Front Lower Control Arms

[jackboeker83]

Ok, First I understand this is a kit car and everything is not going to line up perfect and I was expecting that but I still have some questions.

1) I opened my lower control arms and tried to put the grease fitting in one of the lower control arms and the threads weren't done right (on one, the other side worked). So I have to tap it out and maybe put a bigger grease fitting in there... no big deal just wondering if that is something I can expect through out the build?

2) After putting on one control arm (left side) which I had to use only two spacers (see pics) on the back part of the control arm with one on each side, I didn't have to put any on the front part. When I tried to put on the right side control arm there is a huge gap where I would have to put two spacers together in the back and one in the front. Is this normal? Like I said before I understand its a kit car and will probably have to shim some things but the left and right mounts for the control arms are not even.

Might be dumb questions but just trying to see if this is part of the game that I should become accustomed to. I am posting pics if my description wasn't up to par... lol because I know it wasn't. thanks

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[bill3422]

Pretty much par for the course

Good description, nice pictures.

[skullandbones]

I had some minor issues similar to yours with LCAs on my MKIII but it worked out and when finally fitted and pulled down, it looked much better. I do remember initially though, I had an Oh crap moment as I was expecting them to fit perfectly (sort of a panic feeling). As I proceeded through the build, I changed to where I expected nothing to fit so that usually my expectations were exceeded! A lot of the times, the tolerances can be very close and adjustments are inevitible. For many who have only tinkered with hot rods over the years, "building" a car is much more of a challenge. I'm one of those. Good luck on your build. WEK.

[Gumball]

When I installed my lower control arms (FFR tubular as yours), I found that they needed spacers, but also suffered from bind both with and without the spacers. I used the Breeze inner sleeves and that helped tremendously with the bind, but I still used spacers. I made my spacers using varying thickness of PTFE plastic (basically old bottles - I think I used everything from large flat-sided water bottles to heavy-duty laundry detergent bottles).

As for the "some assembly required" aspect of these cars, it depends on your goal. I truly believe that these cars are built with tolerances that, for the most part (notice I didn't say "always") allow builders to assemble the car with minimal "re-work." That said, how detail oriented you are and how many deviations from a standard build you make will determine how much you'll have to fiddle with during your build. Remember, it's supposed to be fun, so never let your frustration or puzzlement at FFR's QC efforts get in the way of enjoying this ride and the pride you exhibit upon completion!!!

[riptide motorsport]

That's about par for the course......................the build will be fairly straight forward and easy for you though.

[CraigS]

As mentioned the mount ears will pull together when you tighten the bolt. But you can help them a little prior to tightening. Sometimes the ears are not quite parallel to each other. IE they are welded at the right spot but at a slight angle. If you look at where you need a spacer, and correlate that w/ an out of parallel ear, you could hit it w/ a sledge to bring it closer to spec. Try to do the bending right at the round tube weld.

[Mark Dougherty]

The FFR kit is designed to use stock mustang lower arms.
the mustang arms are .300 in. wider in the back, than the front. This helps make them left and right only.
FFR makes their arms the same width front and rear, making their arms universal left and right.
when installing the arms push the bushings into the tubular arms, then grease the inside of the bushings. Grease the outside of the metal sleeve. Push them together. liberally grease the ends of the bushings. install the control arm. Tighten the front bolt only. Now look at the back part of the arm you will be able to see which side the large washer ( spacer ) must go in between the tabs. Grease the spacer install and tighten the rear bolt.
I hope this helps.
Later
Mark D

[jackboeker83]

Thanks to everyone I got the problem fixed now just moving on. I understood that this kind of stuff was going to happen and thanks for the quick responses.

[lahrs37]

I know that this is a super old thread, but it answered my question. I had the same feeling when I went to mount the drivers side LCA. I feel much better now. Thanks!