73+ K-frame build (pics)
Yeah I put a radius on the ends of the plates. It would be nice if it was done by Hellwig but I wouldn't be entirely surprised if it wasn't necessary on all cars/K members. The end link bolts are also just left long, again probably a combination of allowing for tolerance and being a bit cheap on the production side of things. I ended up using shorter end links anyway when I went to the QA1 LCA's. I just ran the bolts, if I'd bought them I'd have bought better but they've worked fine.
Actually, since you have Delrin upper and lower control arm bushings you can torque everything before you set it down if you'd like. Because the delrin bushings rotate on the pins there's no need for them to be torqued at ride height like rubber bushings. The torsion bar adjusters may need to be adjusted to even up the ride height, but they do not need to be backed off.
That said, with your 1.24" torsion bars I would suspect that you'll only need about 1 turn on the adjusters past where the bolts make contact with the LCA adjusting lever to put your car at ride height. And since you're supposed to adjust ride height in the tightening direction when you set final ride height, you may want the adjusters fairly loose when you set the car down because of how little you'll likely need to screw them it to achieve your final ride height. Just one of those things from the service manual, you're supposed to raise the car to final ride height not lower it down to final ride height.
And here we go again. The factory design rubber LCA bushings are not molded into the shells, it's a simple friction fit. And if you think a chunk of rubber will keep the LCA attached to the pivot pin, well, I have a bridge to sell you. The rubber isn't what keeps the LCA from moving around. Here's a deconstructed rubber bushing. Notice how everything came apart and there's no damage to the rubber itself. It's not molded or bonded to anything, which is why it can be slid apart.
The idea of the LCA pivoting around the strut rod is also laughable. The strut rod goes through a tube in the LCA with a pretty tight tolerance slip fit, and at an angle to the axis of the LCA. It will not work like a simple pivot point as you describe, the strut rod would need to be perpendicular to the LCA and not through-connected for that to be an issue or concern.
Best of luck, but you can't logic OMM on this. Despite the fact that you've run poly bushed LCA's on road courses in excess of 100+ mph with much more loading than a drag car should ever see OMM still thinks your LCA's slide back and forth all over the place. He simply refuses to accept that poly and Delrin LCA bushings work at all. And you can forget trying to convince him that they work differently than the rubber bushings they replace, or that when properly installed they can work BETTER than the rubber ever could. He couldn't do it, so everyone else must be wrong. You should post up the picture of the alterations you made to your poly bushings to get them to fit properly, he also thinks you just "slide them in" and they work in all instances. Probably also why his failed.
Awesome!
Are those Howe racing upper ball joints?
Yeah I put a radius on the ends of the plates. It would be nice if it was done by Hellwig but I wouldn't be entirely surprised if it wasn't necessary on all cars/K members. The end link bolts are also just left long, again probably a combination of allowing for tolerance and being a bit cheap on the production side of things. I ended up using shorter end links anyway when I went to the QA1 LCA's. I just ran the bolts, if I'd bought them I'd have bought better but they've worked fine.
Actually, since you have Delrin upper and lower control arm bushings you can torque everything before you set it down if you'd like. Because the delrin bushings rotate on the pins there's no need for them to be torqued at ride height like rubber bushings. The torsion bar adjusters may need to be adjusted to even up the ride height, but they do not need to be backed off.
That said, with your 1.24" torsion bars I would suspect that you'll only need about 1 turn on the adjusters past where the bolts make contact with the LCA adjusting lever to put your car at ride height. And since you're supposed to adjust ride height in the tightening direction when you set final ride height, you may want the adjusters fairly loose when you set the car down because of how little you'll likely need to screw them it to achieve your final ride height. Just one of those things from the service manual, you're supposed to raise the car to final ride height not lower it down to final ride height.
And here we go again. The factory design rubber LCA bushings are not molded into the shells, it's a simple friction fit. And if you think a chunk of rubber will keep the LCA attached to the pivot pin, well, I have a bridge to sell you. The rubber isn't what keeps the LCA from moving around. Here's a deconstructed rubber bushing. Notice how everything came apart and there's no damage to the rubber itself. It's not molded or bonded to anything, which is why it can be slid apart.
The idea of the LCA pivoting around the strut rod is also laughable. The strut rod goes through a tube in the LCA with a pretty tight tolerance slip fit, and at an angle to the axis of the LCA. It will not work like a simple pivot point as you describe, the strut rod would need to be perpendicular to the LCA and not through-connected for that to be an issue or concern.
Best of luck, but you can't logic OMM on this. Despite the fact that you've run poly bushed LCA's on road courses in excess of 100+ mph with much more loading than a drag car should ever see OMM still thinks your LCA's slide back and forth all over the place. He simply refuses to accept that poly and Delrin LCA bushings work at all. And you can forget trying to convince him that they work differently than the rubber bushings they replace, or that when properly installed they can work BETTER than the rubber ever could. He couldn't do it, so everyone else must be wrong. You should post up the picture of the alterations you made to your poly bushings to get them to fit properly, he also thinks you just "slide them in" and they work in all instances. Probably also why his failed.
Awesome!
Are those Howe racing upper ball joints?