'68 trailing arm replacement bushings

j.hall · 06-27-2006, 08:33 PM

It seems there are no rubber replacement bushings for '68 912's trailing arm (torsion bar). The plastic bushings squeak terribly. Elephant Racing makes a set of bronze with grease fittings......they are expensive but are they quiet?

jpamental · jpamental's Garage

I've heard that they are quiet and very very good. It may take some effort to fit them - I think it varies by car - some people have had no trouble, others have had to grind or shim just a tad. Elephant Racing is supposedly very responsive if you have issues though.

Check http://www.912bbs.org for more info, and also Dave Hillman's site. He's got a 66 and installed them and likes them a lot. He has lots of pictures of the install process.

j.hall · 06-28-2006, 05:59 PM

Hi Jason,
Thanks for the input. Installing the plastic bushings was no picinic either.....I made a special tool that pushed them into the socket on the torsion tube and used my treadle hammer (with a sixty pound head) to set them in the cover plate. On smooth roads they are tolerable, back roads (which there are plenty in Vermont) the noise is a bit annoying. Theres only a short driving season here so I will tolerate them for this summer then probably make the switch next winter. I have a '64 356 that will get the same set up. It was fairly humid here tonight and oddly they made no (or very little) noise when I went for my nightly cruise?! Anybody else experience this???

lep · 07-07-2006, 07:52 PM

I just installed Weltmeister poly-graphite (hard-plastic) for my 68 912 and haven't heard any noises from them (yet) on quite bumpy city streets. They came with a notice that hard bushings may resonate noise during street driving.

Compared to the worn out rubber ones I removed, I probably woudn't want to go back to softer (rubber) bushings with metal spacers.

j.hall · 07-09-2006, 02:33 AM

Its my understanding that on a '68 912 the only replacement bushing is plastic. As I mentioned in an earlier post, they don't make a squeak when its humid (strange indeed!). I'm getting used to the noise though and will attribute it to the cars personality for this summer. The driving season is short in Northern Vermont so I'll tolerate it for now but may do the switch over the (very long) winter.