Lower Control Arm Upgrade

Speedway Motors employee Steve L. talks about the next step he tackles on his Laguna S3 project in this article. Steve replaces the old worn out lower control arms with a fresh pair from the Speedway Motors warehouse.

If you’ve been racing for a while, you'll end up bending up a Lower Control Arm or two at some point. Have no fear; Speedway Motors has you covered with their 1970-1994 GM Lower Control Arms. The chassis that is now under my 1976 Chevrolet Laguna S3 spent 10 years tearing up the local dirt tracks in Kansas. The lower control arms had definitely seen better days, several lower ball joints and been welded in at many different times, so they were in bad need of replacement. Finding GM NOS (new old stock) ones is virtually impossible, when you can find them in a salvage yard they're probably pretty used up too. The Speedway Motors 1970-1994 GM Lower Control Arms are a Non-OEM replacement for:

• 1973-1977 Chevelle

• 1975-1979 Nova

• 1970-1981 Camaro

• 1978-1994 Impala

These arms are recommended for off-road and circle track racing. It uses a 1971-1976 Impala/Caprice ball joint like Speedway Motors P/N 917-20038. I'm using these on the 1976 Chevrolet Laguna S3 that I'm building for SCCA autocross competition so I chose to drill out the ball joint hole and have screw-in ball joint sleeves tig welded in. If using a press in ball joint, it is recommended to tack weld the ball joint to the lower control arm.

These lower control arms come with the bushings removed, but you will need to still remove the bushing outer shells. The easiest way to do that is if you have access to an air chisel just deform the middle of the outer shell and then use the air chisel to drive them out. If you don't have access to an air chisel, it can be done with a regular chisel and a hammer.

After you have the bushings removed, be sure to use a half round file to file down any burrs that may have occurred while removing the bushing shells. Then you're ready to install whatever style of bushing you plan on using. Speedway Motors has the bushings available in rubber, polyurethane or steel. Speedway Motors 1970-1994 GM Lower Control Arms are a great way to replace those ageing or abused Lower Control Arms, and a great price for a great product.