I'm no suspension specialist, but I've got a persistent clunk in the rear (right) suspension somewhere in my '66 Starfire.

The car has some tweaks from factory.
1) It uses 1966 Cutlass/442 Hotchkiss aftermarket rear trailing arms. Yes they fit and have for 20 years.
2) The reason for the boxed arms is I'm using an addco rear sway bar which looks ugly hanging under there, but helps handling a lot. A tradeoff I'm willing to make and keep.

I'm wondering where spring perches or pockets should be - are these just for the low side of the rear coil springs, or am I missing some kind of insulator/perch to isolate the spring from where it contacts the body on the top part of the spring?

I'm 90% sure the clunk is a trailing arm bushing worn or wearing out. They were new 20 years ago and perfect for years, but haven't been touched since I restored the car in the late 90's. Also my suspension guy just greased the lower trailing arm zerk fittings, but the clunk persists.

Suspension clunks are very, very familiar to me and I really them. Most of the time it's worn bushings or out-of-round holes. Either way these cars shouldn't be making these sounds. Or at least I'd like to minimize them.

Looking forward to your knowlege and suggestions here.

Thanks in advance
Chris

 

Yes there was an isolation pad on top of the rear springs, but the car would not clunk without it. It may squeak a little. I removed mine when I redid the rear springs back in 2009 with no ill effects. Clunks are usually bushings, ujoints, pinion issues, etc.