Ooooooooh shhheeeeiiiiitttt! YOU DO know how to have fun! BTDT (on a Grand Cherokee). The bushings were shot on the GC, and after I replaced them with the poly bushings, it made a whole new car out of it. Yeah, it was worth the two weekends it took me to git-er-done.
In spite of the very sticky so-called "water proof" grease used at the time they were installed, they tend to dry out anyway. When they do, you'll know it, cuz the chassis starts to squeak like an old "Hooptee car" (my daughters phrase) with dry ball joints! Maybe something better n good ol' WD-40 to keep 'em from squeaking - what I use on the GC - but so far so good. (8 years now).
As for the heat...I hear ya. For my B'day (Friday) my bride bought me one of those 36", four-bladed "Air Mover" fans. Gave it a workout yesterday - replaced the rear half of the carpet in her 69 C3 Vert - in 92? temps and sticky humidity. It reminded me of the day Lee and I pulled my LT5 (seems like ages ago).
That fan would have made a huge difference! Still, I was soaked by the time I got done.
I still have a few of those "while the motor is out" details I want to get to on the Z, but the heart of the beast might be at least sitting on her throne by night fall...maybe. You can bet I'll have the fan running. Pete has A/C in his skunkworks - and a lift too! (Someday, maybe I'll have at least the lift?)
Rambling, as I so often do, but good luck w/ your project. Let us know what you think of the ride after.
P.