So after I spent about 5 hours

[SFRT]

stripping these down with the trusty wire wheel on the end of a die grinder I pretty much decided to buy a sandblaster.

[squeakfinder]

Yep. I used a sand blaster on mine. Don't forget to weld in reinforcement plates.

[SFRT]

tell me more.....where....

[PocketThunder]

tell me more.....where....

Ya, where does it need to be reinforced?   

[SFRT]

one of them is bent out a little and I was thinking about about welding a plate across the sides to cinch it back in...is that what you mean an extra reinforcement in the end across the  sides?

[GreenMachine]

I think he means these


http://chucker54.stores.yahoo.net/coarmstpl.html

[SFRT]

weird..I was going to basically do the same thing out of some stock I have.

reckon i will do it tommorrow!

[Steve P.]

You've got to make sure you leave room to adjust the T-Bar. Take a look at the pics. to see what I'm talking about...

[hemi-hampton]

I bought mine from Mancini Racing, These come with a hole in them for Torsion Bar Adjustment. LEON.

[bull]

Or just paint them and put them back in since they've managed to hold the car off the ground for the past 40 years.

[Steve P.]

I agree with that on many parts, but this part takes tons of abuse and just as we upgrade our brakes, engines, exhaust and many, many other areas of the car, this area is a stress part and can use the upgrade. Especially since it is out and blasted. Now is the time...

[SFRT]

yes I see... I was acually just going to strap the very end to cinch it a bit tighter.

[SFRT]

Or just paint them and put them back in since they've managed to hold the car off the ground for the past 40 years.

actually one of them is a liittle splayed out , and the deal on the end is able to move around more than it should so the reinforce makes sense to me.

[Steve P.]

A few years back someone posted a lower c-arm with a crack in it. Around the same time I had replaced BOTH on a buddy's 64' 440 car. After the post with pics. a few more came out of the dark with cracks.

Like I said, they are a high stress part and in their 40's to boot.... I would suggest the plates, but if you can conger up something close, I say go for it... The pound or two you are adding will be well worth it..

Most that have done these report better cornering and control... 

[SFRT]

taking apart the suspension has been interesting. my friend bill told me the trick to press out that inner metal sleeve where the tie rod goes in, i rolled the lip of it in with an air hammer, welded a washer to it and pressed it right out. easy as pie.

I am replacing the upper control arms with those tubular ones from justsuspensions as well.

one bit of unpleasantry though, the drivers side frame rail is rotted out 4 inches on either side of the k member mount, so I ordered a rail from that guy in texas and later next week am going to section out the rotten part. luckily it is pretty much just the bottom around the mount, so I wont have to cut the original rail too much. should be interesting.
as far as i can tell it was from a battery leak as there is a trail of pain running down the inner firewall to that area. the other 3 rails are fine, thank god.

[Steve P.]

Oh yeah.. That is a typical rust out area and yes, it is from battery acid...   I reallllly like the new 6-pack batteries.

[69bronzeT5]

Stupid question..what are those?

[Steve P.]

NOT a stupid question....  They are the lower control arms. Look under your front end just behind the wheels and you will see them. They connect between your K member and lower ball joint.

[1969chargerrtse]

stripping these down with the trusty wire wheel on the end of a die grinder I pretty much decided to buy a sandblaster.

I did a lot of wire wheeling on my engine compartment parts, then I used a friends glass blaster to hit some hard to reach areas and I couldn't believe the difference. Most of the parts I hit looked like they were just replated.  LOVE the blasters.

[terrible one]

Man, 5 hours?

A few jugs of muriatic acid at only a few bucks a piece, and a five gallon bucket, and you're set. Just dip it in there for a bit and pull it back out. Fresh!

[SFRT]

yeah I know..they where pretty blobbed up though lots of paint and so on, also..it was one of those things where I was Ill just clean em real quick then I got all mesmerized and suddenly it was the end of the day.

[terrible one]

yeah I know..they where pretty blobbed up though lots of paint and so on, also..it was one of those things where I was Ill just clean em real quick then I got all mesmerized and suddenly it was the end of the day.

I hear you man. It sure won't get the paint off. Hell, who am I to talk . . . I did my whole 8 3/4" with a wire wheel 

[hemi-hampton]

I had the 69 Roadrunner I was restoring lower control arms both sand blasted in less then 5 minutes. Welded in plates in a few minutes. Took more time to mix the paint & paint them in booth. LEON.

[SFRT]

yep a sandblaster will def make it easier. I like the raw metal look, so what I have been doing and will do throughout is get that stuff real clean, Gibbs it, metal prep it and then clearcoat it all. something a little different. I'm in no big hurry, I sort of enjoy zenning out on the stuff and sort of letting every little aspect of the car just sink into my brain. I have a harley I built and rebuilt over the years and after a while, hell I can totally mentally see every single part of that bike. I take it all apart and put it back together evry once in a while, just for fun. The charger will prolly be the same sort of trip. I dont know if that makes sense...but anyways, I have a deep mental picture of the suspension now...which I didnt before.

[squeakfinder]

Sorry about that. I was talking about the reinforcement pates like Green Machine posted pictures of. I bought mine from Magnum Hp. I figured for 20 bucks plus shipping I wasn't gonna screw around with trying to fab something up. They have holes in them so you can access your torsion bar adjustment.

Looks like Magnum Hp's web site is down.

I put 245-60-15 BFG's on front, plus about 450 hp. So, I figured the front suspension could use all the help it could get.