Tubular Lower Control Arm Manufacturer - long

[RodneyH]

I have come across a company that would be willing to build tubular lower control arms for the SVO's. The good news is no money is required up front and the only thing needed to get started is a pair of used arms needed for a pattern. This company already builds LCA for Mustang II's, Camaro, etc so this is not something new for them. A very ballpark figure over the phone was $400/pair, but keep in mind that was just a guess based on the cost of upper and lowers for a Camaro ($750). I'm going to start calling junk yards to see if I can find a pair off of a Lincoln and if so, I'll ship them. Since my 84 has 94,000 miles and could used the front suspension tightened up I figure I have several options. I can hunt for NOS arms, have my originals machined, wait for D&D, or start working with Fat Man Fab. For my money, I like the idea of all new 2003 arms under my car. I included a link to their website if anyone wants to check them out. Another positive is, when I asked about numbers or orders needed to get started, they said ahhh, 10 would be nice but once tooling is set up, it's really easy to knock out a pair, so I think they will make whatever is needed. It sounds like they will make me a new pair if I get them a pattern, so I think I'm headed down this road.

Is there anything unique to the SVO LCA that would complicate making tubular arms?

http://www.fatmanfab.com/fm-09.htm

[Eyelawdoc]

If you can convince them to make tubular LCAs for the SVO , great! This is not rocket science. Fatman has a good reputation for making street rod suspension and chassis parts.

I have a pair of used SVO arms in my parts stash that I would be willing to lend as a pattern in exchange for a set of the completed tubular units. PM me if you and Fatman are interested.

I would suggest having them use the replaceable ball joint from the Mark VII Lincoln (84-92) in their tubular unit. It fits our SVO spindles and is relatively easy to find if the tubular units ever need rebuilding.

I have never been able to understand why D & D has taken over 2 years and still not delivered anything yet. I suppose it might have something to do with them being in Valencia, CA and Chris Roth in Colorado.

[Eyelawdoc]

Fatman Tubular Lower Control Arms

Rodney, were you ever able to find a set of lower control arms for Fatman to use as a model for constructing tubular replacements?
How is that project coming?

[RodneyH]

I think I found a used set locally in a junk yard but will have to make sure they are the correct ones. I'm going to try to take a look at them this week. The weather here lately hasn't been the best for junk-yarding...

[RodneyH]

The ball is still rolling.

Fatmanfab is going to take a look at the SVO arms to see what they can do.

If you are interested in tubular arms from fatmanfab (assuming reasonable price, quality, etc) please PM me so maybe I can give them a little feed back on what a first run might look like. It could help them set their price too, if they had an idea of the demand.

PS
If and when the arms can be made, I've already requested a discount for club members through SVOCA since it's a driving force behind these cars.

[caroth]

Why are you waisting your time, D&D is putting the final touches on the SVO control arms and they will retail for $495.00 per set.

[RodneyH]

UPDATE!!

Engineering is done, assembly is in progress and I should have a new set of tubular SVO Lower Control Arms by the end of the week!

Pricing should be set by then and orders can be placed.

[svoman2300]

This only took 3 months not bad I'm impressed.

[RodneyH]

Want to be more impressed??? How about 2 weeks??

I was the hold up in getting them a set of arms for a pattern. Fatman only got the SVO arms on 12/22/03.

I was really impressed when dealing w/ them and can't wait to see the arms.

[Eyelawdoc]

New Tubular Arms!

Great news! Outstanding! Let us know how they work on your car!

[RodneyH]

I'll do that... As soon as I get the arms I'll post some pictures too. I only have a cheap digital camera so I might have to borrow a better one to get some detailed pics.

One comment fatman made was, they eliminated that goofy jog at the ball joint end. According to fatman, they stated it was only there for ease of assembly on the cast parts, and the reason the OEM arms were cast was cost.

[svoracer95]

Griggs control arms

Have you guys not contacted Griggs Racing for tubular arms? Their std duty arm costs $440 and they can compensate for the SVO length. I have been using theirs for about 6 years. Mustang suspension is their business. They design and race what they sell.

[indiana dave]

Griggs arms?

Are you using them with SVO spindles or SN95 spindles? I've been researching this, and don't think they'll work with the SVO spindles and brakes.

[svoracer95]

Sorry
You will need the SN95 spindles with the Griggs arms and of course that is a good improvement for your setup anyway. Now that brings on another change....the brakes. The SVO brakes do not bolt to the SN95 spindles I believe. You will need the newer brakes too which is also good. Get the Cobra 13" setup from a salvage yard. I use the Baer 13" with PBR calipers and Porterfield AP-412-R4 pads. Both of these are 4-piston units.
All this is a very good front improvement but gets more involved with more new parts than if you have a supplier who is making tubular arms for the stock setup. However, there is just no good reason to switch arms only. You probably could not tell the difference by those only so you will lose some durability and gain practically nothing. The lower unsprung weight is not a huge advantage by itself.
As with most areas of suspension changes, you can not and should not change one thing w/o getting into others too.

[indiana dave]

Well, one good reason to swtich the arms only, is to get new balljoints... I personally want to be able to bolt on my original wheels whenever I want. Thus, upgrading to complete SN95 arms, spindles and brakes is not an option.