ok, im taking the rear leafs of my 68 ss396 and when trying to remove thr front bracket that holds the springs the 3 bolts that bolt into the frame just turn and will not come out...how do you get these out and then how do you put the new ones back in? i did the wd-40 thing and they still just turn..please need some advise from you experts out there.

thanks, jeff

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The square nut, that was once welded to the clip, has broken free and is just spinning with the bolt. You need to get a wrench or something to pry against it. I think my friend ended up going throught the floorboards....

I had the same thing happen to a couple of mine. Some of those are going to be a pain to remove, but grinding, cutting, and bending wrenches may get you access through the holes in the frame. You may also be able to wedge a screwdriver in through the holes to hold the nut. Aftermarket sources sell new cage nuts.

gosh i hate to think thats my only options! even if a have to cut the bolts off how in the world would i get the new ones back in??how would you get the new aftermarket nuts into the frame in order to put the bolts in??

jeff

If you can get the bolt out putting in the new nuts is a breeze. They are cage-type nuts, meaning the nut is welded to a stamped steel clip that fits into the frame rail. They are very similar to the ones used to hold the front fender to the wheelwell in the engine compartment. However, they are not a standard hardware store item. Even if you have to grind or torch off the bolt heads, after you remove the spring mount you should be be able to remove the bolt/nut/cage through a hole already in the frame. When I stated grinding, cutting, and bending I ment on the wrench, not the frame. You can wreck a bunch of $1 wrenches if it helps to get out the bolt. That's what the cheapie wrenches are made for!

Jeff,
Dont go thru the floor board to gets these off, or pop a whole there, this is an easy fix.
As stated above these are a clip type retaining nut, they slip into an opening. The way I had to remove them and its a pain is get a sawsall with the right blade and hack off the bolt head and then pull the rest out of the hole next to it. You will understand this after you do it. Then go and buy six new retainers nuts from classic or ricks first gen and replace, its that easy. Good Luck!!

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Jeff,

I just got to that part myself. I bought a cheap 4.5" angle grinder for $15.00 and got under my car and ground the heads off the bolts and fished them out. Another post says to buy the clip-nuts from National Parts Depot. They are like the stock ones. pdq67

PDQ67 is dead on. I waded thru this job about two months ago. DO NOT CUT YOUR FLOOR !! Get an angle grinder - cut off the nuts - fish out the old broken spring nuts - - order same from your favorite dealer and they just snap in. Very, very easy - grinding off the three nuts on each side worst part. Like he said you'll understand once you grind off the nuts.

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My Chevies (http://www.geocities.com/bh3chevy/Bobs_All_Chevy.html)

I had to replace my springs years ago on my 67. I ended up having a guy with a portable torch come cut them off. Took him about 10 minutes and cost me 20.00. Well worth it! Then I replaced them with new cage bolts available from various repo companies or maybe even a chevy dealer. Just thought I'd add my opinion.

I just replaced the springs on my 67 and I had one nut spin off. As many have suggested, I just cut it off and then fished out the nuts.

My suggestion is that when you get them out, change out all 6 of the clips. I think these are actually called J-nuts. I bought my replacements from Rick's 1st Gen and they were superior to the original nuts. Instead of a nut welded to a clip, they have a thick back section, kind of shaped like a cone with the top cut off, that is threaded for the bolt. Replacing the J-nuts now may save you having to go through this again if you have to take them off again for whatever reason. They are easy to install. Cheap insurance in my opinion.

I bit the bullit and ordered a set of National Parts Depot "clip-nuts". I am going to use some stainless steel bolts instead of the stock type ones. I will have my rearend back in as soon as I get the parts from NPD.

By the way is there a trick to installing a Jegs bolt-in subframe connectors because they are going on at the same time I hang my sprigs and rearend.

I'm going to start the Seville rear disk brake conversion next and if that gets boring start pulling my 406 SB out. pdq67

My hats off to Cornholio for the post about using a floor jack as a second pair of hands to help install subframe connectors.

He said they just needed a couple of holes "wallered" out and lo and behold the truth was spoken. They will fit fine. THX Corn. pdq67