Build that 71 402 already

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

Few things I've learned recently.......

OIL PAN BOLTS: The OER "correct" oil pan replacement bolts don't work with a one piece gasket. The timing chain cover bolts are a 1/16" shorter than original, not that they'd work anyway. My old set was a near match, I prefer a match, so I ordered ARP bolts. At least they're a nice black and a better bolt too. Just what I needed, three sets of oil pan bolts

LOWER BALL JOINTS: I had a suspension house press my lower ball joints in. They said it's cleaner than DYI, and they did a great job, not a mark in the powder coat. They charged for it too, $65, but I'd do it again. Some things I prefer leave to the pros.

CONTROL ARMS: The suspension place says to torque the bushings to spec. unweighted. I saw a video that says differently, but board expertise welcome.

I asked them why one of my upper control arms doesn't move as freely as the other. He says he doesn't know, but they see it all the time and guessed it's the LH side that moves more freely.

I can say my LH control arm fits perfectly into the control arm studs and bracket as well.............IMO there's an engineering or production flaw that concerns the RH studs and/or bracket. But it works anyway, so GM let it slide.

I'll install the lowers tomorrow.