i talked to the shop guy yesterday and he told me the reinforcing plate would not be an issue to modificate. BUT: he told me that the dropped UCA would have problems with the width of the shock tower which is narrower there where it would be in the upper location. i havent seen it myself and dont know how much narrower it is. anyone has a photo of the dropped UCA and could measure how much space there is on the sides??? if possible with a roller UCA? i will check at the weekend and see how to work around it. he told me it would be alot to change the shock tower to make space, but i thougth it is not necessary and there should be the room for the drop, as many have done it before without opening the shocktowers...
opentracker roller kit fits, even if the shock tower is narrower. regular control arm with grease fittings won't.
this is bad news. can you send me a foto of your UCA after the conversion to the Opentracker roller?? im not sure how he will do the roller conversion, so it would be good to have something to compare with. then it might be easier to make a different type of roller conversion than to change all of the shocktower to make space...
Even if the shock tower narrows down some at the lower level, doesn't seem like a major problem. Even with stock upper arms. If you did need a little more room I would just use a hole saw to bore a hole on each side, then make a disk slightly larger than the hole and tack weld it in place on the engine side of the shock tower. Just the thickness of the tower metal may be all that's needed to get the needed room. Even the disk can be reformed to give a little more room before welding in place. And it's possible to do it all from the wheel well side with the engine still in place. Or maybe the setup from Opentracker would solve the problem. Have not looked at their setup. Ron
From what I see in the pics either a BFH or some grinding on the shock tower where the room is needed would be all that needs to be done. Looks like it would not take much to get enough room. Ron
I was talking to John @ Opentracker yesterday about these same Roller UCA's (I purchased his standard "blueprinted" ones last year, but have not installed yet, he said I can exchange/credit towards "roller" ones as mine have not been installed) their overall width is narrower than the standard OEM UCA, so no clearance issues with 1" drop (just like pics from Tody). Mind you, you still have to grind or cut out reliefs on the reinforcement plate, but you knew about that already..... If you are going to use OEM UCA for the drop, it will work, but no way will you beable to install 90* grease fittings, even new lower profile style, unless you cut hole in side of shock tower.......... Opentracker's roller UCA are great, but $600 for the pair and another $200 for the roller spring perches, plus shipping..........TCP, Global have rollerized control arms too, but more expensive, so now you have to decide whether or not it is in your budget
thanks for the advice everyone!! im not long time on this forum, but i already love the help and support with all the knowledge of all the memebers!! really nice to be here! thanks it seems with aftermarket roller UCA the drop is no problem. my mechanic will do a change to a roller with the oem uca, which he does to all mustangs he restores (and backed up with 40 years of racing experience). i think he knows what hes doing, but i dont know how this conversion he does looks like. its possible that his solution is wider than TCP or opentracker. i will go talk to him and check it on the car, then ill see if i go with his solution or with other aftermarket. the option with making a hole and weld it again from outside for sure is an option, depending on how much is missing...
Great that your mechanic can do the roller conversion, can save you alot of money that you can use elsewhere on your car!
Looking at the UCA setup I am wondering abt the shafts. Do they hve grease fitting installed after these pix were made or they the kind that don't require grease? 2.) Is there much difference in the handling of the car w/ the drop? 3.) Is this a worthwhile mod for a car that's just used for cruising?
those are sealed roller bearings, so no need for grease fittings. i wouldn't bother about it on a cruiser. but you wouldn't consider the german autobahn speeds cruising, right? i put in the roller spring perches at the same time. car handles pretty decent with these parts.
