Hotchkis #1107 Header Clearance Problem

[Wild Tejas]

Hello everyone,
This is my first post on the forums and I want to see if anyone can help me with some upper control arm clearance problems. I have a 69 Camaro with a ZZ502 and Doug’s 320 headers. Last weekend I installed a set of upper and lower Hotchkis control arms and BB lowering springs. Well I should say I started. Everything went in pretty smoothly until I tried to install the passenger side upper control arm. It instantly hit the number four header tube. At first I thought it was a header problem but I had a set of Hooker headers laying around and swapped the Doug’s out but still had the same problem. I dented the Hooker header just to see how much room I would need and pretty much had to crush it in half to get the upper arm to fit. I put the old control arm back in with the Doug’s header and it fits perfectly with over ¾ inch clearance. Comparing the Hotchkis upper control arm to the factory arm the part#1107 is 2.5 inches wider and is 1.5 inches longer from the rear mounting hole.

Has anyone run into this and how did you fix it? I called Hotchkis and they were zero help. Guy keep putting me on hold to ask someone else for the answers. Anyway I got a lot invested in the whole Hotchkis front end kit and don’t want to crush my new headers for a control arm that looks like it was designed to large. If this part won’t fit can someone recommend a upper control arm that will fit more like factory? It also bothers me to be mixing and matching upper and lower control arms from different companies.

I will post pictures later when I have time to get into the garage. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Nick

[Hotchkis]

Nick,

Sorry to hear you are having a problem with that installation. Please give me a call and I'll see if there are any tricks I can come up with to make that combo work. We haven't had any other problems that I'm aware of so maybe we can find a solution.
Thanks
Mark Rossetti
Hotchkis Sport Suspension

[Wild Tejas]

Mark,

Thanks for the reply. I have just posted some pictures that I hope help explain what I am seeing. Drivers side perfect. And then the four passenger side images. You will notice with the new upper control arm install I can’t get the rear attachment bolt in without inference. I will call tomorrow and see if we can sort through the installation. Thanks for the quick reply.

-Nick

[Hotchkis]

Nick, Thanks for calling me today. Looks like you might try swapping those cross shafts around as we discussed. Please let me know how it works out.
Thanks Mark

[Vince@Meanstreets]

I had the same issue with a BB nova. We sold the arms. Too bad someone can't make that tube turn a bit sooner...hello header makers???

[Wild Tejas]

Mark,

Well good news. I double checked the measurements you gave me over the phone and everything looked correct. I flipped the upper cross shaft 180 degrees and the control arm slipped right into place. It is very close to the header but it fits. I don’t see a way a shim could be added for alignment purposes but I am back on the road. I attached a picture for you to see the clearance. For everyone reading I have the notched side of the cross shaft bolted to the frame. And for sanity sake the measurement from the front mounting hole to the bushing is 1 1/4 and the rear distant closest to the firewall is 1 3/4. Thanks again for taking the time to walk through this install with me. You were very helpful and went the extra mile to make sure I was taken care of.

-Nick

[Rick D]

That still looks really close, we had the same issue on big block before. Tried a couple of different headers some where better then others. In the end I took out the header and cut and rewelded the tube gave a little more curve to the motor and back a little if I remember correctly and then had them recoated. Yes this was a pain and cost the customer a few bucks but that's why we call it hot rodding. You may need to still move that harder tube once you go for your alignment?

[Hotchkis]

Originally Posted by Wild Tejas

Mark,

Well good news. I double checked the measurements you gave me over the phone and everything looked correct. I flipped the upper cross shaft 180 degrees and the control arm slipped right into place. It is very close to the header but it fits. I don’t see a way a shim could be added for alignment purposes but I am back on the road. I attached a picture for you to see the clearance. For everyone reading I have the notched side of the cross shaft bolted to the frame. And for sanity sake the measurement from the front mounting hole to the bushing is 1 1/4 and the rear distant closest to the firewall is 1 3/4. Thanks again for taking the time to walk through this install with me. You were very helpful and went the extra mile to make sure I was taken care of.

-Nick

Nick,

Glad we have gotten you at least back on the road. As Rick D stated some headers offer better clearance than others, and on the BB it's real tight. It's been a while since we did a BB car in house, so we haven't had to deal with header clearances, which isn't normally a issue on SB or LS based cars. I'll continue to research options and we'll see if between us, and the great members on Lat G we can find a header that might offer a advantage.
Thanks
Mark R
Hotchkis Sport Suspension