Hi everyone haven't posted for a while I have a 1960 El camino and in the process of rebuilding the front suspension one of my original A arms is damaged and all bushings need replacing I came across these budget Tubular A arms that come complete with balljoints bushings etc They seem like a bargain I know they will come from China but anyone have experience with these all the big retailers like Summit, CPP sell them. What sort of got my interest they will make 58-64 chevy cars handle better and have a dropped 2" spring perch which I am after. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/NEW-UPP...445501?hash=item25e406defd:g:bxUAAOSwCMFaABOu I am on a budget my other alternative just rebuild the original front end with energy suspension bushings and cut one coil off the springs the biggest job will be cleaning almost 50 years of grime off the A -arms. Any Helpful thoughts
Do you trust your life to Chinese water pipe? I have been in the car building business for a fairly long time. This is the first time that I have heard of this brand.
Hi I just got the link from ebay as its the first set I come across I am sure these budget control arms are all the same if you look at the summit ones and the ones on ebay they look identical. I would say an importer or CPP brings them in and then distributes them. https://www.summitracing.com/int/parts/sum-770260-1 I have seen the SPC control arms they are fairly expensive does it make a big difference in handling? I have read in the 58-64 chevys there is not enough camber or something like that
I have installed a few sets of these on various cars... They are not the same quality as global west, or ridetech, but they do work fine and are most likely stronger than you fatigued originals.... I have a customer/friend that has Chinese a arms like those on a 3800 pound 68 Chevelle that runs basement 10s (468 with iron heads) with the front end bouncing to the 60 foot... And while the ball joints loosened up the arms themselves have held up fine.
Can anything really make a 60 Elky "handle"? I think with a heavy car like that I would be more concerned with strength than handling. And Chinese welding doesn't equate to strength.
The trick would be to find a set of restored original A arms, that someone replaced with the tubular arms...
The SPC's are adjustable Camber. The RideTech Strong arms would hold up a Dump Truck. If you are running True Coil overs the Uppers are not supporting the weight of the Vehicle. But as Mentioned I would not Skimp on Suspension Parts. Some Folks went over Niagara Falls in a Barrel, and Lived, some went over and Died. I don't Cheese on Parts because somebody got away with it.
I don't have any direct experience with off shore A arms but recall reading a recent bad report on fitment either on this site or www. chevytalk.com. I personally don't use any parts made in China by small children.
I recall someone in NZ purchased imported brand name US manufactured tubular A-arms for use on their project car and had to get them certified (Welds x-rayed) before road use. The arms ALL came back defective so the welds had to be ground out and rewelded for certification due to poor weld penetration (Quality control). I also know of a local car that used a well known brand IFS that was certified by a local engineer. One day he was driving the car, fortunately at a low speed, when the A-arms failed without warning. The manufacturers were contacted and advised with replies along the lines of '... we won't be changing our quality control measures and won't be certifying them to a [minimum] standard...." Remember, these were well known brand name aftermarket parts that are still sold today. Similarly, those No Name Asian aftermarket tilt steering columns failed. I wouldn't recommend or knowingly use any of those Asian manufactured products when your life depends on it or use that aforementioned engineer. Never skimp on safety especially brakes, steering or suspension! It's all good until one fails and when it does it's suddenly and without warning. The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweet taste of low price is forgotten.
This ^^^^ And if you want it to ride like a modern car, do the "Guldstrand Mod" to increase caster to about 5 deg positive and promote camber gain. Add about 0.5 to 0.75 deg negative caster. Leave the spring stiffness stock for comfort [lowered for ride height] Add a fat front sway bar [between this and the Guldstrand mod, the tyres will stay planted squarely to the pavement] And most of all..... Modern Radial Tyres
Thanks for all the replies I do have to get my car licensed that is a concern if an inspector picks up on the A - arms looks like the originals will be going back on. I have manual steering is it all so true when you play with the camber it makes the steering harder to turn? Dont you hate it I had a 58 lower control arm collecting dust for years to replace my damaged one Ive gone to look for it looks like it got thrown out.
I am not certain, but the 58 arm may not work on the 60, because the 58 Chevy was a one year only car. Sent from my SM-J700T1 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
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