lower control arm 1972 Duster

I'm a streeter. I am Not a racer. My comments always pertain to being a streeter, unless specifically stated otherwise. I've been driving A-bodies since 1970, and occasionally wondered about that slop.

Here's my Opinion;
>As the body moves up and down relative to the road, and/or the center of the spindle moves up and down on the changing wheel-radius, the Lower ball joint and it's LCA, are moving simultaneously in many directions; including; forwards/backwards, in/out, and up/down.
IMO, if you restrict the fore/aft movement of the in-board end of the LCA, you simply create a point of bind. and now the LCA wants to twist and so then you decide to tie the two sides together, and create even more bind.
If the strut was not there, so that the LCA could only move vertically, then sure, weld away. But since our Mopes are not Chevys, the strut has to be there. And since the the strut is only the right length at exactly one point in suspension travel, and that point walks around a bit; the LCA is constantly push-pulling on that inner pivot.
Now;
>Under braking, the body moves forward relative to the LBJ. If the strut wasn't there, obviously the LCA would be severely damaged. As it is, in stock form, the strut is pulled rearwards to the limit of it's travel in the "rubber" bushing.
>I have done hundreds of alignments on these A-bodies, and I can tell you that, it is a rare car that can maintain a minimum of caster/camber/toe change, with changes in jounce and/or rebound; And during turning, as the weight transfers, things can be moving in opposite directions. Throw simultaneous braking into the mix, and those LBJs and all alignment specs, are moving all over the place.
So then
>IMO, some so-called slop, for a streeter, has to be there, to allow for all this monkey-motion, and to provide a decent lifespan for all the normal-wear parts.
> I drive the crap outta my car, on potholed streets of every kind of surface, but speeds rarely exceed say 40 mph. In practice, on the street, this slop, has never been an issue for me. Those doggone sandy corners in spring, now those can be tricky. and I can tell you first hand that cops don't like it when I drift around a pair of silos on a huge gravel-lot, at full steering lock, with man-passengers giggling like little schoolgirls. Boy I'll tell ya, I gave those sloppy LCAs a good work out that day!
These are my opinions; based on 50plus years of running A-bodies on the street.