Classic/Antique Car Repair: 1963 olds starfire, ball joints, rivit

Question
How do you remove ball joints from car

Answer
The ball joints on this car are rivited to the upper and lower control arms. The factory recommendation back in the day was to replace the control arms and the ball joints as an assembly. However the after market makes of parts began producing kits that allowed replacing the joint without replacing the entire assembly. To replace the joints you need to jack and suppost the car under the spring assembly. Then remove the wheel, drum, and backing plate, Then remove the nut that holds the joint stud to the spindle and use a ball joint seperating tool to seperate the joint from the spindle. The next step is the one that I hated doing back in the day. You need to drill aboit 1/4 hole down through each of the rivit heads holding the joint to the a frame. Once the hole is drilled it is time for the big hammer and chisel to break the head off each rivit and then punch the rivit out. The new joint can be bolted in place using grade 8 bolts that should come with the new joint. Reassemble and then have the front end aligned as the final step.