3" drop spindles and rubbing solutions

[New_Guy]

I recently installed 3 inch drop spindles on my 85 c10 and of course the stock rally wheels rub. I have heard that you can trim the control arm, but I am not to fond of Cutting and trimming a high stress part.
I am looking into Tubular control arms by classic performance parts thinking they will clear my stock rally wheels. Do any of you have any advice or experience in doing this and know if it will work?
Thank you for you time!

 

[john ward]

Had same problem hear in uk, Belltech don't say nothing about it in adverts only in the instructions, i had new bottom arms did not want to grind so had 1/2in taken out back of rims all good..

 

[F-64]

My lower A arms have been trimmed, but have been boxed with a plate to strengthen the area. A hole has been drilled for ball joint access. If you have this done, have a competent shop do the work.
I ran the bell tech 3" dropped dropped spindle at this time, but eventually went to a 2.5" western chassis spindle because of other suspension modifications. Wheels were 15x8, 4" backspace.

 

[Bennyt]

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The I bought the CPP arms for my sons build. While I haven't held them next to stock arms, it sure seems like there would be increased clearance. They are a very well made product and fit well. You'll need to buy a different sway bar and CPP has 2 different ones available with one supposedly allowing for more clearance.

I have some stock wheels that I can try and mount and snap a picture if I get a chance for you.

 

[MikeB]

This won't help you, but may help others here: I did a lot of research and bought the Western Chassis 2.5" spindles. They let the stock control arm clear a 15x8 rally wheel by 5/16" or so.

*** Bennyt -- if you used CPP ball joints, good luck! I've seen brand new ones in the box with cracked dust seals. And I wouldn't trust them mechanically either.

 

[Bennyt]

*** Bennyt -- if you used CPP ball joints, good luck! I've seen brand new ones in the box with cracked dust seals. And I wouldn't trust them mechanically either.

I appreciate the heads up and have heard the rumors for years. I've yet to see a single failure of one of their arms or joints when installed correctly and appropriately. They use a mass produced ball joint that is sold by the millions by many vendors. The arm is done on a jig and is welded correctly. Not worried in the least. Every autocross event I go to has a hundred guys beating the hell out of CPP spindles, arms, and ball joints and haven't seen one fail yet. Many of the big local shops here use their parts and love them. The early Nova and Mustang guys used to complain about their products but in reality it just wasn't the best solution to their needs. I'm not questioning your experience but mine has differed and been positive.

 

[MikeB]

Sounds like something may have changed, or we got ball joints from a bad batch. I say "we" because a buddy and I bought CPP upper control arms for 55-57 Chevy, and all four(!) pre-installed ball joints had cracked boots. CPP replaced them, but I ended up selling them and using Moog.

Among the 55-57 car community, some of the CPP stuff is considered OK, but other parts like master cylinders and Pitman arms (and ball joints) are considered junk and even dangerous. I put it down to sourcing parts from the lowest Chinese bidders. I think one of their spindle lines is actually made in the USA, or maybe they simply machine the Chinese castings (or forgings?) in the USA.

Anyway, I'm happy their stuff works for you and 100s of autocrossers in your town.

 

[Bennyt]

Sounds like something may have changed, or we got ball joints from a bad batch. I say "we" because a buddy and I bought CPP upper control arms for 55-57 Chevy, and all four(!) pre-installed ball joints had cracked boots. CPP replaced them, but I ended up selling them and using Moog.

Among the 55-57 car community, some of the CPP stuff is considered OK, but other parts like master cylinders and Pitman arms (and ball joints) are considered junk and even dangerous. I put it down to sourcing parts from the lowest Chinese bidders. I think one of their spindle lines is actually made in the USA, or maybe they simply machine the Chinese castings (or forgings?) in the USA.

Anyway, I'm happy their stuff works for you and 100s of autocrossers in your town.

Seems like all the vendors have cheapened over the years. Even Moog doesn't seem to be the quality it was 20 years ago. I've started using proforged brand on steering linkage. For many years, I used Moog as it always appeared to be the best but now it resembles the store brand stuff.

You going to C10 Nationals at TMS? I'm going to try and go there this year. I've attended a few Goodguys events there, unfortunately my son's truck wont be ready in time to bring.