Front Axle / Front Suspension: Polyurethane 'A' Arm Bushings

[JoeHall]

About six years ago I had a friend make me a full set of upper and lower 'A' arm bushings, and pretty sure he said the material is polyurethane (but could be wrong). They feel firmer in hand than the rubber bushings, but I can press the surface in slightly with thumbnail. I recently installed them in the 56J, as part of a total front suspension rebuild. Only regret is that I did not have him make me half a dozen sets. They are silent, do not make the ride or handling feel harsh in any way, but add a bit of responsive control to the steering. If he ever decided to make them in mass, I'd be at the head of the line with my next order. I won't reveal my friend's name here without first checking with him, but I am also gonna try to get him to consider making a lot more of them. So far, they're the greatest thing since sliced bread. IMHO

[oilnsteel]

Polyurethane is what Prothane and Energy Suspensions among others sell for many modern cars. I have been considering making some for the front spring bushings on half ton
trucks, in an effort to get more life out of them. JT

[StudeRich]

Joe THAT would be about a hundred times better than sliced bread !
This is what our Stude's have needed since 1951 when they were first used.

I remember the Dealers I worked at doing those upper A arm bushing replacements and sometimes both upper and lower at about 50,000 Miles sometimes less, on almost New Cars and like everyone else I have gotten poor life out of the Rubber myself.
My Cars need about 80 of them !

The Delrin space age "plastic" Bushings that are available are hard as a rock like Ceramic and cause a harsh ride, frame damage as you know, and I would Never put them on the Lower Arms.

So since other Cars use Polyurethane Bushings that work well, we need to do the same, but most of us do not have a metal Lathe to make them.

[blackhawk]

In my opinion, the obvious solution is for someone, perhaps a vendor, to arrange for the rubber bushings to be made from polyurethane and offered for sale. I certainly would buy several sets. Unfortunately, the market for them is dwindling, since Studebakers are no longer being made and increasingly, Studebaker owners are driving them less, often only to car shows and club meetings. This is probably why they aren’t already available from our Studebaker vendors. ~Dale

[mbstude]

I'd try a set in polyurethane. I bet they'd work well and last for decades.

In my opinion, the obvious solution is for someone, perhaps a vendor, to arrange for the rubber bushings to be made from polyurethane and offered for sale. I certainly would buy several sets. Unfortunately, the market for them is dwindling, since Studebakers are no longer being made and increasingly, Studebaker owners are driving them less, often only to car shows and club meetings. This is probably why they aren’t already available from our Studebaker vendors. ~Dale

As a Studebaker parts supplier - 95% of our customers prefer replacement parts that are as close to OEM as possible. "New and improved" is often a tough sell.

[mbstude]

The Delrin space age "plastic" Bushings that are available are hard as a rock like Ceramic and cause a harsh ride, frame damage as you know, and I would Never put them on the Lower Arms.

I've ran Delrin bushings in a few cars and have never experienced any "harshness", or heard of them causing damage to anything.

The rubber bushings were only used on 1953 and later cars, simply because they were cheap to produce... 1952 models and earlier, back to the mid 1930's when the Planer suspension debuted, use steel bushings on steel pins. All of those cars rode pretty smooth. I don't see how Delrin bushings would cause problems if steel bushings don't.

Upper arm on a '51 Commander:

[yeroldad]

I'd like to see what the EXACT DEMENTIONS of the polyurethane bushings are. I have a friend in a machine/welding shop that I bet I can get him to make some, or hopefully a bunch of them, if there's enough demand. For that matter, I have a lathe in my shop. Done Delrin for other projects, like steering shafts, for example. I have been kicking around putting a late model front suspension on my '53 Commander, but I'd rather keep it as stock as possible. Don't want to cut up the frame for another suspension, but I'm considering it. Yeah, I know the frame needs reinforcement. That's no big deal to do, and can be hidden.

[JoeHall]

Appreciate all the feedback. Matt, just a guess, but I have always thought the 53 and later rubber bushings was because they began having frame stress (cracking and breaking around the upper 'A' arm, inner pin mount) problems in 1951 when they dropped the V8 in. I know they came out with a Service Bulletin in 1958, on welding 1/8" thick a plate on top of the frame in that area when cracks or breaks occurred, and it pretty much stopped the problem in its tracks. Also, all 62 and later GT frames, besides being heavier gauge, came with that same plate from the factory, except it is on the inside of the frame rail, instead of top side. Having had a 56J frame rip apart in that area, and seen several others with cracks or breaks, I have always installed those plates, per the S-B, as part of initial front end rebuild. With the above 56J, I disassembled it at home, fabricated S-B plates, and had a hot-shot welder come on scene and weld them in place, and had him do the passenger side while he was there. That was late 1990s and I still have that 56J, and never anymore problems, but needed slightly longer mount bolts to accommodate the extra thickness.

Anyway, glad to see there's enough talent here to possibly make some for us all, as I am not sure my old friend would wanna do it. I sent him a THANK YOU very much note, and hinted about possible interest in more - if he'd be interested in producing them, but have not heard back from him yet. I took lotsa pics of the bushings before I installed them, and several other pics of the process, so it should be easy for others here to make them, if they have the know-how and the machinery. They were perfectly made to fit like a glove, and were east to install. Will post pics here soon.

[mbstude]

Appreciate all the feedback. Matt, just a guess, but I have always thought the 53 and later rubber bushings was because they began having frame stress (cracking and breaking around the upper 'A' arm, inner pin mount) problems in 1951 when they dropped the V8 in. I know they came out with a Service Bulletin in 1958, on welding 1/8" thick a plate on top of the frame in that area when cracks or breaks occurred, and it pretty much stopped the problem in its tracks. Also, all 62 and later GT frames, besides being heavier gauge, came with that same plate from the factory, except it is on the inside of the frame rail, instead of top side. Having had a 56J frame rip apart in that area, and seen several others with cracks or breaks, I have always installed those plates, per the S-B, as part of initial front end rebuild. With the above 56J, I disassembled it at home, fabricated S-B plates, and had a hot-shot welder come on scene and weld them in place, and had him do the passenger side while he was there. Still have that 56J, and never anymore problems, but needed slightly longer mount bolts to accommodate the extra thickness.

I've seen a number of Hawks with cracks where the upper inner control arm pivot pin bolts on, but don't recall ever hearing of any other Stude model with that problem. Not to say it hasn't happened, of course.

Most recently I saw it first hand on a '61 Hawk that was in the shop a few months ago. It was obvious that the upper control arm had ripped away from the frame and the wheel & tire went under the car, and someone ugly-welded it all back together. It was pretty bad, even the king pin was bent.

I later found out that the car had been used as a dirt track racer long ago.

Anyway, back on topic, I appreciate you sharing the info on the poly bushings. Looking forward to seeing the pictures.

[JoeHall]

Thanks Matt,
Just wanna give my old friend a few days to respond, since he's the wizard (talented individual) who designed them.

[enjenjo]

I have bought polyurethane bushing by size from this outfit in the past for oddball cars https://www.suspension.com/universal-bushings.asp If you use silicone grease like DOW 111 when installing them they will last forever. https://www.amazon.com/Molykote-DOW-.../dp/B07VV6QZ7N

[wcarroll@outrageous.net]

There are a variety of materials that could be used for this with different properties, so finding out what exactly was used (since we know they have held up) would be good info to have.

Properties like hardness, UV stability, oil impregnated, oil and fuel resistant, etc..

Some of the material can be quite spendy unless you can find a drop cut.

There are materials out there that you want to avoid, but they tend to be the ones used when parts are molded.

For example the aftermarket mounts made and sold among VW suppliers are absolute junk compared to rubber.

Some of the suspension and mounts made for the British car crowd are made with voids/pockets in an effort to reduce the harshness disliked by early users of solid mounts.

Anyway, put me down as a +1 as someone who would be interested, although I’ll likely just machine my own.

While we’re at it, engine and transmission mounts would be a nice option to have as well.

[Jeffry Cassel]

And they are much easier to install

[PackardV8]

I'd swear one of our Stude vendors, (maybe in AZ) has been offering Delrin bushings for decades. Anyone else remember those?

jack vines

[64studeavanti]

I have a set of the delrin bushings on the shelf, if anyone is interested.

[yeroldad]

I'm interested. Can you tell me more about them? I have a '53 Commander and I need to replace the upper bushings. How much?