All,
I'm working on a very good friend's '71 VG Valiant (a RH drive Australian car, think '69 Dart equivalent), and I had to remove the engine a few weeks ago (those issues are now resolved, and the engine is ready to go back in the car).
The engine bay and firewall were covered in oil and years of greasy filth (oil leaks, etc), so this morning I rolled it outside and pressure washed it. Here's where it's at right now:
View attachment 1716123388
Now that everything is clean(-ish), I can see that the suspension bushings are cracked and/or rather nasty looking, the ball joint boots are all but gone, the steering is 50/50 (a couple good tie rod ends, the other two not so good), and the paint on the k-member is peeling off. Now, there
is a "suspension and steering kit" of some sort from Australia in the trunk that (allegedly) has all of the pieces and parts needed to rebuild the front end, but it's just a bunch of parts in bags, none of which are labeled, so I have no idea how complete it is. (Or the quality of the parts, for that matter.)
The original intent with this project was to just get the engine running so they could enjoy the car again, but I'm on the fence right now as to how to continue, so I ask you fine people: How hard is it to take the k-member out so that I can replace the suspension and steering parts on a bench, or a platform of some sort, so that I don't have to roll around on the floor on my back? After all, I'm 58, 20 pounds overweight, have a bad back....and a bad knee....
Plus, I have no experience with torsion bar suspensions, so this would be a first for me.
But I do have a good engine hoist, two floor jacks, 6 jackstands, a lifetime collection of Snap-On, S-K, and Craftsman tools at my disposal, and a large enough space to work in.
This seems like the perfect time to do this work, but I'm just now sure if I want to dig into this project this far.
Opinions? Advice?
Thanks.
Jim
(Edit add: I just found the sticky thread about the LCA bushings near the top of the forum, and if it's relevant to this car, I have to admit this is something I'm probably not set-up to do myself.)
