The weather has been perfect lately here in the South, temps have been in the mid 70s~low 80s. This is ideal weather to do some welding/fabrication so I figured I would do a "How To" for building a set of upper/lower control arms.
Before I start I just want to be clear this is not a for sale thread, nor is it intended to bash any control arms currently offered by any vendor on this site. With that said here we go.
I personally believe the stock rubber bushin is the "best" bushin for our 4300lb cars, I also believe they provide a superior ride over any other bushin offered by current aftermarket control arms, with the exclusion of Zack&Macs tubular control arms with the improved pinion angle. They used the stock rubber bushins and unfortunately are not and have not been available for years. This how to will show some of you how to build your own fully boxed in control arms.
I want to build these using tools anyone can easily find so affordability is gonna be the main point of this thread. Lately I picked up a cheap and barely used Harbor Freight Mig 151 from a guy on Craigs list. I traded some of my old unsed tools for this welder so it didnt cost me anything. I do own both a Lincoln 180 and a Lincoln Weldpak 100. I will not be using either of my Lincoln welders to make these parts. Here is the Mig 151
Im using a gas mix thats 75%Argon/25%CO2. I DO NOT advise anyone to attempt welding anything unless your using a good gas for shilelding. Innershield welding wire is useless for strength and with all the spatter you wont have to cleanup its well worth using the gas mix.
I started with the upper control arms because they take a little more fabrication to make them work. You will need a length of 3/4"wide/2mm thick steel stock to box in the bushin area. Clamp it in place then bend it to fit the bushin area. You will want to place them like I did in the pic below
After you get the stock bent up you will need to remove 3mm from the backbone of one of the stock control arms, use a grinder, sawzall, jigsaw, or whatever you got to cut a straight line. I used a sawzall to make my cuts
Put the assembly together and check for a good tight fit
Time to head to the welding table and get the steel stock welded from the inside
Now you can clamp and weld up the backbone
I like to fill the entire bushin area in with weld for aestetics. It also adds strength to this area. Make sure you build your welds starting from the low area then blend them up on both sides so when you grind the area down you dont end up with gaps in the weld
Some of you were probably wondering what the holes were for. The upper control arm unlike the lower is hollow when you put the two together. I weld studs inplace to provide additional strength.
Here are the studs welded inplace
Time to head to the shop to do some gringing. I smooth the entire bushin area in and leave the weld down the backbone inplace
Here is what they look like after a few passes with the wire wheel to prep them for primer
I like to put a few coats of steel primer on the control arm before installing the bushins, then I paint them after the bushin install. This will keep all the interior/exterior welds coated and protect them from rust.
I have a bench top shop press but I want to build these with the same tools many of you would use. Im using a cap for galvanized 1-1/2" pipe to drive the bushins inplace. This will ensure you will not damage the bushin during installation
I will post up a few pics of them when theyre all painted up. Im using Rustoleum Industrial paint for the final coat.
Before I start I just want to be clear this is not a for sale thread, nor is it intended to bash any control arms currently offered by any vendor on this site. With that said here we go.
I personally believe the stock rubber bushin is the "best" bushin for our 4300lb cars, I also believe they provide a superior ride over any other bushin offered by current aftermarket control arms, with the exclusion of Zack&Macs tubular control arms with the improved pinion angle. They used the stock rubber bushins and unfortunately are not and have not been available for years. This how to will show some of you how to build your own fully boxed in control arms.
I want to build these using tools anyone can easily find so affordability is gonna be the main point of this thread. Lately I picked up a cheap and barely used Harbor Freight Mig 151 from a guy on Craigs list. I traded some of my old unsed tools for this welder so it didnt cost me anything. I do own both a Lincoln 180 and a Lincoln Weldpak 100. I will not be using either of my Lincoln welders to make these parts. Here is the Mig 151
Im using a gas mix thats 75%Argon/25%CO2. I DO NOT advise anyone to attempt welding anything unless your using a good gas for shilelding. Innershield welding wire is useless for strength and with all the spatter you wont have to cleanup its well worth using the gas mix.
I started with the upper control arms because they take a little more fabrication to make them work. You will need a length of 3/4"wide/2mm thick steel stock to box in the bushin area. Clamp it in place then bend it to fit the bushin area. You will want to place them like I did in the pic below
After you get the stock bent up you will need to remove 3mm from the backbone of one of the stock control arms, use a grinder, sawzall, jigsaw, or whatever you got to cut a straight line. I used a sawzall to make my cuts
Put the assembly together and check for a good tight fit
Time to head to the welding table and get the steel stock welded from the inside
Now you can clamp and weld up the backbone
I like to fill the entire bushin area in with weld for aestetics. It also adds strength to this area. Make sure you build your welds starting from the low area then blend them up on both sides so when you grind the area down you dont end up with gaps in the weld
Some of you were probably wondering what the holes were for. The upper control arm unlike the lower is hollow when you put the two together. I weld studs inplace to provide additional strength.
Here are the studs welded inplace
Time to head to the shop to do some gringing. I smooth the entire bushin area in and leave the weld down the backbone inplace
Here is what they look like after a few passes with the wire wheel to prep them for primer
I like to put a few coats of steel primer on the control arm before installing the bushins, then I paint them after the bushin install. This will keep all the interior/exterior welds coated and protect them from rust.
I have a bench top shop press but I want to build these with the same tools many of you would use. Im using a cap for galvanized 1-1/2" pipe to drive the bushins inplace. This will ensure you will not damage the bushin during installation
I will post up a few pics of them when theyre all painted up. Im using Rustoleum Industrial paint for the final coat.
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