is it worth it to take off the sub frame? i'm looking at the bushings that the body rests upon and they look cracked and worn. should these be changed? will i run into trouble putting the sub back on the car? are there alinement issues? do those bushings take away from performance/handling? and if i do take it off is it easier to put the engine/tranny on the sub before reconnecting it to the body or should i put the sub on before the engine falls in?

thanks again

ben

hey Ben, check out this part of my website... It gives you a lot of what you need to know about doing what you are talking about.
www.geocities.com/boodlefoof/summer2002 (http://www.geocities.com/boodlefoof/summer2002)

If geocities tells you I have been shut down, I'll be back up shortly.

Rotted body mounts cause a bad ride and lots of flex... bad for handling.

Easier to put the sub back in with engine and trans on it in my opinion. That is... harder to mount engine and trans to sub if it is already installed.

Aligning it isn't hard. There are two holes by the forward frame mount that get you close. Take some measurements with a tape measure to be sure you are even on both sides.

There are several ways to do the job. I will tell you how I did it. I had the engine out and the clip off but that was not a requirement. I diconnected any ground straps and hard lines going between the body and the subframe. They were to be replaced anyway so no real biggie. I loostened the 6 body mount bolts with a long 1/2" drive breaker bar and a day or two soak in penetrating oil. After you get them cracked loose a bit, I dropped one side at a time and replaced the rotten factory biscuits with polygraphite replacements. Some folks recomend solid aluminum bushings but I went this route and would do it this way again if needed. I swapped out the one side then loosely assembled it before heading over to do the other side. Repeat the process but tighten this side all the way up. Go back to the first side and tighten that side up as well. If you are worried about alignment, there are alignment holes in the body and subframe that can be used with a drift pin to re-align the body if required. Since I did one side at a time, mine was fine and did not require alignment. Hope this helps.

-Mark.

hey thanks for the advice. i think i'm going to take it off now.

stingr69: i think that's a good idea for keeping everything all aligned (doing one side at a time). but i think i'm going to go the other route and put the engine and tranny onto the sub before installing. i just remember how hard it was to get to certain bolts taking everything out and i'm sure it will be equally hard to put them in if the sub is connected when i go for it. some of the bell housing bolts were just hell getting at and i don't know how i'd ever manage to put them back in!!

thanks for both of your advice though

ben

btw boodle nice site! i'm feeling the way you did about "the bug" start with a routine matinence job end up with ground up restoration!! how does that happen? http://www.camaros.net/forum/smile.gif

i don't know how it happens, but it sure does! If you got to my site www.geocities.com/boodlefoof (http://www.geocities.com/boodlefoof) and click on "my '68 Camaro" you can also find some other pages that will be helpful. Check the "other" section for step by step instruction info about replacing the bushings one side at a time, as well as some other jobs that you might want to do.

Good luck.

If you have a running driving car or don't have a reason to remove the subframe then Mark's method is right there. Just went through it with Cris' help this past weekend. I'm real happy with the Prothane bushings we used.

Something I wouldn't have thought of (thanks Cris) was to tape up around the bumper and grill and where the bumper mounts come through the valance. When you drop the subframe it gives the painted surfaces some protection...

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...Dennis
"The '69 (http://chevelles.com/showroom/ww.jpg), the '96 (http://www.camaroslimited.com/graphics/memcars/96ss.jpg) & the club (http://camaroslimited.com/)"