[KeithO]

I am about to go out and start removing parts off my car in anticipation of a rear swap between Christmas and New Years. I am going to do a little at a time due to time constraints. This morning I will remove the driveshaft, rear swaybar and possibly the shocks only.

First, the car is currently on 4 jackstands with the stands supporting the car on the frame rails as shown here:
http://www.installuniversity.com/install_u...rsity/index.htm

The front/rear weight bias paired with the jackstand locations always made me a little nervous on this car (actually all of my f-bodies). Has anyone done a rear end swap and if so, was there any risk or tendency for the car to rotate forward once all of the weight is removed from the rear? (Due to an accident that happened as a teenager to a friend of mind with jacks/jack stands - I was there - I am hyper-sensitive about getting under cars anyway. In fact, I didn't do anything with cars from the mid-1980's until 2000 after that.) Is there any risk here or am I being paraniod?

Second, I plan on removing things in the following order. This is only an educated guess.
Driveshaft
Sway bar
Shocks
Brake pieces/lines
Any residual wiring that might be there (ABS removed)
Torque arm
Panhard bar
Lower control arms

My logic with leaving the LCAs until last is that I plan to have 2 jackstands under the axle tubes and as I remove pieces, the LCA's will keep the rear centered and allow the rear to rotate in controlled manner into the jack stand cradles.

Is this the correct order to remove stuff? Is "installation the reverse of removal"? Any hints on making this an easier job?

Thanks

[v7guy]

I haven't personally seen a new torque arm mount. From my expierence the poly alternatives always reuse the "clamshell" metal housing that holds the bushing.

For re install it's probably easiest to start with the trq arm, the bushing side has always given me a bit of a fit going in. I usually start with that, after it's on the transmission, I put the LCAs on, jack up the rear, put on the PHR, and then the trq arm onto the pumpkin, sometimes it (the pumpkin)needs rotated a little before you can get the arm on it. After the bolts are through with the nuts on I put on the shocks/ springs, hook up the brakes and the wiring if applicable.