Is this normal?

[regal81455]

Ok let me start off by saying what a day and what bitch those front springs are...anyways ive attached some pictures to get input from others that have installed tubular uppers and lowers. I bought new umi lowers to go with a pair of uppers that were acquired from a friend ( had a receipt from wildside speed for gbody uppers with them ) If you look at the pics you can see where the upper control arm is pulled way down tight against the frame. Now I know that when the suspension is "sprung" it will push this up BUT my big question is this. In order for me to put the spindle on the upper ball joint I had to ream out the opening. Is that normal? Also, the passenger side upper does not have near the same amount of vertical travel, it gets hung up on the frame ( see pic ). Not sure if this is correct but before I spend more F'n money on this thing I want some opinions. Is this upper for taller spindles ( b-bodies ?? ) or does it look correct for the stock spindle? Sorry for such a long and disconcerted post but Im really frustrated at the moment - I had to walk away from it for the evening.

 

[regal81455]

and more pics -

last one is of passenger at full travel down...

 

[charlief1]

The control arms are the same as dirt track arms. The better design is from Global West because the put a bend in the two pipes going to the ball joint. What I'm seeing is normal for the type of arms you have.

 

[regal81455]

so are these ok for the street? and the reaming of the stock spindle, that is normal? i thought about just biting the bullet and going with like the spohns but if i don't need to the money would be well spent elsewhere...plus i just don't see how im going to attach the lower to the passenger side, if the drivers side has to be that low to attach it the passenger side will never reach ---

 

[charlief1]

Well I've never had to ream the spindle out myself but there's always a first time. If you want, you can weld a brace between the pipes and put a snubber in it to keep travel down some. I've seen it done before and it does work.

 

[87Gnastey]

Kind of off topic, but regal81455 where did you get that spring compressor? Everyone I have seen attaches on the outside and you can't get on them.

 

[regal81455]

Kind of off topic, but regal81455 where did you get that spring compressor? Everyone I have seen attaches on the outside and you can't get on them.

autozone - $30, you'll have to ask for it as it's part of their loaner program but I just bought it instead...

 

[xcessiv6]

Is it possable you have the right and left mixed up on the tops. Make sure you don't tighten the bottom A-arm bolts until the car is sitting on ground with weight on it.

 

[regal81455]

Is it possable you have the right and left mixed up on the tops. Make sure you don't tighten the bottom A-arm bolts until the car is sitting on ground with weight on it.

yeah i haven't tightened any bolts on the front or rear suspension yet, just on there so I know they can't come out - as far as having right and left mixed up im pretty sure the arms are identical and if they are mixed up then Id have to flip the ball joints over - Im pretty sure this is not the case BUT I will look into that when I find some time to get back out there...

 

[xcessiv6]

Maybe Jeremy can chime in I put mine on wrong the first time but I have BMR uppers and there is no markings on thems, had to switch them, the lowers were easy because of the swaybar brackets.

 

[regal81455]

Maybe Jeremy can chime in I put mine on wrong the first time but I have BMR uppers and there is no markings on thems, had to switch them, the lowers were easy because of the swaybar brackets.

i was thinking about what you said in possibly having them mixed up but realized that it would be interesting if they were, if you notice the grease zerks are on the top of the crossbar bushings - i wouldn't think that they would be fabricated to point down towards the frame so Im pretty sure that the orientation is correct just not sure about the rest - i do appreciate your willingness to help though - keep the thoughts coming!! maybe someone who has similar arms can measure the distance between the upper ball joint flange and the threaded portion of the joint - these do not have a moog part # on them, is it possible Ive got the wrong ball joint?? maybe the moog is longer??? i dunno but im going to try to get back at it sometime yet this weekend and ill keep everyone posted...

 

[jdpolzin]

Couple things I can add. There is a difference in the uppers, right and left in most manufacturers. I cant tell you which is which with that style of arm. BUT.....While ordering Speedway uppers, you buy two of the same side so it may differ from one manufacturer to another. Might be best to check with the company that made them.

As far as reaming the spindle, You should not have to do this. Did the ball joints come with the arms or are they a drop in off the shelf BJ? Something isnt right here. Now that you have already reamed the spindle though, you might just have to stick with it because stock BJ's wont be tight enough. As long as it made a press fit, you should be ok. If it dropped right in, you need to replace the BJ and the spindle. You should just barely have enough thread sticking through the spindle and when you pull the ball joint into the spindle with the castle nut, it should be a tight pressed fit. If you take the castle nut off the BJ, does the BJ pop out of the spindle? It shouldnt.

As far as the arms laying on the frame, they will until you have the weight in the car. That is normal. My biggest concern is that your left and right dont have the same amount of travel. Make sure you have them correct side to side. Make sure you have a pressed fit in the spindle. If you are good on both, your fine!


BTW......Your frame and suspension looks great! Good job!

 

[regal81455]

uughh... where to begin - thanks Jeremy for poppin' in! When I bought these I bought them from a friend who had bought them from wildsidespeed.com - the receipt said "upper a-arms for gbody car" and the ball joints were on them already. they had some tape on them marked LH and RH and I positioned them on the car accordingly. as for reaming the spindle, the lower BJ fell right in place when we test fit it but the upper was sooooo tight that I couldn't see any threads just the head of the bolt so we reamed it out till it was a nice fit - i haven't done the other side yet but wow now i not only have a screwed up upper a arm situation but possibly need another spindle to this is starting to cost more than I care for ( taking a deep breath... ) anyways ive attached some pics of the back half which came together very nicely -- keep the thoughts and comments coming - i might just bite the bullet and put these up for sale and by some umi uppers with the bump stop on them ( do they accept the same bolt on BJ?? ) im not to excited by the travel of the passenger side as it sits right now - seems like a disaster waiting to happen

 

[xcessiv6]

The arms are not upside down, the zerk fittings should be up. The arms should have a different shape to them the front part should be arked while the back should be straighter. At least my BMR's did. But looks great.

 

[jdpolzin]

Well for now, dont worry too much. Have you contacted wildspeed.com? They will be able to verify which is which. Remember not to let us guys worry you, we only know part of the story so lets wait until you have the correct info from the manufacturer of the arms. As far as the spindle sliding right over the lower ball joint, was it completely seated or did you need to pull it into it's seat with the castle nut?

And how much did you have to ream out the spindle? Just a little? Or did you ream it enough so that the ball joint fall completely into it's seat?

I know this stuff can be stressfull because it not easy work but.....THE HARDEST PART IS GETTING THE FRONT SPRNGS IN!!!!!!!!!!!! So, with that said, you have most of the hard stuff done! WOOHOOO!!!!!

If you do end up needing to replace the spindle, they are very easy to get and arent expensive so thats not a big deal at all. We just want you to be safe while driving so lets make sure it gets done correctly. It all takes time!

 

[jdpolzin]

BTW, what rear springs are you running?

 

[regal81455]

BTW, what rear springs are you running?

not entirely sure they were on the car when i bought it 6-7 years ago but they rode nice - they must be some kind of progressive rate though huh? they had some kind of plasti-dip coating on them before I painted them though so Im guessing aftermarket??? if i find time tonight ill pull the receipts that came with the car and let you know

as far as the spindles/uppers go i guess ill give wildside a call and see what they say and post that up too...

thanks for helping out guys im getting close to getting the 462 back and i wanna have this thing rolling before it's done!!

 

[jdpolzin]

Completely off subject and sorry if I'm throwing you for another curve but i thought I mention it. This is an 81 frame? If you have it wide open like that, you may want to weld a little more metal into the rear cross member. The earlier frames had practically no bracing back there. The later frames had a little metal between the two upper control arm mounts and the turbo models had a wide brace welded in back there. You dont have to get extreme but it a good idea to stiffen up that back portion.

 

[regal81455]

Completely off subject and sorry if I'm throwing you for another curve but i thought I mention it. This is an 81 frame? If you have it wide open like that, you may want to weld a little more metal into the rear cross member. The earlier frames had practically no bracing back there. The later frames had a little metal between the two upper control arm mounts and the turbo models had a wide brace welded in back there. You dont have to get extreme but it a good idea to stiffen up that back portion.

id consider it but unfortunately this rust bullet coating is really expensive to go messing up now - would the trailing arm braces help that condition or perhaps there's a way to do some bolt on bracing?? I do have all the front braces offered as well as the backseat bracing and after the cab is cleaned up Ill be adding atleast a 6pt cage - would it be necessary then?

 

[jdpolzin]

id consider it but unfortunately this rust bullet coating is really expensive to go messing up now - would the trailing arm braces help that condition or perhaps there's a way to do some bolt on bracing?? I do have all the front braces offered as well as the backseat bracing and after the cab is cleaned up Ill be adding atleast a 6pt cage - would it be necessary then?

If you plan on adding a cage I wouldnt worry about it at all! The bracing that comes on the TR frames is only 1/8" plate steal so it's no big honkin brace but I do believe it is an extremely important spot to brace, if you dont have a cage!!!!!!!!!!


Well keep us posted on what you find out about the arms.