AFX standard height vs tall fitment questions

[Livingthedream]

I've been reading every blog I can but have come up empty on answers.
1. Can I use AFX standard height spindles with Hotchkis control arms for A Body? If I can is it a straight forward install or do I need to change ball joints?
2. Can I use AFX tall spindles with Hotchkis upper and lower A arms?
I'm using the Hotchkis TVS 2 kit that is designed for standard a body spindles.
3. What changes must be made to install either type of AFX spindle on stock or Hotchkis control arms?

[Livingthedream]

I've seen post that state you have to change the upper A arm to one like Hotchkis PN 1103c (appears to be discontinued, why I dont know). but have been told by vendors selling the spindle that the hotchkis A arm PN 1102 (which I have) will work. One is made for "tall spindles" while the other is for standard height spindles.
I have seen sites post that you need a taller lower ball joint when running even the standard height AFX spindle. Is this true? I'm running in circles. Anyone with experience with AFX spindles and info would be greatly appreciated.

[derekf]

I can only answer some of it.

I bought a set of the tall AFX spindles for my A-body waaaay back in the day (2008, back when ATS was still the source).

My lower ball joints are the stock ones. The uppers that I got from ATS for them are SPC adjustable uppers (sorry, I don't have the part number).

[Livingthedream]

derekf thanks for the info man. From what I had been reading I figure I might have to switch upper arms if I run the tall spindle. For that reason I'm leaning toward getting the standard height spindle even though it doesn't provide all the geometry improvements of the tall. (I dont want to spend more money on control arms after the hefty price of the Hotchkis kit). If I did change arms I want to stick with the same brand as it's supposed to be designed to work together. If I come across the 1103c arms new I may (Maybe) do just that and get the tall spindle. I was worried about the the lower ball joint because I was seeing information on line that I would NEED to run a different lower ball joint to prevent bind. I'm still learning about front steering geometry. That k again for the info you could provide.

[2yellow69]

Call Speedtech Performance. They own the AFX spindle set up now. They are super helpful and can answer any question about the spindle. I had mine (tall spindle) installed with Global West arms (stock 69 Camaro ball joints) with no issues.

[79T/Aman]

This "work together " thing gets out of control, the parts don't know what sticker is on other parts, mostly this statement is a marketing one to make the consumer feel trapped, the bottom line is that all these parts are just a way to connect one moving point to another regardless of it's shape , color, laser, billet, criptocarbonty material it's made of (check the periodic table I'm sure it's there somewhere).
However it is important to look at dimensions and changes that are made in order to avoid conflict with other parts that have major changes, if you understand basic geometry you can see or make different parts work together.
Example, running a tall spindle with a stock upper arm will put the ball joint at a less than desirable angle at static ride height and can get excessive in bump especially if the car is run low. (put it in bind and it's the upper ball joint not the lower)
Tall spindles also cause the upper ball joint to move inboard on the KPI axis so you end up with more alignment shims.

IMHO there is no reason to spend money on stock height spindles as there are no performance benefits

[MonzaRacer]

Also can give Markus a call at SC&C he can build a custom SPC upper arm for you if needed. But mixing parts sometimes breaks more than it fixes. My friend Wendy has 67 or 68 Camaro, i forget, and we fought Ridetech truturn and other issues all from bad subframe that cane from factory tweaked. She always wondered why it drove where and only i could get it to not eat tires like most alignment techs.
And calling producer of parts and asking million questions tend to get better results. Her car has Ridetech coilovers, and strongarms now, after fighting issues, but she figured out how to use The ATS spindles and not lose what the Ridetech parts got her,but it was uphill fight!
She wanted c5/c6 brakes as we adapted three chanel abs from C1500 as she narrowed an 8.5 10 bolt truck rear down and utilized GM ABS. And it worked, not sure of all mods but she did get it to play nice. And actually works well.