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I assumed (incorrectly) that replacment J-nuts for the front leaf spring brackets would be easy to find. I was wrong. I
could not find anything "off the shelf". The local hardware store had the cheap extruded nuts, but I did not trust
my rear suspension to them. To my surprise, the popular restoration shops were also selling this same style. I also ordered
two styles from Mcmaster-Carr, but the depth was too shallow and they would not reach deep enough into the frame.
What's a guy to do? I decided to make my own. Here is how I did it:
The j-nut on the left is the one of the originals from the car. My original plan was to simply weld a Grade 8 nut to a clip
that was shaped correctly (the two items on the right). It must have been late at night and I must have not been thinking
right, because I soon realized that welding the nut would compromise the strength of the nut. So I started on Plan B.
I began by purchasing generic, extruded J-nuts from my local home improvement store.
I then removed the threaded portion of the J-nut.
I then radiused the edges of a 3/8"-16 nut.
I used the nut to create a hexagon shaped hole in the clip. I tried several different methods. The best results were obtained
by threading a 3/8" bolt through the nut and placing the entire assembly on top of a 5/8" socket. I then heated
the metal using a torch and pressed the nut through the metal using my shop press. Here is a picture of the set up before
the metal was heated.
The picture below shows the results,
A 3/8"-16 grade 8 bolt was then pressed into the metal.
The end of the J-nut must be re-shaped to clear the slots in the frame.
Here is the final product with a coat of paint.
Is this overkill? Probably, but my mind is at peace knowing that I have grade 8 bolts and nuts holding my rear suspension
together.
I installed a bolt in one of the nuts and torqued it to 75 ft-lbs in order to see if it would slip inside of the metal.
It held together well and did not show any signs of weakness. The service manual specifies a torque of 30 ft-lbs, so I do
not have any concerns with the strength of the final product.
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