UPDATE 5/15/2026: Taking too long for the weather to stay warm up here in Vermont, so I decided to get the nose back together before gluing in the headliner.
First Up: Front Suspension
I rebuilt the upper control arms using NOS D2Z spring perches. Just pulled the anti-squeak rubbers off them and they are the same as earlier years.
For the upper balljoint I replaced the repo boot (left) with the more correct concours version (center). The ring on the inside is a little too small on them and will tare after install. I used a stepped socket and a hammer to open them up. I then used a much larger socket to install them with the original repo retainer ring (upper, to the left of the balljoint).
The lower control arm is the Scot Drake version, which I had to repaint to cover their logo and get the black paint dip line in the correct location. The strut rod was soaked in evaporust, touched up with gun bluing, clear coated and then dowsed with Boshield. The bushing are the correct ones from Dead Nuts On.
Yes, I bolted the upper balljoint in place. I made several attempts at riveting them, but was unhappy with the results and opted for safety over concours correctness. That and I did not want to dump several hundred dollars into paying someone to rivet them to make them concours like.
