C4 Corvette Suspension Rebuild - Front And Center

Using Aircraft Remover-which will eat through anything, includingskin-the paint on the steering rack came off in short order.

After a quick coat of primer, the rack was reassembled and sprayed downwith Auto-Air's Base Coat Sealer.

Next came a coat of Auto-Air Deep Black, followed by a few coats ofclear.

For the curious, we used the same paints and gun from last year's work...

...Since we wereprotecting parts that would remain mostly hidden from view, we electednot to invest in any of the more-expensive, better-looking PPGclearcoats.

Once our prep work was completed, we broke out our Corvette Centralsuspension-rebuild components.

The steering arm received some thread lock before the new tie rod wasinstalled...

...and the cover sleeve was slid into place.

With the tie rods installed, the original rack boots were pressed intoservice using fresh clamps. Note the new bushing.

With the ball joints replaced, the rack was almost finished.

Finally, the last of the new bushings was pressed on.

The antiroll bar was next. The old bushings were removed, leaving themetal sleeve.

Using the last of our new Corvette Central parts, we prepped the bar forreinstallation.

But before we could finish, we noticed that a couple of the bushings weneeded weren't included in our kit. These bushings are available in 24,26, and 33mm sizes; you'll have to determine which size is right foryour car before ordering.

Assembly was a cinch. We just slipped the bushing over the bar...

...andsecured it with the cover and retaining bolts.

With the rack replaced, the new ball joints were screwed onto thefreshly painted hubs. Since we still have a lot of work to do before ourfinal assembly, we didn't go so far as to reconnect the suspension.After all, this Corvette isn't going anywhere...until we finish ourpaint job. Join us soon for all the details on that process.