ball joint replace in a 65 - how hard is it?

[Rev]

The upper control arms have replaceable ball joints. You may have to drill out some rivets to get the old ones out and put in bolts for the new ball joints where the rivets once were. New upper control arm bushings can be installed while you have the control arms off the car. Getting the threaded end caps off can be a pain in the ass. I ended up putting a big crescent wrench on them and then beating on the wrench with a big hammer. They did eventually loosen though with lots of penetrating oil and lots of hammer blows. I didn't have an impact wrench then, but that would have made it easier.

The lower ball joints are built into the control arm and are not replaceable. You just replace the whole control arm. You won't need to press anything off or on.

You're right about needing a spring compresser. l borrowed one from a friend but some auto supply strores will lend you one for a deposit (AutoZone, Pepboys?). Be careful with the compressed spring. Treat it like a bomb with a hair trigger, very gently. There's lots of energy stored in a compressed coil spring.

Keep the shim packs that come off the upper control arm together and labled as to where they came from so you can put them back the same. You still will probably need a new allignment.

I did my whole rebuild in the drive way and I think it took most of a weekend. Good luck with yours.

Rev