just a quick little TECH-esque post. i modified a pair of lower control arms for an S10 to get an extra two inches of drop, it can be done on most any double A-arm type suspension, plus i know alot of guys run S10 frames, so here it is... first, mark a straight line across the control arm about 1/2-3/4" behind the balljoint hole. then cut it nice and straight using a plasma cutter, cut off wheel or like i did and just use the chop saw. just make sure to make a nice clean straight (in both directions) cut. next cut a piece (one for each a-arm actually) of 1/4" plate the width of the cut section of the a-arm. then measure from the bottom of the a-arm to the highest point at the cut section. add 2" (for a 2" drop) to that measurement and that is the other dimension for your 1/4" plate. on both S10s i've done this to the plate was 6" (wide)x 4" (high). then line the bottom of the plate up with the bottom edges of the lower control arm (the big piece) and tack weld it in place. measure up two inches and make a mark on each side of the front of the plate. this is where you'll line up the bottom of the small piece (where the balljoint actually mounts) so that it all stay in the proper orientation. tack weld it. once it's all tacked and your sure it's straight and all is right with the world, WELD IT. i weld everything on both sides so it is nice and strong. then i'll trim some of the excess metal from the 1/4" plate where it sticks up. next step. measure for and cut out gussets for the sides of the control arm. i use about 1/8" plate for these. you want it to go from the top of the stepped up piece down to the main part of the control arm and back a reasonable length so it will be strong. i made these about 3 1/2" up and about 6 1/2" long. tack em on at the front, hammer and clamp em into position, then weld em up on both sides. after that i grind the angle into a slight curve. if your running air bags you want to make sure the bag will not make contact with the gusset (or the step for that matter) at any point in it's travel. some might call this "Hackery" and for a car that would have a show quality ch***is i would go another route, but this is a proven modification and an easy way to get an extra couple inches of drop out of your front suspension. if you don't trust your welding and fabrication skills DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS MODIFICATION!!! DRAG ON!!!
mike, nice tech. thanx. question (or comment): you take out about 1/8" of metal with the chop saw; you add back in 1/4" with the 1/4" plate. this makes the lower A-arm 1/8" longer than it originally was. i'm ***uming this doesn't matter 'cause it is adjusted away when the front end alignment is performed?
I build em exactly like that also. An easier way to lower an S-10 or 78-87 gm,monte,cutl*** etc is to install 73-87 chevy 1/2 ton truck lower balljoints.You hafta ream the bottom spindle a lil but the balljoint fits right in the a-arm and it lowers it bout 2". We learned this while cheatin when we were racing stockcars......Shiny
[ QUOTE ] mike, nice tech. thanx. question (or comment): you take out about 1/8" of metal with the chop saw; you add back in 1/4" with the 1/4" plate. this makes the lower A-arm 1/8" longer than it originally was. i'm ***uming this doesn't matter 'cause it is adjusted away when the front end alignment is performed? [/ QUOTE ] we'll let the alignment guy worry about that ... actually, by the time you cut the piece and clean it up with the grinder it works out pretty close to 1/4". the two trucks i've done had no problem being aligned.
[ QUOTE ] use something heavier than 1/8 plate for the gussets... I use 1/4 or 3/8.. [/ QUOTE ] that would'nt hurt anything, but it would help either. think about the direction the forces would be applied to the control arms and the gussets. unless you hit something with the control arm, the thicker gussets would not help it in any significant way.
[ QUOTE ] Thanks KB!Now you got me thinking about something else. I'll put this in my favorites. [/ QUOTE ] i'm here to help!! hows that Chevy comin anyway??
It should, but you'll have to watch your alignment very carefully. If the angle's not perfect, king and link pins aren't nearly as forgiving as ball joints.
hmmm... how would you recomend keeping it all square? A friend of mine got a set of "dropped/lowered" control arms for his 52 chevy, that are new production, but I havent been able to find anything like that on the internet, so I was researching making my own. I have not yet compared the lowered ones to the stock ones, so I dont know how they have been redesigned. Any clues on who makes these arms?
in the installed picture it looks as though your A arm will be below the scrub line (below the rim). how does it look when it is on the ground at ride height?
If i were going to atempt it, I would cut it apart, then reasemble everything with the springs out. You'd essentially be using the ch***is and spindle pieces as your jig to keep things square.
Man, I really wish I was a better welder...maybe someday I will attempt this..but for the time I don't have a death wish
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