Re: 63 Classic strut rod bushings

[farna@xxxxxxx]

On June 20, 2005 Tom Jennings wrote:

> Likewise NOS strut bushings for the 1963 and 1964, a unique part
> and none of the old ones will be drivable. I found a fix for that
> though.
> 
> 63 and 64 are unique in that the strut rod is not adjustable on
> the front side (like later ones, and Americans) so you can't just
> stuff a late-model bushing in it.

I'd be interested in hereing about your fix Tom. I did just put later two piece bushings in mine for a while. It worked okay, but caster was hard to get set right.
I finally cut my strut rods in half and welded the rear half of a Concord set to them. Now that works really good! All AMCs used an adjustable strut rod from 1967 or 68 on, earlier were non-adjustable. The later big car rods won't fit the 62-66 big cars though, and little cars are a different design also. I started to use a large threaded rod coupler I bought from an industrial fastener store. The plan was to cut the strut rod in half, cut 1/4" out, then thread the cut ends and screw them into the coupler. Would have worked, but finally decided the welded ends might work better with two piece bushings.

Speaking of front ends, what alignment settings do you use on your Classic with radial tires? I'm thinking 3* caster, 0* to - 1/2* camber, and 1/8" toe-in as "ideal". I'm planning on setting the rear axle at 1/2* to 1* negative camber as well (Jag axle, remember). That shouldn't affect wear and may improve handling slightly.

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