Global West tubular a-arms

'69Novajoe · #1 Today, 02:32 AM

Hi guys, I bought some Global West tubular lower arms (#CTA-79L) back in Sept of 2023. It was brought to my attention by a friend that I should check to see if they had any sort of steering stops on them. They didn't, so I called Global West and was told the steering box itself has stops, which I found out later only power boxes do (mine is a manual box). I just got around to installing tires on the car a couple days ago (July 30th, 2024!!) and, yes, the tires do, in fact, hit the frame along with the passenger side brake line being stretched very tight!! I then called up Global West again and they informed me they had never come across that problem and that they had no fix or solution for it. I asked them if I could drill and tap the arms in order to install a bolt for a stop and they said yes. I'm just upset that they didn't let me know this could be an issue. So now I'm on my own to figure out how to retrofit something in there to keep my tires from hitting and the brake line from breaking off!! I'm just wondering if any of you guys have had this problem and how you might have fixed it. I also found out my friend who purchased CPP tubular a-arms had the same problem!!

**Too Many Projects** · #2 Today, 02:45 AM

The wall of the tube is too thin to tap. You might get 1 thread and the bolt will push right thru that when the steering arm contacts it. Drilling the tube will create a weak spot for it bend too. I have their tubular arms on my '67 Camaro, but have never driven it since install. I do have PS, but I will be looking into this and see if there is a way to weld a piece of angle iron to the tube for the steering arm to contact. Yep, it will mess up the powder coating, but it may be the only, safe, solution.

'69Novajoe · #3 Today, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Too Many Projects

The wall of the tube is too thin to tap. You might get 1 thread and the bolt will push right thru that when the steering arm contacts it. Drilling the tube will create a weak spot for it bend too. I have their tubular arms on my '67 Camaro, but have never driven it since install. I do have PS, but I will be looking into this and see if there is a way to weld a piece of angle iron to the tube for the steering arm to contact. Yep, it will mess up the powder coating, but it may be the only, safe, solution.

Hey Mitch, thanks for your response. I was thinking the same thing, about drilling and tapping the a-arm. When he (Scott from Global West) said that would be okay, I still had my concerns.

How about drilling and tapping the steering arm itself. I'm not sure how much that would "compromise" the arm, but it wouldn't have to be too deep? Here are a couple pics of what I'm thinking. Drill and tap the arm where the flat area is on the arm and install this Energy Suspension bump stop with plenty of Loc-tite!!?? And, again, it wouldn't have to be too deep, just enough to hold the bump stop in there? The stop wouldn't be contacting the a-arm that much during regular driving, right?

Your thoughts?