Here's looking up your rear end.....

I’ve never seen a Corvette rear end before, let alone work on one. And what’s more, I had absolutely no intentions of going near this one but, as I said in an earlier Vette's Sting Blog, the spacers fell out of the left trailing arm while I was cutting off the exhaust, so I had to take a further look.

First thing I noticed when the Corvette's rear wheels were removed was brake fluid on the rotors. Yep, that Hughsie was right again, the rear calipers were leaking and needed to be sleeved.
The left hand trailing arm had recently been either reconditioned of replaced. It was freshly painted and had a Mid West Corvette sticker on it. Wonder why???? Whoever put it in didn’t set to spacers up and secure them properly…….Am I surprised?

The Corvette's right hand trailing arm was a different story. The front bush was stuffed and half of one of the handbrake springs fell onto the ground when the rotor was removed. No option here but to remove it & have it fixed by a Corvette specialist. A quick check of the Advertisers on the NSW Corvettes Unlimited web site led me to Scott Girard of Corvette Alterations & Conversions (CAC).Within about a week or so, Scott had expertly rebuilt the hub and replaced the front bush. I always enjoy going to his workshop, so many Corvettes in various states of repair to look over.

Unlike the front, the rear rotors required replacing. Ebay to the rescue, but this time a much more informed, intelligent bid……No smart comments... ok! Thanks to Gino Constabile in Adelaide bisonauto@picknowl.com.au I got a good deal on rotors & pads.

While I was at it, I decided to remove the rear half shafts, spring and just about everything else but the diff centre and give then a good clean up & paint job.
Getting the right hand trailing arm back in place was an interesting task. That front pivot bolt is a real doosey, getting it back into place requires a very skinny hand with long fingers and a double jointed wrist. Not even Dayle could help out here!

The park brake cable was seized, which I’m told is typical for the breed- the '75 Corvette. I didn’t replace this, just doused it in WD40 or similar for a couple of days and it soon freed up.
I heard from somewhere (Scott Girard I think) that the park brake shoes should be adjusted before bolting up the half shafts, which I did. The rest of it was a simple matter to re- assemble.

This being done, it was time to clean up & repaint the engine bay. There were a few surprises here too, but you’ll have to wait for the next installment to hear about these. Stay tuned......more coming soon....