The Real Deal kit includes all the needed bushings for the job, and this poor old Nova was in dire need of every one of 'em, believe me.
This shot shows the sorry old ball joints next to the new Just Suspension items. The joint and end cases are fully machined externally and internally (not just the wear surfaces). The ball studs have twice the grease journals as the parts store versions. The joints use high-quality steel pre-load springs and washers versus the rubber and plastic found in standard replacements, and the Just Suspension ball-stud seats are machined rather than stamped.
Here are two of the control arms after a good cleaning, a fresh coat of rattle-can black, and fresh bushings and ball joints-they look just like new, only now they're better than new.
While I was at it, I threw the alignment adjusters into the blast cabinet and cleaned 'em up a bit. When I reinstalled 'em, I set them at the center point-the front end shop will make the fine adjustments during the alignment.
With new coil springs, ball joints, bushings, shocks, and a fresh coat of paint, the front suspension looks as good as new but is actually better.
The R&R of the rear suspension components (aside from the now expected frozen nuts and bolts) was a heck of a lot easier. I started by removing the shocks. After a few minutes searching around in the trunk, I finally realized the upper shock mounts don't protrude through the trunk floor like I'm used to seeing-hey, ya learn something new everyday.
The leaf springs mount to the underside of the rearend housing via large mounting plates that incorporate lower shock mounts. Just Suspension includes a set of U-bolts to replace the factory studs if necessary.
The rear shackles took a fair amount of Liquid Wrench and some elbow grease to break free. Watch those knuckles.