If VETTE were a puzzle book, locating the various installments of our"Front and Center" C4-suspension build would be akin to tracking downthe protagonist in the Where's Waldo? series. Come to think of it,finding Martin Handford's iconic capped character has often been mucheasier than sniffing out our '87 "Son of Zombie" coupe.
With the steering rack already pulled from the car, we got to work. Thisimage shows the rack after having been degreased and sprayed clean witha high-pressure hose.
Several of you have written in to ask how the project is going(something I appreciate greatly, by the way) and why we haven't includedit in the magazine on a continual basis. The reason is pretty simple:I've been busy working on the car.
A very large portion of 2007 was spent reworking the body panels. As youmight imagine, this is no small task-especially when you're correctingwork previously performed by so-called professionals. We'll have more onthat in the months ahead, along with all the details on the paintingprocess.
A quick inspection showed that, although slightly faded, the flexiblecovers were in one piece.
For now, I'd like to put the finishing touches on the disassembly andrefurbishing of the car's front suspension, a job we began early lastyear. (For the most recent installment, see our Sept. '07 issue.) Followalong as we complete the final chapter of our "Front and Center"suspension-build series.
Parts list
Rack-and-Pinion Poly Bushing kit (Corvette Central PN 564254)
Rack-and-Pinion Boot Clamp (PN 564364)
Inner Tie Rod End (PN 574593)
Outer Tie Rod End (PN 574580)
Front Sway Bar Bracket (PN 573040)
Front Sway Bar Frame Bushing, Poly (PN depends on model year and options)
Front Sway Bar Poly Bushing Kit (PN 574567)
Sources
Auto-Air Colors
14 Airport Park Rd
Dept. VM
East Granby, CT 06026
(800) 509-6563
www.autoaircolors.com
Corvette Central
P.O. Box 16
13550 Three Oaks Rd
Dept. VM
Sawyer, MI 49125
(800) 345-4122
www.corvettecentral.com
The ball joints, however, were in pretty bad shape. Wear, a damagedboot, and more than a little dirt packed inside were discovered with acursory evaluation. | 
As the teardown started, we spent some time cutting through the originalfactory pressing on the tie rod's ball joint. A careful cut on bothsides, and we were ready to move on. Unless you're handy with yourtools, you may want to leave this step to a pro. | 
After taping off the sensitive areas, we removed the hoses and anythingelse we didn't want to damage in our next steps. |