Ok, so I know when to throw in the towel, and I took it to a shop on a recommendation from one of the FABO members here in town and am waiting on their report. One of the "old timers" (I say that with much affection, believe me) thought lower control arm bushing(s) even before I finished describing all my symptoms. If that's the case, I'll be happy because that is something I feel like I can accomplish. That does bring up another question though.
Do I stick with stock control arms and just replace the bushings since the ball joints I believe to be still in good shape? Or do I pull the trigger on a modern tubular upper and lower replacement with coil overs? Any disadvantages to putting on something like the QA1 tubular bolt ons with the coil over conversion? There's what I'd consider to be decent new rubber on the car, 215x55x17, someone in another post mentioned that depending on what type of tires you run would make a much bigger difference in road feel/handling.
Any thoughts on this?
