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Ron Mau Member
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While replacing the bushings on my suspension, I found that the bolts no longer fit. They seem to be too large to fit through the new bushings. Is the fix just a simple drill them out or something more exotic? TIA Ron Mau JH 16367 |
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jensnhealy Member
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Ron, That is a nasty surprize, isn't it. I suggested to Delta that they might want to tell people that they will have to replace all the bolts involved, but they have obviously not chosen to do so. Certainly new slightly smaller diameter bolts are an easier solution than trying to ream out the bushings. You'll want grade 5 or better bolts. I don't recall the exact specs of what I used, but I remember it added some frustration about $15. Scott |
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Mark Rosenbaum Member 
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One of the drawbacks of owning 30-year-old cars is that sometimes the available replacement parts aren't quite exact duplicates of the originals. This, alas, is one of those cases. All of the original suspension hardware is supposedly Grade 5. I have no clues to the design standards used by Vauxhall suspension engineers in the 1960s, and would therefore presume, for safety's sake, that these bolts are just barely strong enough to avoid failure during service. What this means is that you may be able to replace the original bolts with smaller diameter Grade 8 bolts, or their metric equivalents. I'd use smaller bolts only if they had a yield strength at least equal to that of the original parts. You might need to consider using super-strong bolts from vendors such as ARP Fasteners. Remember that a suspension collapse will usually result in a catastrophe. In general, drilling or reaming out the metal core of a bushing is fine, provided this leaves enough metal in place to give a reasonable service life. A bushing failure merely requires replacement before the bolt starts to be abraded, so from a safety standpoint there's a lot more leeway here. If you do drill or ream out the bushings, be sure to use a good anti-sieze compound on the freshly exposed metal. |
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Glen Member 
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I just recently redid the front suspension bushings that I got from Delta and don't recall any bolts that didn't fit. Which bushings are you referring to? |
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Ron Mau Member
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The rear ones, the bolts don't fit. Time for a trip to the parts store. Ron |
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Dan Eiland Member
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I purchased a complete set of SuperPro polyurethane bushings for the front and rear suspensions. When ordering you have to look them up under the Vauxhall Viva to find them. All my original bolts fit perfect. The rest of my suspension parts are from Delta. Very pleased with the quality from both companies. |
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Harkes Member 
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I did the very same as Dan. I have recently replaced all bushings with SuperPro Polyurethane bushings and ordered all new (original) bolts and nuts for the front and rear suspension from DMS. Everything fitted perfectly. I also did order DMS uprated springs and sway bars and last but not least the Bilstein shocks from Greg as well as the JensenSport Big Brakes. my 2.2L engine should be ready in a month or two tops. good luck erik harkes |
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Ricardo Member 
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HEY GUYS !!!!! WHERE DID YOU GET THE SUPERPRO BUSHINGS FROM?????? Or better yet (I'll thank you for it) can you post or e-mail me the part numbers of the bushing and whom to buy them from? The club has the black poly bushings, but I would like something red, white or blue (Sounds patriotic, doesn't it?) to go along with the bilst. shocks I'm getting from the club and the suspension paint. Hope you can help me. Thanks in advance. Rick |
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Harkes Member
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Here are the SuperPro bushings (which btw are blue) i ordered at Revinton TR (email: sue@revingtontr.com ) in the UK: Front suspension bushings: SPF0035K Front Cross Member (outrigger) Bush KIT: 2 x Bush, 2 x Tube SPF1429K Strut Bar (or Tie Control Rod) to Chassis KIT: 4 x Bush, 2 x Tube - makes 2 overall SPF1637K Front Control Arm Upper (or Upper wishbone) Inner KIT: 4 x bush, 4 x Shell, 4 x Tube SPF1925K Front Control Arm Lower Inner KIT: 4 x Bush, 2 x Tube - makes 2 overall Rear suspension bushings: SPF0070K Rear Lower Trailing Arm Front & Rear KIT: 4 X Bush, 4 X Tube SPF0070-2K Rear Upper Trailing Arm Front KIT: 2 X Bush, 2 X Tube SPF1663K Rear Upper Trailing Arm Rear To Differential KIT: 2 X Bush, 2 X Tube This is all you need. If you want new bushings for your sway bars then these are available too but i ordered swaybars from DMS including bushings. Revington TR were very helpful and offered very good service and their delivery took just a couple of days. good luck Erik Harkes, Netherlands |
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Brett Gibson JH5 20497 Member
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I found this stuff listed at Global Performance Parts in Michigan http://WWW.GLOBALPERFORMANCEPARTS.COM I plugged in the P/N#'s and they all came up, check it out but let me say this the stuff aint cheap, I dont recall Delta's prices on what they had but me things they were cheaper, usuall disclaimer not affiliated etc etc. Thanks Erik for providing the numbers and opening up this option up. Brett |
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Dan Eiland Member
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I originally purchased bushings from Delta and then exchanged them for some other parts and ordered SuperPro bushings. There was less than a $100 difference between them, I could use all the original bolts and all my bushings are now a matched set in polyurethane. Considering how often I install new suspension bushings, the $100 difference wasn't an issue, at least not for me. I had no problems with the quality of the products supplied by Delta, but I like the idea that all the bushings are a matched set and made for the original bolt sizes. With Deltas I had some that were polyurethane and some that were rubber. BTW, the polyurethane bushing for the steering column is still from Delta. So you don't want to forget to order that one. I'm almost finished with my suspension and steering and should be ready to reinstall the suspension in a few weeks. I thought I could reuse the original mounting assemblies for the front but once I had them out and got them cleaned up, one of them looks in bad shape. I talked to Jim in January about them and he thought he would have some in a few months. Called today and Ross tells me they are back ordered and the next shipment is in about six weeks. Just in case I need these sooner, does someone know of another source? |
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Greg Fletcher Administrator 
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I like the SuperPros as they are much closer to the original Metalastik in feel and fit. The cost has gone up a couple times in the last three months, so they will be considerably more than any urethane unit. I have JH sets on order currently and you should be seeing the complete line of SuperPro bushings in the Club Store in a week or two. |
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Mark Rosenbaum Member
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Just ran across another US source for SuperPro bushings at http://www.geocities.com/carorphanage/ Usual disclaimers. I have never done business with these people and don't know anything about them, but perhaps someone a bit closer to their location than I could take a look. |
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Ron Earp Member 
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This sort of information is EXACTLY why we needed this forum and not the horrible old style message board. Good job Greg, I knew it would pay off. This preservation of knowledge and not having to re-invent the wheel (or thread) every nine months is well worth the effort. Fantastic! |
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