[DeTomaso] Intersting observations on bushings and ball joints

[JDeRyke at aol.com]

On the shoulders missing from the new a-arm bushings, if you add such things 
indiscriminately, it varies the caster in the front end alignment. Set the 
bushings up so the a-arms are pulled toward 
the front firewall (thus the left & right a-arms will have bushings installed 
opposite). Then you'll get a desirable increase in caster which vastly helps 
high speed handling for free. Some vendors sell offset bushings with varying 
shoulder thicknesses to accomplish this caster increase. I would have used 
shim-washers to fill any gaps between a-arms & bushings rather than bending the 
a-arms by graunching on the bolts, but that's just me. The a-arms are only mild 
steel and typically no harm will be done.

On the tapered stud being slightly too long, add a thin washer of proper hole 
size under the upright lug to take up the extra space where the stud 
protrudes. Then the taper on the stud should lock down in the upright hole and the nut 
will tighten properly. Are you re-using OEM nylocks or are the studs in your 
ball joints drilled for cotter pins?

>From all this, its pretty obvious these parts are NOT OEM in spite of the 
pretty logos, but they should work OK- Ford ball joint tapers have not changed 
since 1957 so the whole world knows its a 1-1/2 degree taper per foot of length- 
same as some Chrysler models. I'd also bet your wheels will need a toe-in 
adjustment after all this. I'd do some low-speed testing aroung your home before 
'trying the setup out' on a superhighway, too! Good luck- J Deryke



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