Shorten the Control Arms?

[Hotchkis]

Originally Posted by Mrfixit

Hey guys,

I just received my wheels and tires for my 68 and am concerned that I didn't specify enough back spacing for the front wheels. I've been pondering my options and was wondering if anyone knows what the results would be if I shortened my upper and lower control arms by 3/8" to 1/2"? Has anyone tried this? Results?

Thanks in advance,

Mrfixit - Solving your fitment problems with shorter control arms isn’t a great fix. Changing the length of the control arm will adversely affect your handling by changing camber curve geometry and shorter arms will change the leverage of the suspension causing the spring rates to increase exponentially as the arms get shorter. Another problem with the shorter control arms is possible interference between the wheel and the control arm due to steeper angles of the tubing to compensate for the shorter arms and decreased turning radius due to interference.

[Mrfixit]

Originally Posted by Hotchkis

Mrfixit - Solving your fitment problems with shorter control arms isn’t a great fix. Changing the length of the control arm will adversely affect your handling by changing camber curve geometry and shorter arms will change the leverage of the suspension causing the spring rates to increase exponentially as the arms get shorter. Another problem with the shorter control arms is possible interference between the wheel and the control arm due to steeper angles of the tubing to compensate for the shorter arms and decreased turning radius due to interference.

Thank you for the info. I'm hoping that it will be a non-issue once I get it on the ground. To help the camber curve along and gain clearance, I'm installing taller upper ball joints. If that doesn't work, my next-to-last resort is to modify the arms. The last resort is to buy new wheels. I'm hoping that I have to do neither.

Thanks again for your comments.