2 questions on 1968 rear suspension

[John D.]

A couple questions as I put the rear suspension back in my 68. The strut/shock absorber mounts for the two sides are different. The AIM shows part #3820930 on right and #3820929 on left. In this orientation there is a flat portion of the end thru the strut rods facing the road. Is this the correct orientation or am I mixing the sides up?

On the lower rear shock mount and the cam for the strut adjustment GM used a thick nut. One was 9/16" thick the other is 11/16" thick. Which goes where? Is the thicker one on the bottom of the shock or the strut adjustment cam?

Thanks for the help. John.

[Wayne W.]

Re: 2 questions on 1968 rear suspension

I dont quite understand the question about the shock mount, but the flat end is toward the rear of the car. The mount goes in from the front and the shock mount portion points to the inside. It will only fit one way. As for the nut. I think that the longer one goes on the shock.

[Joe L.]

Re: 2 questions on 1968 rear suspension

John and Wayne------

The GM #3820929 shaft is the left side shaft and the 3820930 is the right side shaft. These shafts can really only be installed on the correct side due to the "flat spot" on the shaft shank. If you get them on wrong, it will be obvious that they could not go that way.

As far as the nuts are concerned, the REAL thick nut (GM #3691530) goes on the shock shaft. The "not-as-thick" thick nuts goes on the camber adjustment bolts at the center bracket.

[John D.]

Thanks Joe, followup

Joe:

Thanks again for the help. I am curious, the holes that the shock mount goes thru on the strut rod and the double mount on the T-arm are both round. Is there something that the flat spot on the shock mount shaft was supposed to line up with?

Thanks again, John.

[Joe L.]

Re: Thanks Joe, followup

John-----

If you look carefully, you should see that the rear hole in the bearing support (the "fork"-shaped piece that the shaft goes through) is not completely round. It has a flat spot to index the shaft. If yours are completely round, then someone has modified them and I don't know why someone would do this.

The bearing supports for each side are the same casting. However, they are machined differently and this hole is the ONLY difference in the machining. Each side has to be machined so that the REAR hole is the indexed one. That is why the PART numbers for these bearing supports are side-specific.