I was wondering how many of you have replaced stock upper and lower control arms with a tubular control arms? Did you get the difference in handiling that you expected when you switched over? Is the cost of the a arm proportional to the quality? I see global west is a very expensive option, then summit has thier own brand and then I found a set on ebay that are made by procomp racing, very resonably priced. I am installing a disc brake conversion on my 69 cutlass, all my ball joints are shot and I am thinking of replacing the a arms at this time.

Thoughts?

Thanks for the input in advance!

 

I have GW Uppr & Lwr fronts, Lwr rears w/ Del A Lum bushings stock Uppr rears. Love em. I don't know if it is any more the arms than the bushings. I think I would weight it slightly towards the bushings. Big sway bar in front, stock in rear, converted quick ratio box. Ride & handling are very good. My kid's car (red one) has all new stock bushings w/ Tong Yang quick ratio box, large sway bar in front, stock rear, drives very well, better than original. No comparison in ride & handling between the two. Both cars have "stock" springs w/ Delco gas shocks.

As tight & solid as the red car is, blue convertible rides & handles much better.

 

I have polyurethane bushings in my stock control arms, Hellwig oversize swaybars front and rear, Southside Machine lift bars in back and the car handles like a 3400lb go-cart. I don't think it matters much which route you go...just look for the most cost effective route, you'll be happy and save a little money.

 

I think in your case just changing the arms out for tubular ones will really not make much difference compared to rebuilding your stock ones. Where the difference is really made is in changing out to a taller spindle or taller ball joints which essentially do the same thing. Doing either of these things requires a new upper arm.
The best bang for the buck is probably the upper arm / taller ball joint.
I did lower tubular arms on my Cutlass but looking back now I don't think they really did much for me compared to just rebuilding my stock ones. They do look cool though. All of the difference is in the spindle and upper arm. If you are converting to coilover or air ride shocks, then a custom lower is the way to go because it takes some major modications to make them fit a stock arm.
You can search L&H spindles, ATS spindles and SC&C Stage 2 for some descriptions.
Just rebuilding the stock suspension and shocks will make a world of difference. My wifes' LeMans has stock rebuilt bushings and brakes and Bilstein non adjustable shocks and it drives great.
The B-body spindle swap used to be the hot ticket but has some steering related issues (but I think they cure more ills than they cause). A friend of mine has a 67 Chevelle with "B" spindles and Global West arms that he did years ago and it drives quite a bit better than the LeMans.
On my Cutlass I went with pretty hardcore parts but the goal was to make a really nice driving car, not a road racer (although it is a hoot to autocross). I used ATS spindles and SPC arms, Varishock singe adjustable shocks, Kore3 brakes and a Lee 670 steering box. I"m not sure how to describe how much better it drives than the LeMans or Chevelle. Whether that difference is worth all of the money is a subjective thing. It was worth it for me because most of my time in the Cutlass is making 4+ hour drives to Kennewick or Seattle. It used to wear me out (and was scary) with the clapped out stock suspension, drum brakes and "wander" steering. Now it is really fun.

 

Any more info on the B body spindles as I am looking for a disc brake swap also. What year spindles will work? They usually have disc brakes on most later model stuff.. Id like to know what year and what upper control arms need to be used as I have a 66 convertible that the front end is currently apart and Im rebuilding..

Thanks

Andy

 

Sorry about the slow reply.
I know Gloal West makes the arms for the B-body swap (that's the brand my friend has) and I believe they have info on which years of spindles / brakes will work.

 

I went a step under what Mingus did. I used SC&C stage II+ kit and Bilstein non ajustable shocks and the Currietrac rear suspension. My car handled and drove as well as a modern Infinity sports sedan. Even non car people I took for rides could not believe they were in an old car.

 

I have read about SPC. It appears grinding the upper control arm mount is mandatory and cutting out the disk brake dust guard on the lower control arm is necessary as well as possible mounting droop chains on it as well. Are there any other modifications required for a 69 Cutlass Convertible to use SPC products and a stage 2 kit from SC&C that anyone knows about? I've talked to Marcus as well and we mostly talked about advantages of adjustable upper arms on tall ball joints vs. all of the subtle modifications required to make the parts work. Thanks.