another 72!!! good choice mate and congratulations:}

[MADLT1]

;32 cool looking vett,the soft top looks good too,check out corvette action center,thats a good forum that may be helpfull to you as well;54;54;54

[ettev87]

Be carefull of some of the web pages so called expert advice. The rear bearings and spindles require special tools for both strip down and assembly. ANY ADVICE THAT SAYS TO USE A HAMMER SHOULD BE DISREGARDED! I learnt the hard [expensive] way!

[77CVT]

Nice car.  Sucks there is no drain plug but a $10 vacuum pump from Supercheap does the job nicely.  Never seen a trailing arm rust!

Suspension work is easy - take your time!

;42

[David72Vette]

Hi 72CVT,

One trailing arm is rusted all the way through.  I can put half of my hand inside the hole.  The other side has a bubble so I'll replace that too.

Im concerned about the shims the manual discusses for the wheel bearings and the trailing arm.

I guess with the wheel bearings I'll just put in what comes out but as the trailing arms are being replaced Im not sure about the shims in there.

I once tried to replace the Uni joints and disks on Jaguar XJ6 series 1 and once I'd finished the camber was crazy.  Cost me a fortune to get it put right.

Once bitten twice shy I guess.

Can anyone give me the name of a good corvette spare parts place down in Melbourne?

Im currently ordering all my stuff from Corvette Central in the states and the wait to get stuff here is driving me mad.

Cheers
Dave

[77CVT]

If you want to run bigger rear wheels get the offset ones!  Don't they come as a complete assembly so you don't have to worry about bearings?

If you do the rear bushes you'll need an alignment anyway.

www.usgmserviceparts.com is pretty reasonable.

;42

[wayovermyhead]

G'day mate, congratulations on your purchase!

I'm sure I can speak for alot of us when I say that when you pull those trailing arms you will be in for more more than you anticipated, make sure you check your diff side yolk endplay while your in there (another can of worms)
If your trailing arm needs replacing that will not change the bearing/shim arrangement although you do have to take that assembly all apart to fit the new one.
If you have that apart you should at the very least check the shim spacing if your not going to replace the bearings (there are very few people out there who would have done this job properly or know how, chances are your bearings are not ideal as it is), which you might as well do anyway since your doing 90% of the job anyway.
DO NOT just put back in whatever came out, that is simply not good enough on these cars. I learnt how to do this job the hard way, It takes time, patience and an attention to detail above that of any described in any manual you will find. Also It is worth a note that any pack of shims you may buy to do the job will generally not give you the correct tolerances no matter what order you use them in. You will need a level grinder to face and adjust the shim thickness to make the setup perfect. If you do not, your bearings will not last or you will have too much end play (even if not perceptable) which will give you issues with your brakes.
I strongly suggest having a chat with someone who has done this job before and you can trust to give you good advice (I recommend Scott at corvette alterations)
Otherwise simply take it to them. If I had to do it again, I would do it myself. If I had to do it again for the first time, I would have paid someone else and relaxed with a beer.

;42

[69 DIRTY RAT]

Here's a good thread on trailarms from DC
http://www.digitalcorvettes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=77000

[RHD.68.l89]

David,
You have U2U

[David72Vette]

Thanks for your input guys.

After sleeping on it overnight I've decided that I'll get someone to do it for me.

It seems like a bit of a nightmare for someone who hasnt done it before and for the sake of a few bucks I dont want to stuff things up.

Once again I really appreciate your input and I'll sure to let you know how I go.

Cheers
Dave

[Chromie]

Hi 72 Corvette;ay
If your rear trailing arm is rusted out then you might also have the following problems
1/ Trailing arm shims rusted & trailing arm chassis bolt seized/rusted in place (may have to cut the arm from the chassis rail)
2/ Differential mount crossmember rusted (look inside)
3/ Radiator support panel rusted (bottom only)
4/ Windscreen frame rusted
5/ Sills rusted (look from underneath above the chassis rail)
6/ Chassis rail rusted (look inside the rail)
7/ Rusted sill to rear pillar (remove access plate located in front of rear wheel and inspect the mounting bolt area for rust)

Most rust on Corvettes (pre C4) occur from the inside out. Once you have inspected these items and no rust or very little rust is found I would suggest that you fish oil everything using the correct gun. This will prevent any rust ever occuring in the future
;48

[David72Vette]

Thanks Chromie,

You really know how to make a bloke feel good on a Wednesday afternoon.;47

In all seriousness thanks for the advice.  

I have already discovered rust in the windscreen frame and in the radiator support.

I'll have a look in the other spots you've suggested.  Im feeling very ill all of a sudden:{

Cheers
Dave

P.S: If there is any guys on the list that live in Melbourne Id be interetsed in having a chat.

[Scott]

That trailing arm thread is so good.  I'm up to the painting the parts portion of it at the moment.

Sorry to Hijack, but can anyone recommend a place on the Gold Coast that can install the new bearings, shim them up my spindles and bolt them back together, and install the T/A bushings?  I wasn't even going to try it myself.  Way to hard.

[Cameron 77C3]

Originally posted by David72Vette

P.S: If there is any guys on the list that live in Melbourne Id be interetsed in having a chat.

Dave try this site http://www.corvettesofgeelong.com/ and go to the contact section and give them a call.  Not a bad bunch of guys.

There is also this club in Melbourne that may be able to help ya out http://www.corvettesofmelbourne.com/index.php

Cam

[Cameron 77C3]

Originally posted by Scott
Sorry to Hijack, but can anyone recommend a place on the Gold Coast that can install the new bearings, shim them up my spindles and bolt them back together, and install the T/A bushings?  I wasn't even going to try it myself.  Way to hard.

Try these sites and go to the contact page.  Some one there may be able to point you in the right direction http://www.qldcorvetteclub.com.au/ or http://www.corvettesdownunder.com.au/pages/club.htm