Global West tubular a-arms

['69Novajoe]

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]

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]

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?

[Too Many Projects]

Tapping the steering arms is a better option, but you may want to go all the way thru and use the stop threads as filler. I would look into repop stops made of rubber, as urethane doesn't really give on contact to soften the force of the steering arm against the tube. If you find a good solution, I may have to "borrow" it...
I didn't have time to look at mine today, chased 100 miles to buy a replacement vehicle for my CR-V.

['69Novajoe]

Originally Posted by Too Many Projects

Tapping the steering arms is a better option, but you may want to go all the way thru and use the stop threads as filler. I would look into repop stops made of rubber, as urethane doesn't really give on contact to soften the force of the steering arm against the tube. If you find a good solution, I may have to "borrow" it...

I'm thinking of just drilling and tapping them about 1/4"-3/8" deep, and using Loctite to keep it from backing out. The stock steering stops are little "bumps" on the lower a-arms, metal to metal. So I think the poly stop I'm thinking of using would be adequate and not too "harsh"?

['69Novajoe]

Well, would you look at this!! At least one company gets it!! I'm still not sure this would even work for me since I'll need close to a 1 1/2" bump stop!!??

[Too Many Projects]

That is interesting. I'm thinking that since they installed the stops, they would have researched how long they needed to be for stock, original steering arms. If you have aftermarket steering arms, they may be different than original too.
I finally looked at my car and I retained the original lower A arms, as they don't really help with the geometry issue these cars had. That is all accomplished with just the uppers.
It has been 7 years since I did the subframe forward restoration and had forgotten I kept the lowers... I need to get this car done...

['69Novajoe]

Here's an update, in case anyone was wondering what I did!!

I decided to drill and tap my steering arms to accept those polyurethane bumpers (it was actually my neighbor who did the drilling and tapping!!) I finally reinstalled the arms and it looks like it should work perfectly!! I'm a little curious as to what the "stock" turns are for the steering wheel, lock to lock?? Can anyone check and let me know?? The tires are about 1- 1 1/2" from hitting the frame now, which is a big improvement!!

Here are a couple pics of what it looks like.....

[Too Many Projects]

Good of your neighbor to do that, they look good. If you want less turning radius, you can shave the stops down some too, plenty there to take a 1/2" off, if needed.
No clue on the turns. Mine has been apart for 6 years now...