[DeTomaso] machine ball joint to modify alignment

[Charles Engles]

Dear Boyd,

 

 

 

I purchased the Dennis Quella camber lock kit . It has not arrived and I
have not had my a-arms powder coated yet so I haven't started trying to
re-assemble everything so I have no idea how everything is going to work out
with new bushings, new ball joints, new tie rod ends and new shocks and all
new risers , hubs, wheels bearings ( of the Ken Green suspension
modification) so my expectations are for  a great end result even though I
have no factual reason to expect the end result to be an improvement over a
new stock set up ( other then the fact that I have spent allot of money and
I am an optimist!.

$$$$$$   IMHO, you will see a significant improvement in the ride and
handling.   I expect that all those new parts will not increase your max
positive caster much more than one half to one degree maximum from what you
may potentially have now with your stock set up.

 

 

  I seem to remember that the ball joint modification called for milling 1
thousandth from the ball joint.  Since all the parts are brand new ( the
A-arms aren't new but the bushings are new and every part that can be
changed has been) So I believe it would be foolish to make any changes to
the set up until it has been assembled and I find out what I've got.

        SSSSS   Hmmm, if you assemble it and discover that you haven't made
much progress toward positive caster in the four to five degree range,
then...you'll be looking at disassembly of at least the upper ball joint
mount for machining or you'll have to face complete removal of the a arms
and bushings to modify them.    I would humbly suggest that you decide now
what you want to do.  If you just want a firmer, better suspension then
press on.  If you also want extra positive caster for improved high speed
stability and handling, then plan to add your mods during the assembly
process.  It will be much, much easier to have the suspension alignment
technician dial your adjustments back from a high positive caster to a more
stock like range than it will be to push a new stock set up into the
desirable positive caster range.   Perhaps the horsepower analogy is
appropriate.  It is much easier to build in the horsepower and either not
use it or detune it if the engine is (unbelievably) too strong, than  it is
to build it stock and then attempt to boost power later with bolt on
parts....

 

 

 I spoke to Pat Mikal and he offers a modification that requires you to turn
in your stock upper A-arms and he does a modification that is supposed to
make your a-arms adjustable and provides the ability to increase or decrease
your caster camber by over 3 degrees. He also offers a modification to the
rear upper a-arms that  allows for adjusting the ball joint in and out ( in
addition to the front and back that is normally obtained with the shims. His
modification requires you to supply your stock upper A-arms as a core and
has a cost of $1200.00 for the front upper a-arms and $1200.00 for the rear
upper a-arms. So His is not an inexpensive modification. He claims that
Dennis Quellas camber lock is "No Good" and that he has replaced many of
Dennis Quellas camber lock kits.

SSSSS   Pat has very, very high standards...

 

 

 I bought Dennis's kit and have heard only good things about it (except from
Pat Mikal) Mike Drew told me he was very happy with Dennis Quellas camber
lock kit and does it on every car he has the opportunity to work on. I have
never spoken to anyone that has had Pat's A-arm Mod. I would be interested
in hearing from anyone who has had it done.

$$$$$$   True.  There are not many Pantera owners that have the interest or
finances to purchase Pat's excellent parts.    One happy customer is Patrick
Hals.  Pat has two or three vintage racing Panteras.  He has raced Candy
twice at the LeMans Classic event.   The first time his Pantera made a
respectable showing with its basically stock tweaked racing suspension.
Then at the last event, his Pantera was sporting the Pat Mical HiPo Pantera
suspension.   Patrick reported that the Pantera's handling and performance
were head and shoulders above the previous conventional set up.  His
standing at the finish was substantially higher (I am sure Mike Drew can
provide the exact race results) with the better suspension.  So..Pat does
good work and does understand high performance racing sports cars. 

         Finally, I have had DQ's camber lock set on both of my Panteras for
some time and for about a total of over 50,000 miles in all sorts of driving
(track, street, highway, good roads, bad roads, etc).   No complaints and
although I haven't checked lately, I will bet you  that the camber settings
haven't changed...  

 

                  Warmest regards, Chuck Engles



Boyd

On Sun, May 2, 2010 at 3:55 PM, <MikeLDrew at aol.com> wrote:


In a message dated 5/2/10 8:40:28 AM, julian_kift at hotmail.com writes:






I have heard various amounts that can be safely milled off of the balljoint
before breaking through to the ball, most of those quoted values are around
one hundredth of an inch. It might be wise to practice and determining the
safe limit on your old joint prior to milling the new one.



By happy coincidence, the amount that can safely be milled corresponds
roughly to the thickness of the shim which comes as part of the camber lock
kit.  Actually, I take that back.  The camber lock shim is about 2x the
amount that can be safely removed from each end of the ball joint.  When
installing the kit in a '71 Pantera, which has different A-arms from the
later cars, the only way you have room is to mill BOTH sides of the ball
joint about .100".  On a later car, you mill the back side .100", remove
.100" in shims from the front side, and substitute in the camber lock kit.
:>)

Mike 

 

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