Question about dropped A arms? - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

chevy_mike · 09-05-2007, 05:12 PM

Hi Guys, many years back I had a '68 C10 that I put SoLow dropped A arms on. It worked well and had no issues with them.

I don't see anyone doing this anymore. Why? Reason I am asking is I can now build my own based on the same setup that SoLow used. I am looking to graft a '70 C20 ball joint mount onto my C10 arms so I can use '96 ball joints to work with the '96 spindles. Basically building my own disc brake swap using GM factory parts so I can get replacement anywhere. It also allows me to us either a 5 lug or 6 lug rotor without changing anything else, so if I change my mind on what wheels I want.

The brake info I got from this site on this post, http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...ad.php?t=35042

I have the '96 spindles and '70 C20 arms but the shafts in the arms are wasted. My C10 arms are fine, hence wanting to use those.

I guss if anyone can tell me if the outside diameter of the '96 ball joint is the same as a '64 C10, then I could just swap joints and nothing else.

Hope this makes sense. It does in my head.

L8R,
Mike

gringoloco · 09-06-2007, 04:55 AM

Why not just swap the shafts?

chevy_mike · 09-06-2007, 09:53 AM

On one of the arms, they managed to split the area where the end cap screws into. Never seen someone do this before. Since you have to thread the cap on I am not sure how easy it would be to fix.

gringoloco · 09-06-2007, 06:56 PM

Just grab some out of the JY for almost nothing. The 3/4 ton arms continued into the 73-up body style.

chevy_mike · 09-07-2007, 06:03 PM

It's just a PITA to get down to one and hope I find what I need, especially since I have the parts I really need.

I guess I my question is, Why does no one use dropped A arms anymore?

jlaird · 09-07-2007, 11:11 PM

no one uses dropped a-arms because dropped spindles are made which are a better option when it comes to steering geometry. Also, unless the dropped a-arm is built a certain way, you will have clearance issues if your suspension is really low. With that said, I modified my stock arms to be a dropped a-arm, but did not make the cup any lower than the lowest part of the stock arm.

09-05-2007, 05:12 PM	#1
chevy_mike Never Ending Projects Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 3,836	Question about dropped A arms? Hi Guys, many years back I had a '68 C10 that I put SoLow dropped A arms on. It worked well and had no issues with them. I don't see anyone doing this anymore. Why? Reason I am asking is I can now build my own based on the same setup that SoLow used. I am looking to graft a '70 C20 ball joint mount onto my C10 arms so I can use '96 ball joints to work with the '96 spindles. Basically building my own disc brake swap using GM factory parts so I can get replacement anywhere. It also allows me to us either a 5 lug or 6 lug rotor without changing anything else, so if I change my mind on what wheels I want. The brake info I got from this site on this post, http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...ad.php?t=35042 I have the '96 spindles and '70 C20 arms but the shafts in the arms are wasted. My C10 arms are fine, hence wanting to use those. I guss if anyone can tell me if the outside diameter of the '96 ball joint is the same as a '64 C10, then I could just swap joints and nothing else. Hope this makes sense. It does in my head. L8R, Mike

09-06-2007, 04:55 AM	#2
gringoloco A guy with a truck Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Germany, for now Posts: 5,921	Re: Question about dropped A arms? Why not just swap the shafts? __________________ -Chris Instagram _elgringoloco_ '70 Short-Wide How to: Ruin a perfectly good C10 ‘70 Blazer ConversionHow To: Ruin a Perfectly Good 4wd '72 Highlander How To: Ruin a Perfectly Good K/5 (SOLD) '72 Blazer 2WD How to: Ruin a perfectly good Blazer (SOLD) '05 Yukon Daily Driven (not so stock) Yukon (SOLD) ‘07 Yukon Denali (daily) Members met list: SCOTI, darkhorse970, 67cheby, 67cheby'sGirl, klmore, porterbuilt, n2billet, Fastrucken, classicchev, Col Clank, GSFMECH, HuggerCST, Spray-Bomb, BACKYARD88, 5150, fine69, fatbass, smbrouss70, 65StreetCruiser, GAc10boy

09-06-2007, 09:53 AM	#3
chevy_mike Never Ending Projects Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 3,836	Re: Question about dropped A arms? On one of the arms, they managed to split the area where the end cap screws into. Never seen someone do this before. Since you have to thread the cap on I am not sure how easy it would be to fix.

09-06-2007, 06:56 PM	#4
gringoloco A guy with a truck Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Germany, for now Posts: 5,921	Re: Question about dropped A arms? Just grab some out of the JY for almost nothing. The 3/4 ton arms continued into the 73-up body style. __________________ -Chris Instagram _elgringoloco_ '70 Short-Wide How to: Ruin a perfectly good C10 ‘70 Blazer ConversionHow To: Ruin a Perfectly Good 4wd '72 Highlander How To: Ruin a Perfectly Good K/5 (SOLD) '72 Blazer 2WD How to: Ruin a perfectly good Blazer (SOLD) '05 Yukon Daily Driven (not so stock) Yukon (SOLD) ‘07 Yukon Denali (daily) Members met list: SCOTI, darkhorse970, 67cheby, 67cheby'sGirl, klmore, porterbuilt, n2billet, Fastrucken, classicchev, Col Clank, GSFMECH, HuggerCST, Spray-Bomb, BACKYARD88, 5150, fine69, fatbass, smbrouss70, 65StreetCruiser, GAc10boy

09-07-2007, 06:03 PM	#5
chevy_mike Never Ending Projects Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 3,836	Re: Question about dropped A arms? It's just a PITA to get down to one and hope I find what I need, especially since I have the parts I really need. I guess I my question is, Why does no one use dropped A arms anymore?

09-07-2007, 11:11 PM	#6
jlaird Senior Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: johnstown, NY Posts: 2,393	Re: Question about dropped A arms? no one uses dropped a-arms because dropped spindles are made which are a better option when it comes to steering geometry. Also, unless the dropped a-arm is built a certain way, you will have clearance issues if your suspension is really low. With that said, I modified my stock arms to be a dropped a-arm, but did not make the cup any lower than the lowest part of the stock arm.

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