dennis_30281

O.K. folks after months of head scratching welding grinding the upper control arms for the 62' Starfire convertible are ready for powder coating, bushings and install. I have already had them back on the donor car and the fit is good! Here are a couple of pics.

P.S. Joe P. I need the spacers between the upper control arm bushings and the shaft.
Dennis

RetroRanger

I recall some of the discussion from the original thread did you move the bj back or forward? Does the bj sit up higher than original?

Charlie Jones

I still can't figure out why you would want that much caster .

dennis_30281

I've been reading for some time now about the early to mid GM cars wondering while at speed going down the road due to lack of any positive caster. I had these spare upper control arms on the donor car and decided to give adding some positive caster a try. I still have my original 62' arms ready if this doesn't work.
Dennis

toymobile

Radial tire cause the WANDERING, But the car will drive MUCH better with + caster they were designed with- caster.

Johnny

Tedd Thompson

Unless something is unique about a 62 front end any older car I've put radials on wandered much less than the bias tires it came with.We used to call it the IFG syndrome. That is the I Follow Groves syndrome........ Tedd

joe_padavano

The biggest reason why newer vehicles feel like they handle better than our 60s vehicles is due to the caster angle (or lack thereof). In the 60s, the priority was low steering force, especially since manual steering was still common. The caster spec on these cars is typically -.25 deg to +.50 deg - in other words near zero. This makes for lower steering force but also much lower centering force on the wheels. Even the G-body cars run near 3 deg of positive caster angle. The greater caster angle dramatically improves tracking and road feel, but at the expense of higher steering effort. This is not a real concern with power steering, however. Unfortunately, there isn't enough adjustment in the stock front suspension to allow you to crank in 2-3 degrees of positive caster without relocating the upper ball joint.

My only concern with Dennis' mods is that there might be contact between the top of the spindle and the flange on the UCA. Might need to clearance that a little. Otherwise, looks great.

D. Yaros

As one who owns/drives a '62 88, I can say a little "steering force" would be a real good thing!

dennis_30281

Reference the spindle clearance...I put the control arm back on the donor car and after some trimming I have about 3/16" clearance between the spindle and control arm moving the spindle from stop to stop. I appreciate all the comments and suggestions. The arms are at powder coating now and will be on the car next week.
Dennis