Tubular Lower Control Arm Thread

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Finished machining the parts that will attach to the ball joint and the delrin pucks that will hold housings for the bushings. Keep in mind that I am not a machinist, but know enough to get me in trouble. :D I hope you get the idea of what I am doing. The slug will get plug welded in too and be long enough to stiffen the coilover brackets and give plenty of strength in that area.
The jig will hold the LCA in position while fully welding everything. Now I'm just waiting on my bender dies.
 

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Look great man! Be sure to rosette weld those slugs in the end of the tubing in at least 4 places. A good rosette weld is where most of your strength comes from in a tube insert. Keep up the good work!
 
curleysracecars said:
Look great man! Be sure to rosette weld those slugs in the end of the tubing in at least 4 places. A good rosette weld is where most of your strength comes from in a tube insert. Keep up the good work!
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One step ahead of you. Trust me, when I am done with them they won't come out. :D
 
Here is a little sneak peek of what I have planned for the K member (This is just mock up). The factory lower control arm attachment point will get a thick washer welded in as well as other weld to help strengthen the area. There is a sleeve that gets hammered in and will get drilled and tapped for a set screw that will keep the sleeve and shaft from spinning or moving. There will be two steel spacers which will allow caster adjustment. All will be secured with castle nuts and cotter pins, just like the factory setup.
 

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If I am visualizing this correctly there will be 2 pivot points and 2 tubes on the LCA kind of like the Upper Control arms have? For that to come out or move the whole K Frame would need to rip apart........That is some Beef!
 
Mad Dart said:
If I am visualizing this correctly there will be 2 pivot points and 2 tubes on the LCA kind of like the Upper Control arms have? For that to come out or move the whole K Frame would need to rip apart........That is some Beef!
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Yep. \\:D/ An adjustable strut rod will have to be used if a guy wants to make caster adjustments correctly or I guess that the bushings on the strut rod could be cut on the cheap.
 
Badart said:
Yep. \\:D/ An adjustable strut rod will have to be used if a guy wants to make caster adjustments correctly or I guess that the bushings on the strut rod could be cut on the cheap.
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Pretty cool, at first glance when installed on the car it is going to look as if the K Member has been changed completely, especially with Tubular Uppers and Coil Overs. Good Job on the design!!:thumbup:
 
This thread is getting more and more exciting every day. Really interested in the finished product, as are many others it seems.

Grant
 
Love the idea of being able to adjust caster in this way. Beats the hell out of those offset UCA bushings.
 
I have read the entire thread, but either it was not mentioned or I do not remember. You can not use factory torsion bars, you would have to convert over to coilovers, correct?
 
jrlegacy23 said:
I have read the entire thread, but either it was not mentioned or I do not remember. You can not use factory torsion bars, you would have to convert over to coilovers, correct?
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It was mentioned in the first post. These are for converting over to coilovers and eliminating torsion bars, but I am making so a person could change it back down the road. 100% bolt in deal.
 
Amazing work! Making good progress! Subscribed
 
DART71 said:
Amazing work! Making good progress! Subscribed
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Wow! Thanks.

I received my die today so was able to do my first mock up on the jig. The shaft with the collar is actually the position of the mount of the sway bar. I want to do a 90* bend so I can weld in a gusset from the 90* bar to the ball joint. What do you think?
 

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Here it is mocked up on the K member. There will have to be minor trimming to the K here, but I think this area needs to be fully welded anyway.
 

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Houston we have a problem. I'm going to have to take the 90* bar in at a little different angle, because it contacts the strut bar. It's getting there.
 

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hey, small hiccups as with any new build/ product! cant expect it to be perfect the first try! keep going bud, that thing will be nice!!
 
Just an Idea,, can you make the bend on the 90* Tube follow the same angle as the Main Tube and then Dog leg it into almost the same area that you have it at now? That tube would have 2 different bends in it so I don't know if it is possible. Seems it would miss the Strut Rod that way and you would have room for the sway bar provision also.... Hard to tell in the pictures though.

Does the sway bar go above the LCA or Below it? Trying to picture it in my mind.
 
Mad Dart said:
Just an Idea,, can you make the bend on the 90* Tube follow the same angle as the Main Tube and then Dog leg it into almost the same area that you have it at now? That tube would have 2 different bends in it so I don't know if it is possible. Seems it would miss the Strut Rod that way and you would have room for the sway bar provision also.... Hard to tell in the pictures though.

Does the sway bar go above the LCA or Below it? Trying to picture it in my mind.
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I have tried that also Louis, but a 90 will be best to clear everything and still be mounted out far enough to give the arm support and also tie it into the gusset. Another issue is clearing the brake caliper.

The sway bar goes below the arm.

Here is another attempt and I think it will work. As long as I have clearance with the frame rail. I guess I will have to mock one side up on my car to make sure, but looks like it should work.
 

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Badart said:
I have tried that also Louis, but a 90 will be best to clear everything and still be mounted out far enough to give the arm support and also tie it into the gusset. Another issue is clearing the brake caliper.

The sway bar goes below the arm.

Here is another attempt and I think it will work. As long as I have clearance with the frame rail. I guess I will have to mock one side up on my car to make sure, but looks like it should work.
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Looks like you got it!
 
I am going to meet with a friend who owns a local machine shop. I am going to get a bid from him for machining a couple of these parts just to save me time. Hopefully it will be cheap and I can pass on the savings.
 
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