Hi guys, just has my truck land in the UK from Canada, I believe this may have happened in transit, one of the front lower control arms is battered!
Can anyone recommend somewhere to get replacements? I'm also running EZairride on the front & i think the original control arms have had to be modified to fit, which with being weakened I presume has led them to fail?
Does anyone know if there's a set that maybe have a flat surface or something more suitable, I've seen some on summit for about £400, but I'm not too sure what to look for, I might as well do both at the same time to prevent any issues & make the air ride equal.
Thanks for your help
Attached pictures of the damage and the ones i've seen on summit racing.
Apologies, I have never owned a classic, let alone tried real spanner work, I know the basics but I wanted to go all in and learn on a proper motor, so this is massively new to me, thank you
That looks like it was damaged in transit, maybe because of how it was chained down. I would file a claim with the freight company and at least get the cost of the parts covered. They probably looped a chain around it and cinched it down too tight. More modern vehicles have tow/tiedown points built in to avoid things like that. Wheel alignment will likely be messed up, too, so it's probably not a good idea to drive it until it's fixed.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truck Follow this saga in Project Journal Photos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
Will you be able to get a MOT, even if you get a good control arm? It would add insult to injury if you still can't pass inspection after paying for new parts. Same with the air bags; are they acceptable? You might have to rethink the entire suspension system; maybe go back to stock. The workmanship on the suspension mods make me wonder what else is wrong. I think that the first thing you need to do is take a good hard look at the entire truck and make a list of deficiencies.
Judging by some of the other photos you've posted of the suspension, I'd suggest removing the entire air bag system and starting over with properly fabricated mounting brackets. The stress on those mounting points on even a moderately rough road is incredible, and there's a multiplier effect as the speed increases- - - -basically, as speed doubles, the load squares. 10 pounds of force at 20 MPH becomes 100 at 40 MPH, etc. One of the rules of thumb we used while dirt track racing went "Build it twice as strong as you think it needs to be, and don't be too surprised if it breaks!" Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
That looks like it was damaged in transit, maybe because of how it was chained down. I would file a claim with the freight company and at least get the cost of the parts covered. They probably looped a chain around it and cinched it down too tight. More modern vehicles have tow/tiedown points built in to avoid things like that. Wheel alignment will likely be messed up, too, so it's probably not a good idea to drive it until it's fixed.
Managed to get under it this week, sadly the lighting on this photo makes it look like fresh damage, but its the flash reflecting off the shiny paint. It doesnt look this bad under the truck, In all honesty I think these can be made right without the need for new ones atm. Ill be doing all of this in time anyway, my main goal now is to just get it safe & registered, the welding on the chassis is looking around the £1000-1500 mark, so I think this is repairable.
Originally Posted by Gord&Fran
Will you be able to get a MOT, even if you get a good control arm? It would add insult to injury if you still can't pass inspection after paying for new parts. Same with the air bags; are they acceptable? You might have to rethink the entire suspension system; maybe go back to stock. The workmanship on the suspension mods make me wonder what else is wrong. I think that the first thing you need to do is take a good hard look at the entire truck and make a list of deficiencies.
Yeah as far as i'm aware, I have a MOT tester who ive used for year locally & with me being able to take the truck anywhere he's already seen the pictures etc & will be popping up to view the frame & air ride over xmas so I know what I need to do 100% and what doesn't need doing.
List is now hefty & i've started buying parts, with the American/Canadian fuel being way off our standard & different anyway, fuel tank is being internally cleaned & re sealed, just grabbed all the R9 Ethanol resistant fuel hose, radiator hoses, re doing all the copper brake lines etc etc, most of this is welding still, checked everything possible on the truck & apart from these bits it should be good to go, some of what i'm doing is for the sake of it anyway & wont affect the MOT.
Originally Posted by Hotrod Lincoln
Judging by some of the other photos you've posted of the suspension, I'd suggest removing the entire air bag system and starting over with properly fabricated mounting brackets. The stress on those mounting points on even a moderately rough road is incredible, and there's a multiplier effect as the speed increases- - - -basically, as speed doubles, the load squares. 10 pounds of force at 20 MPH becomes 100 at 40 MPH, etc. One of the rules of thumb we used while dirt track racing went "Build it twice as strong as you think it needs to be, and don't be too surprised if it breaks!" Jerry
That's it man, the plan is to re-model the rear brackets, fronts are fine, but the backs need pushing out and dropping down a little bit to make the bag sit flush. Since I posted all of these things I was still raging at everything, but after popping the unit a few nights this week to look over the truck, I'm alot calmer & this isn't generally as bad as it seemed, the shipping company doing the MOT honestly went overboard & tried to make up as much stuff as possible to make as much money, so it is what it is. Appreciate the loading specs, I will now to thickening up the rear backets & overly reinforcing them to make sure they hold their own!
Thanks for the help guys, will keep this updated over the course of JAN / FEB whilst its all being sorted. Plan is to have it finished before end of FEB
There's another old saying- - - -"measure twice; cut once!" I've had pretty good luck making mock-ups of brackets I intend to build from wood before I start whittling on steel. Wood is a lot easier to work with, and less expensive if you have to scrap a design and start over.
One of the "part time" jobs I've had since retiring as a technical trades instructor in 2011 has been inspecting vehicles for potential international buyers, to assure the quality of the vehicle they're purchasing. One client who owns a muscle car dealership in Australia has kept me busy for years, making sure he's getting what the seller claims he's buying. So far, the most expensive ones I've inspected were a very well-restored 68 Dodge Charger for the buyer in Australia, and a numbers-correct 59 Corvette restoration for a buyer in France. Each of them sold for $90K, plus shipping! Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
Hey guys, quick update on these as i'm going to leave this thread as it is, but the problem has finally been realised.
So what were looking at on that control arm isn't actually cut & welded, that's the result of them badly cutting off the original shock mount & in finding that out i've realised the truck doesn't actually have any front shocks fitted at all!!!!!!
The upper shock mount has had the bolt cut off inside the threads as it is completely seized, so that might explain why they didn't bother putting shocks back on!
So the entire weight of the truck is being pushed by the front bags, which also explains why the front right air fitting cant hold the pressure in and the tanks been back-feeding & the truck wont air up & down as quick as it should.
Either way, front upper shock mounts on order from summit & ill measure up the shock lengths when the truck is back on the floor, also have a set of used lowers to cut up again on order from SLSS.
Moving this all over to the project section, so check it out if you can
