427ci LS2 sleeved, dry sump oil pump, engine build & install, 69 Camaro

[GregWeld]

So wait..... All this time has past.. and the total update was that you've installed the upper ball joint??? LOL


Okay.


Dale.... have you stroked out on us? Are you feeling alright? Fever? Pulse?

[Ron Sutton]

Originally Posted by GregWeld

So wait..... All this time has past.. and the total update was that you've installed the upper ball joint??? LOL


Okay.


Dale.... have you stroked out on us? Are you feeling alright? Fever? Pulse?

LOL. It's not Dale's fault the car's not back together. It's mine ... sorta. I used a special Howe ball joint housing that allows us to use a much bigger ball joint pin for strength reasons. The factory ones are tiny. Cute ... but tiny.

Anyway ... Howe makes these new lower ball joint housings that fit in 67-69 F-body & '64-'72 A-Body lower control arms ... that fit a much larger, beefier, ball joint stud. I assembled the housings with the correct height stud ... adjusted for zero friction ... and sent them with the total package. When Dale got back from his trip & went to install them ... they slipped right into the LCA ball joint opening with no press fit.

My "WTF" conversation with Howe led to a curious & disappointing answer. Most of the racers running "stock appearing" lower control arms in racing series across America ... are using new stamped LCAs that are foreign made ... that have the BJ hole TOO SMALL. So Howe made this particular ball joint housing smaller ... to fit the imported LCAs. And now ... they don't properly fit accurately made in America LCA's that have the correct lower ball joint size.

Grrrr. So we're giving the import crap priority? Really?

Anyway Greg ... this reminds me of the conversation we were having earlier about new stuff not fitting.

For anyone that cares ...
The factory BJ opening for the AFX LCAs should be 2.000"
Most ball joints for these LCAs are 2.003"-2.005" for a .003"-.005" press fit.
The new bigger Howe BJ housing was 1.984"

It wasn't a big deal to fix it. I just got 2 new new Howe housings (that use the bigger studs) of a larger diameter & turned the base down to 2.005". Shipped them priority to Dale today.

[SSLance]

Originally Posted by Ron Sutton

LOL. It's not Dale's fault the car's not back together. It's mine ... sorta. I used a special Howe ball joint housing that allows us to use a much bigger ball joint pin for strength reasons. The factory ones are tiny. Cute ... but tiny.

Anyway ... Howe makes these new lower ball joint housings that fit in 67-69 F-body & '64-'72 A-Body lower control arms ... that fit a much larger, beefier, ball joint stud. I assembled the housings with the correct height stud ... adjusted for zero friction ... and sent them with the total package. When Dale got back from his trip & went to install them ... they slipped right into the LCA ball joint opening with no press fit.

That sounds just like something that would happen to Lance... Try to do something simple to make something better than it was originally and it turns into a clustermess.

Glad the fix wasn't too cumbersome. Can't wait to see this project come together.

[DaleTx]

Originally Posted by Vince@MSperfab

looking good. thats some serious shheet right there. I think Gaetano's dreams were just shattered. LOL

Originally Posted by Track Junky

Was wondering when you were going to turn up. That's some stout hardware. Looking forward to seeing it come together.

Originally Posted by intocarss

Lookn great Dale!!

Originally Posted by rickpaw

Looking forward to hear how the new parts work out.

Tu

Thanks guys... appreciate the comments!

Originally Posted by GregWeld

So wait..... All this time has past.. and the total update was that you've installed the upper ball joint??? LOL

Okay.

Dale.... have you stroked out on us? Are you feeling alright? Fever? Pulse?

Lol... I'm okay. I really have done quite a bit of work. It will all come together very soon!

Originally Posted by cosmo meant it

Good Ron must be real busy sending truckloads of that sauce out.

I'm glad that I got some of the sauce

Originally Posted by Sieg

Unlike many of us Dale is actually busting his butt at work and on his car.

Unlike a few he's actually making noteworthy progress too!

Thanks Sieg... I plan to have the car ready so we can meet up at the historic races again this year.

Originally Posted by Flash68

One of the few remaining threads that wasn't all jacked up. Past tense.

Well done fellas.

No problem!

Originally Posted by SSLance

That sounds just like something that would happen to Lance... Try to do something simple to make something better than it was originally and it turns into a clustermess.

Glad the fix wasn't too cumbersome. Can't wait to see this project come together.

Thanks Lance.

Originally Posted by Ron Sutton

I just got 2 new new Howe housings (that use the bigger studs) of a larger diameter & turned the base down to 2.005". Shipped them priority to Dale today.

Thanks Ron... appreciate that!




Also... I been working on some other upgrades to the car recently. I'm building a new larger spoiler with a splitter similar to the one shown here on "Big Red".




The spoiler comes back around the side (hard to see in the pic)




I've been wanting to improve the aerodynamics on the car so this is a start... I like the looks of this design.

[Vince@Meanstreets]

Originally Posted by Ron Sutton

LOL. It's not Dale's fault the car's not back together. It's mine ... sorta. I used a special Howe ball joint housing that allows us to use a much bigger ball joint pin for strength reasons. The factory ones are tiny. Cute ... but tiny.

Anyway ... Howe makes these new lower ball joint housings that fit in 67-69 F-body & '64-'72 A-Body lower control arms ... that fit a much larger, beefier, ball joint stud. I assembled the housings with the correct height stud ... adjusted for zero friction ... and sent them with the total package. When Dale got back from his trip & went to install them ... they slipped right into the LCA ball joint opening with no press fit.

My "WTF" conversation with Howe led to a curious & disappointing answer. Most of the racers running "stock appearing" lower control arms in racing series across America ... are using new stamped LCAs that are foreign made ... that have the BJ hole TOO SMALL. So Howe made this particular ball joint housing smaller ... to fit the imported LCAs. And now ... they don't properly fit accurately made in America LCA's that have the correct lower ball joint size.

Grrrr. So we're giving the import crap priority? Really?

Anyway Greg ... this reminds me of the conversation we were having earlier about new stuff not fitting.

For anyone that cares ...
The factory BJ opening for the AFX LCAs should be 2.000"
Most ball joints for these LCAs are 2.003"-2.005" for a .003"-.005" press fit.
The new bigger Howe BJ housing was 1.984"

It wasn't a big deal to fix it. I just got 2 new new Howe housings (that use the bigger studs) of a larger diameter & turned the base down to 2.005". Shipped them priority to Dale today.

Are these the LBJ's that have the sevicable ball/stud right? Is there a stud spec chart available? Ive been looking but haven't found it.



Can't wait to see more Dale!!

[Sieg]

Originally Posted by Vince@MSperfab

Are these the LBJ's that have the sevicable ball/stud right? Is there a stud spec chart available? Ive been looking but haven't found it.



Can't wait to see more Dale!!

Try this: https://www.howeracing.com/p-7939-ho...its-k5103.aspx

[Vince@Meanstreets]

Originally Posted by Sieg

Try this: https://www.howeracing.com/p-7939-ho...its-k5103.aspx

Thanks Scott, i have that but im looking for stud specs.....I think I have an idea.