[joes455]

Just noticed a set of upper and lower tubular control arms from speedway motors for my 76ta amazon 750.00.pn 91037078 .any recommendation or reviews from actual users ?

[joes455]

Noticed no hardware included

[JLMounce]

Hardly any control arms come with new hardware. The expectation is to reuse the factory hardware.

These look pretty decent, but honestly at the price point for both upper and lower control arms, I can almost guarantee that the ball joints are crap and they are stating a plastic bushing is used. To my eyes the stamped spring mount looks like it's pretty thin. Pictures can be deceiving though.

These are obviously not the same, but my experience with the knock-off Global West stuff on my wife's Chevelle was less than stellar. The bushings and ball joints were crap and while the arms themselves were well made, because of the cheap components put into them, they wouldn't hold an alignment and they were excessively noisy.

I'd also want to know how the arms achieve the 5+ degrees of positive caster. If you're doing that all with the upper arm, it pushes the wheel aft in the wheel well which can cause rubbing issues, and it looks funky to boot. If you look at the bigger name offerings that have improved caster, half of the improvement is coming from the lower arm as well, which acts to re-center the wheel in its wheel house.

[joes455]

Thanks JL what would u recommend for use with stock coil springs

[JLMounce]

It really depends on how you're going to be using the car.

Many people think they want or need the aftermarket control arms, end up spending fairly handsomely for them, but never use the car in a manner that would have necessitated them. From what I 've seen here and elsewhere, 90-95% of people are building an boulevard cruiser and want a bit of modernization to help the car feel and act like a more modern car. Truth is, you don't actually need aftermarket control arms to do that.

If you fall into that category of building primarily a cruiser, but you want good manners and road feel, I would actually recommend rebuilding the factory control arms with high quality rubber bushings and new ball joints. Add a .5" tall upper ball joint to help with negative camber gain in bump, then give the car a more modern alignment. Try and target these specs.

+3* caster (or as much as the arms will allow)
-.5* camber
1/16th total toe in

The money that you save by not purchasing new control arms, put towards rebuilding the steering system and towards a quality modernized steering box. Lee or Turn 1 would be my ultimate recommendations. I went with a Lares quick ratio box when it was on sale at FIrebird Central, but I'd classify that box as "just okay" It has more modern feel and is quicker, but it's gotten sloppy pretty fast. Spend the bit extra for the Lee Power Steering or Turn 1 boxes. You may also want to match the box with a new pump. I'd get the pump setup from Lee or Turn 1 as well for your application.

Then add a bigger front and rear sway bar from a company like Helwig, and quality shocks like the Koni Classic (red).

The scenario that fits most everyone else includes the likelihood that you may do some auto-x or back canyon driving etc and need a bit more. In this case I always recommend picking a brand and sticking with their entire setup from the arms to the springs. They've all engineered their kits to work and most of them do a really great job at mixing ride quality and performance. My picks here SPC, RideTech and BMR.

[joes455]

Thanks JL the bmr lower spring bucket doesn't seem to have enough support.Will it be ok?

[JLMounce]

Yes. They'll be stronger than the factory stamped arms. I really like the BMR stuff for driver comfort, price point with an eye towards better handling performance.

[joes455]

I respect your input sir.I think I'll pull the trigger on these.I like the way the bushings are fully enclosed in the arm fot bettet support

[JLMounce]

BMR also uses higher durometer rubber bushings. You give up a bit in maximum performance for comfort, but for many people that's a better trade-off.

[grivera]

I have the BMR upper and lower control arms in my Firebird with tall ball joints. I bought from the blemish section on their site for $650 and they had no blemishes! Also, Borgeson makes a decent steering box at a reasonable price: https://www.borgeson.com/Borgeson-St...7-1-Ratio.html

[R 70 Judge]

BMR makes nice stuff. They will be great on the street. I went with CPP (Classic Performane Products) uppers and lowers. I was considering the TRZ arms but was told they aren’t a good idea for street driving. The CPP arms are super nice and beefy. They are going on right now along with a Borgeson steering box (mentioned above), Hydroboost brake system, Aerospace Components discs, and All Star remote power steering.

[Formulabruce]

If you watch Doug's videos at Global West, he explains why and how of positive caster. He explains it in the control arm, AND how the upper control arm offset shaft makes getting to target caster EASY.
Anyone with a conventional front suspension can benefit from an offset control arm mount. This change initially happened due to Radial tires, and the DOT added crown in the roads in early 70's " This is where " RTS" comes from.

[grivera]

Originally Posted by JLMounce

These are obviously not the same, but my experience with the knock-off Global West stuff on my wife's Chevelle was less than stellar. The bushings and ball joints were crap and while the arms themselves were well made, because of the cheap components put into them, they wouldn't hold an alignment and they were excessively noisy.

Tho GW knock offs were in my 64 LeMans when I bought it. I swapped in Pro Forged ball joints but left the bushings in. Did you put in suitable bushings? If so, which ones did you use?

[Formula8]

Global West stuff has yet to let me down and support their products with great video's and technical phone support whenever I have needed it. So it was a no brainer for me when it was time to go with tubular uppers. I did put offset shafts in the brand new control arms as my car had some frame issues and I left my del-a-lum bushed factory lowers. Ended up with 7+ caster and -1 camber.

[JLMounce]

Originally Posted by grivera

Tho GW knock offs were in my 64 LeMans when I bought it. I swapped in Pro Forged ball joints but left the bushings in. Did you put in suitable bushings? If so, which ones did you use?

No, I used the supplied bushings. Would recommend the GW bushings in those specific arms.

[blueghoast]

Two of my buddys bought the GW nock offs and haven't had any problems in two year, I bought a set for my 64 Olds F-85 for $250.00 bucks but haven't
installed them yet waiting for a disk brake set up yet. I want to use a newer
type spindel so it's a off the shelf replacement.

GT

[Charlie Brengun]

or check out UMI suspension, they also have nice stuff and they have tubular a-arms with delrin bushings available as well.

[Hooter]

I’m in the process of rebuilding the front suspension on my ‘74 Firebird using the stock a arms. Any recommendations on a good source for the bushings and the taller ball joint? Seems even the good brands are from China anymore.

[78w72]

all the above brands are very good but most are rather pricey for the average hobbyist & more geared towards racing. the best bang for the buck for any of these suspension parts is PTFB, they are very good quality & all they do is 2nd gen cars. they carry very nice upper/lower tubular A arms as well as almost any other part needed for upgrading these cars, very good priced kits as well.

i run their GT full front/rear spring kit on a 72 firebird as well as upper A arms with greasable bushings, subframe connectors & have teh G braces but havent added them yet. my car is more of a 3 in 1 build, mostly street but light duty auto x & drag strp use. very happy with PTFB stuff & dave knows these cars & will give great advice.

http://www.pro-touringf-body.com/

[blueghoast]

Originally Posted by 78w72

all the above brands are very good but most are rather pricey for the average hobbyist & more geared towards racing. the best bang for the buck for any of these suspension parts is PTFB, they are very good quality & all they do is 2nd gen cars. they carry very nice upper/lower tubular A arms as well as almost any other part needed for upgrading these cars, very good priced kits as well.

i run their GT full front/rear spring kit on a 72 firebird as well as upper A arms with greasable bushings, subframe connectors & have teh G braces but havent added them yet. my car is more of a 3 in 1 build, mostly street but light duty auto x & drag strp use. very happy with PTFB stuff & dave knows these cars & will give great advice.

http://www.pro-touringf-body.com/

Wow thats some nice stuff there. A-Arms and braces look good.

GT