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Mommy Wagon
09-27-2008, 06:03 AM
Has anyone here fabricated their own upper and lower control arms?

I have a vehicle that I am looking fabricate a tubular front suspension, it is for weight savings, and performance gain. The issue is no one makes a tubular kit for a large C-body Mopar.

I was hoping that by posting here someone may have a suggestion to a manufacturer, or other ideas. The biggest problem I have is creating 4 jigs for each control arm that will only be used once.

neki67
09-27-2008, 06:28 AM
It isn't all that difficult to build a jig and basically replicate the original A-arms. I can show you a jig my friend and I built about a decade ago for 1st gen F-body upper A-arms. If you're interested, please let me know and I'll take pictures of it. I'll be home after the weekend so a little patience is in order.

Besides that, did you already contact Marcus at SC&C? He sells very versatile upper "tubular" A-arm that may be adapted to fit your purpose. SC&C is a sponsor here so you can click their ad and there you go.

CRead01
09-27-2008, 11:30 AM
I have been thinking about the same thing for my 62 imperial so I can go with shockwaves up front.

Lowend
09-27-2008, 01:20 PM
I dunno... unless you have the right tools and computer programs to get the geometry right you will do more harm than good.
I would probably start off with some Circle Track components and work foreward from there.

BTW - I was mere moments away from buying a 65 Monaco 383 for my first car.

Mommy Wagon
09-27-2008, 01:57 PM
I am not to worried about building a jig, it's the cost for single use that I am looking at. I don't wish to make multiples, and I sure hope I would only have one set to make for myself.

My other thoughts were of using B/E body tubular arms and replacing the forward frame to make those arms work.

I will check out some of the manufacturers listed here, but it would seem there are a few options, replace the forward frame to work with other manufacturers parts, or custom build the arms.

Twentyover
09-28-2008, 07:01 AM
Do a web search for 'locost sports car' or 'locost.' Check also LocostUSA.com and Locostbuilders.co.uk

The Locost was a Lotus 7 clone, a 50's/60's (and with Catherham into the current date) spaceframe sports racing/road car. Many builders construct their own upper and lower control arms, and many build sites have pictures of fixtures for single build cars.

hotrdblder
09-28-2008, 07:21 AM
they make pre made adjustable jigs for racing applications.
what i would do is bolt the stock arm up solid to uca mount, set at ride height and measure camber, caster.also check 2 inches of bump for camber to see gain, if you want more neg camber gain shorten the arm up slightly. if you only have 2 degrees casters, you know you can move the top of the spindle back, i would look to do 3-5º caster built in so you do not need to offset shim the control arm.
then dial camber gainin around .50 to .70 per inch