Is there a product out there to replace your upper and lower ball joints with factory rivets instead of nuts and bolts? I have a 71 A-body

 

The lower ball joints are pressed in on mine?
Just do a search for ball joint rivets, a lot of places have them.
They also make bolts with a rivet heads if you want to be half correct.

 

Are you talking about the common hardware store carriage bolts or a correct grade repro bolt to mimick the rivet design?

 

The latter.



http://www.opgi.com/product.asp?topc...836&yearrange=

You can also get the real rivets if you have a way to set them:

http://www.rickscamaros.com/product....e-_-RC-430-_-X

 

Another bolt option is button head allen bolts; they are grade 8 quality and you can even fill the hex recess with black RTV if you want.

 

I look at it this way. The factory service part was designed to be bolted in when replacement was required. Odds are the OE part was made by MOOG or TRW same as the parts you get at the parts store. So I have no issues with using an aftermarket bolt-in replacement ball joint, even on a show car. But that's just me.

Besides, how many folks (or repair shops) have equipment to rivet a balljoint back into a control arm?

As an aside, I went in O'Reilly's a couple nights ago trying to find replacement horns for me wagon and the kid in there had a freshly sandblasted 1955 Chevy control arm- that still had the riveted ball joint in it.

They (or no one else) had no replacement horns that would fit in that wagon without a whole lot of rigging. So I left work early Thursday and went junkyarding. Came home with 3 sets of horns, a battery holddown, and a good greasy Olds timing cover that was laying in the trunk of one of the Deltas I robbed horns from. Total damages- $21.00. All the parts stores wanted that much for one of their no-fitting horns.

 

Cool! A lot to be said about junk yards!

 

Junk yards are really malls in diguise for us!!

 

That depends on the yard. The ones I have found out here want to RAPE you for their parts. They figure their parts are gold or something. It's getting out of hand actually.

 

I love going to the mall As for prices, you are better off east of Ca.
Alb

 

When I have nothing else to do I go to the pull a part yard and just cruise for parts. Never spend more the 20 bucks and walk out with pulleys, brackets, speedometer cables, fuse blocks, all manner of stuff. Only one left around here. The rest call themselves auto recycling yards and charge almost new prices.