SWB help please - what bushings for front A arms?

[haycait911]

can anyone tell me what bushings I use for the front A arms on my '66 SWB? I have a set of '69 onward bushings but the A arm on the SWB has a smaller diameter. the bushing is very sloppy on the shaft. I looked thru pelican but other than ER, no dice. am I missing something?

and to head off the inevitable ' why don't you update the front end? ' questions. I'd like to keep it as stock as possible, just cuz'.

any help much appreciated. Don.

[Neil '67 911S]

Stoddard has what you need.

http://www.stoddard.com/shop/shopsearch.asp

Forward bushing: 914.341.422.00 These are about $16/bushing (you need two).

Aft bushing: 901.341.421.03. These are the pricey fan bloc bushings. They are $245 apiece! As expensive as these are, 20+ years ago these were almost impossible to find.

An alternative is to contact Rainer Cooney at Meister Restoration in New Hampshire.

Meister Restorations
Owners: Rainer Cooney and Jerry Draco
Center Barnstead, NH. 03225
Tel: 603-776-3561

I lent him a set of new fan bloc bushings and he made a mold. He can make you a pair with the proper hardness (durometer) for less $ than new ones. You have to send him your old ones for the metal portion, which he reuses. Carefully press those off the control arm.

If you get in touch with Rainer, simply tell him that you want a pair of Neil's 911 bushings.

Cheers!

[John Fusco]

I got mine from The Meisters, Rainer and Jerry (Dascoli).

[Neil '67 911S]

John,

That's terrific. How much were your fan bloc bushings?

[Flieger]

Sorry for the rant, but I need to vent some frustration after blowing my budget on my winter "tune-up"

I am cringing just looking at those flan blocs. Someone put polyurethane Weltmeister bushings on my trailing arm and front A-arms and they are so harsh. They squeak like the devil and the steering feels so jerky as the bushings twist-slip-twist-slip under cornering load. I am going to put the Elephant Racing rubber silentblocs on the front A-arm and the rear I have monoballs now. The ride is much smoother and -well.. silent.

I see what Norbert Singer was talking about when he mentioned one reason why the improvement in lap times for the '73 RSR was so great. They switched from urethane/plastic bushings to metal bearings (needles/monoballs). It was not so much the lesser overall friciton as it was the bearings being smoother and more predictable/progressive in their friction. The plastic would deform, bind, sometimes slip, and sometimes twist like rubber, there was no control.

I understand you want to keep your car original so, how well do they work on a SWB? What kind of greasing routine do you need to perform?

Back to the regularly scheduled discussion, my apologies.

[John Fusco]

John,

That's terrific. How much were your fan bloc bushings?

They were included in a complete refresh of the suspension in April of "08 - when did he make the mold you referred to ?

The individual items were not itemized on the invoice (and I don't bicker with Artists).
Rainer did describe to me the process of pressing on the bushings but I was distracted by the nascent 550 and can't remember the details.

As for how the car handles - we discussed going with Elephant stuff but we both agreed that for what I was using the car for the original set up would be better.
And it is and then some. A number of track days and no complaints. From me or the car.
I did lower it a bit.
Plenty stiff, pointable and predictable at the speeds I run at.

- But I also have an S school bus wheel and the urge to return the (other) wheels to the original 4 1/2's.

[Neil '67 911S]

They were included in a complete refresh of the suspension in April of "08 - when did he make the mold you referred to ?

The individual items were not itemized on the invoice (and I don't bicker with Artists).
Rainer did describe to me the process of pressing on the bushings but I was distracted by the nascent 550 and can't remember the details.

As for how the car handles - we discussed going with Elephant stuff but we both agreed that for what I was using the car for the original set up would be better.
And it is and then some. A number of track days and no complaints. From me or the car.
I did lower it a bit.
Plenty stiff, pointable and predictable at the speeds I run at.

- But I also have an S school bus wheel and the urge to return the (other) wheels to the original 4 1/2's.

Rainer made the mold this past May. He and Sandy didn't show up at the TYP356NE luncheon in Norton, MA this afternoon. Jerry doesn't bother with this sort of thing. He was probably out and about with a snow machine today.

Ol' Ivory was at Meister to have the underside scrapped, sanded and re-under coated. I decided that I didn't want to make a mess of my shop and last spring, Rainer was willing to take it on. Two weeks of coal miner work conditions.

No reason not to do the job right, so I decided to strip and completely rebuild the suspension. We blasted all the suspension pieces and Jerry painted them with two-part paint. All bushings fore and aft plus the rear wheel bearings bearings were replaced. All the hardware was shell blasted and re-plated. I had the Konis rebuilt. It looks brand new under there now.

I'm not a track car kind of guy, instead I take the opportunity to give academic papers out west whenever I can. Conferences don't do much for me, it's the drive to and fro that matter. Taut yet comfortable and squeak- free are what appeal to me.

A few years ago I asked Gary Emory about the fan bloc bushings and he told me that he didn't bother to replace them, just the $16 bushing. As you and I know, there's no screwing around with greasing the stock bushings. For the racers or wanna' be racers out there, it's a different matter. To each his own.

Incidently, he has started to have the mill CNC the 550 body mold out of cherry. Evidently it's a more stable wood than oak.

I had Harvey restore the 4.5 Fuchs. I also have a stock "school bus" steering wheel. The combination of the full size steering wheel and 4.5" rims makes the car feel like it's dancing in a good way.

[John Fusco]

+1 on all that !

I really have to make another, overdue trip to Barnstead to see how that car is coming along.
Those guys are something else.