Rear torsion bar install tips I learned to help the next guy

[70S Targa Guy]

This weekend I successfully replaced front and rear torsion bars and updated to the adjustable spring plates and installed new OEM replacement bushings on the spring plates. I started a thread a week ago located hereBroken hand from Removing Spring Plate
asking a few questions just to verify a few things and give me peace of mind. I got good advice from Gunter and others. The install went fairly smoothly with
the exception of removing the hard 20 year old poly neoprene plastic Weltmeister bushings that my mechanic installed from my first upgrade when I purchased the car. Twenty years ago these bushings were pressed into the torsion tube opening and also pressed into the torion bar cover. Without a doubt the toughest
part of the rear TB replacement was removing the old inner plastic bushing that during the last twenty years has become one with the inner torsion tube opening. I tried prying the bushing out with several screwdrivers...no luck. I also tried to cut out a cross section of the bushing with my dremel and then pry it off... again, no way. Then I knew my best plan of attack would be to heat the sucker up and soften it a bit.

Tip 1
I was ready to go to Home Depot and pay $25. for a propane torch but
I figured I would first give my cigar lighter torch a shot and if it worked I would take the $25 I saved and get a nice bottle of wine instead. Well, the cigar torch worked like a charm! I heated up the round inner torsion bar metal around the bushing for about 45 seconds and then I heated up the entire surface of the bushing itself for about another 45 seconds until it started to smoke a bit but not quite at the melting point. I then put in the perfectly sized crow bar (See pic below) I had lying around and put the curved end into the torsion tube opening being careful to place the claw of the crowbar between the inside edge of the bushing and the metal stop flange of the torsion tube itself. A couple hard tugs and the old bushing came out in about a minute.


Tip 2
Next was the chore of removing the old plastic bushing that was pressed into the torsion bar cover. I was planning on reusing the old torsion bar covers because the inside section was smooth and in good shape. Since I lacked the proper bearing/race punch tool to easily remove the old bushing I tried spraying with WD 40 and then hammer with punch and chisels but I was getting nowhere. Then I was looking for a socket that would fit over the old bushing yet fit into the torsion bar cover so I could punch the bushing out but I did not have a socket with an exact fit. I did however try the top part of my jack stand and was happy as sheet that it fit perfectly. Placing the torsion bar cover over 2 pieces of wood with the jack stand in place and 3 or 4 massive blows with a BFH and 15 seconds later the bushing was out.

Hopefully these tips will save someone time money and aggravation in the event they are trying to remove twenty year old bushings that felt like they were welded in place.