Planning on completely going through the suspension on my 74’. Pretty sure it is way past do, PO didn’t appear to do much maintenance.
I spent the better part of the day taking apart several front and rear suspension assemblies that were taken out of some parts cars I had some months ago. Wanted to use the experience to familiarize myself on how to get it all apart without destroying anything on my car when I do it. As I was doing this I noticed a large amount of rust coming from inside the front A arms. During this process it had me asking a more and more questions;

Do you guys soak parts like this in a bath of evaporust etc, before repainting/ powder coating them?

If so, how do you try to protect the inside of the A arms/ rear control arms from corroding again?

Do you tape off areas that bushings go to keep the surface bare, or paint it and bushings go over the new paint?

I noticed in previous threads you guys have been reaming out bushings, which ones and why?

I’m sure more questions are going to pop up as this progresses, but these are the ones so far…

I am not sure how far north you are but I have a powder coat shop in Batavia IL

Freezing, just torch out the old bushing, sand blast the parts (yes tape off bushing and bearing areas. I had mine painted with Emron, used on trailer and truck, or powder coat. It's really a lot of fun when its all starting to come together. Best, MarkClick to view attachment Click to view attachmentClick to view attachment

I second (or third) the powder coat option.

Plus all new bushings. And replate the hardware. And rebuild the steering rack. And replace all wear parts. And...

Been watching some videos, looking through current and past threads on which type of bushings to install, rubber, poly, etc…lots of variables, options and opinions there.
Also I find mixed answers on where to source such parts….all I really know this will be a strictly a street car. It will go for a spirited drive every so often, but mostly a weekend driver.
I would like to get all needed parts purchased and ready to go before I take the car out of commission to complete the rebuild. I am assuming this will take me a least a few weekends of work to complete the process.
Thank you all for the input, please keep it coming. Need all the help and guidance I can get.

What works really well is getting an old suspension that you can rebuild and then switching everything over in a weekend. If your car is running ok- as is, I would wait until winter to do the switchover. You always find small issues and sending out parts for restoration always takes longer than promised.

On the same page with you on that. At this moment that is the plan. Rounding up the ducks, then getting them in a row.

That is a great plan. Since you are planning a street driver with some spirited driving, (really that is how I would describe my use) I would suggest the Elephant Racing rubber bushings all the way around. I have them and love the way my car rides. I went with Bilstein shocks, 100 pound rear springs, stock torsion bars, stock later 914 F&R sway bars, turbo tie rods and I also had Chuck at Elephant Racing raise my spindles 17mm, add the tie rod kit and gusset.

I have driven several 914's with the poly/bronze bushings and for me they were just a bit harsh for street. I believe you will be very happy with the ER bushings. Good luck.

Finally, Chuck at ER and Eric at PMB are great resources for information on suspension, aside from selling what you need.

Just what I need, thank you.
I have front and rear sway bars, (not sure I will use the rear). Have the turbo tie rods. Have ground control coil over kit with Bilstein B6 shocks. Was thinking 100-140# springs depending on rear sway bar usage.. (input on this????)
I do plan on converting to 5 lug during this process.
Previous thread, stated I apparently have a set of 74 bilstein struts with a pair of A calipers. Have the five lug hubs with studs already.
Just thinking about weather to use and refurbish the 911 stuff or just buy the front end kit from PMB.

@Freezin 914
I have done several suspension bushing installs and prefer rubber bushings. The 914 Rubber front bushings are good. I also prefer to paint under the bushing surface on the front arms to prevent rust. But the powder coatimg affects the install. The bushing streches as it is oulled on. 914 Rubber tool will prevent the bushing from being fully seated as the bushing will hit the end of the tool and push back on it.
I used the Elephant Racing tool which has the correct step height.
Restoration designs will be adding the rear rubber bushings. They come from the same supplier in Europe as the Elephant bushing which are close to $200.
I have sets of tools to install either front or rear bushings and will lend them out to members.
I am not a fan of the 914 Rubber bushings which are not rubber and have the same squeeking and fit problems as the other poly bushings available.
The rear arms have holes that are not round, inline or consistant in size which makes a herd bushing a poor choice.