pancaked crossmember with stepped control arms?

[losthope]

was just wondering if any one has pancaked a crossmember and also stepped there lower control arms?

just picked up a complete crossmember with all the front suspension , and planning on doing a 1 1/2" step notch on my lower control arms to get lower in the front,im going to use the donor lower control ball joint area and weld them on my existing lower control arms kinda like a raised ball joint stand....

right know i have bolt in bag plates and cup/stands, but it is not low enough for me.....

figured i step notch the control arms and see how low the truck will sit and if i still want to go lower i also have the donor crossmember i can pancake 1" to 1 1/2"....

I know the lower control arms will hang down more, whatever the height i step notch them and the upper ball joints will be at a different angle, but was wondering if there might be any other issue's that might arise if i also pancaked the crossmember besides the steering pitman arm??

can it be done?anyone done both? any advise? or links to build threads or pictures of trucks with this done? couldnt find anything using the search function....

thanks in advance!

[Mike Bradbury]

It is lots of work. Do you want to lay frame? The components you are talking about modifying need to be done absolutely perfect so your truck doesn't become an out of control missile on the freeway.

If you are up to the task I say go for it it will be a fun project to follow.

Hey looky there it is post #1000 for me Wahoo



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[losthope]

well i want to go lower in the front dont know if i want to lay frame yet, and i dont want to buy a pricey drop member....

i know i want to step the lower control arms, and i understand the safety concerns of modification....thats one reason im not going to cut and raise my exsisting control arm ball joint and add little gussets to support them ,but instead im going to weld the donor lower control arms ball joint area onto my existing control arms , basically making a ball joint stand on top of my existing lower control arms with reinforcement plates on the sides so its using the strength of the stock lower control arms.....

the pancaking of the crossmember also combined with the raised ball joints was just a crazy idea i had since i dont ever remember seeing it done and i have a extra crossmember now....

im going to raise my ball joints first and see how low the truck sits and if i like it, and that may be all that i do....im just more curious if both have ever been done?

[dr69burb]

Here is a good thread on the sectioned crossmember.


http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=543729
Posted via Mobile Device

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by losthope

well i want to go lower in the front dont know if i want to lay frame yet, and i dont want to buy a pricey drop member....

i know i want to step the lower control arms, and i understand the safety concerns of modification....thats one reason im not going to cut and raise my exsisting control arm ball joint and add little gussets to support them ,but instead im going to weld the donor lower control arms ball joint area onto my existing control arms , basically making a ball joint stand on top of my existing lower control arms with reinforcement plates on the sides so its using the strength of the stock lower control arms.....
the pancaking of the crossmember also combined with the raised ball joints was just a crazy idea i had since i dont ever remember seeing it done and i have a extra crossmember now....

im going to raise my ball joints first and see how low the truck sits and if i like it, and that may be all that i do....im just more curious if both have ever been done?

I'm trying to picture this in my head while fitting the wheel onto the BJ & a-arm w/o making contact..... What wheels & back-spacing are you planning to use to pull this off? The way I'm picturing it in my head is typically the lip of the lower control arm is what's going to come close to interfering w/the wheel. Double stacking that area of material = double the material height = contact even sooner??

[ol_skool_chevy]

mine has stepped lower control arms I have had steeped lower control arms in 4-5 differant cars and trucks....theres nothing wrong with it...who ever told you that clearly had No idea what they were doing...I hang corners as hard as I can with mine with NO issuies at all....Do it right.

[losthope]

Originally Posted by SCOTI

I'm trying to picture this in my head while fitting the wheel onto the BJ & a-arm w/o making contact..... What wheels & back-spacing are you planning to use to pull this off? The way I'm picturing it in my head is typically the lip of the lower control arm is what's going to come close to interfering w/the wheel. Double stacking that area of material = double the material height = contact even sooner??

excuse my crude micrsoft paint picture i drew for you, but it is hard to explain so the picture may give you a idea of what a friend and i came up with, should work fine itll be basically the same as stepping it like normal but since we have the extra set of arms were going to leave some meat on the exsisting set to weld to and support the upper piece were adding instead of bringing it straight up and welding it to flat stock.....



this is the idea anyways .....

[richards72chevy]

Is this what your doing?

[ol_skool_chevy]

Originally Posted by richards72chevy

Attachment 1063339Is this what your doing?

Thats the Right way

[richards72chevy]

Seems to be popular on impalas.I know a guy who did it on a 80's chevy suburban he drove the crap out of it and never had no problems.

[losthope]

Originally Posted by richards72chevy

Attachment 1063339Is this what your doing?

no not exactly ,im going to try something different but same effect ,since i have two sets of control arms im able to leave my exsisting control arms long ( but still cut back some so its not double stacked material at the ball joint area) and weld the ball joint part off the donor set of control arms onto my existing set i already have...

Originally Posted by ol_skool_chevy

Thats the Right way

Just wondering who's to say thats the right way? Or is that just the way everyone else has always done it..its modification theres no rule book is there?......I never said that way doesnt work, im just going at it with a different approach that i personally would feel safer driving...whats that old saying? theres more then one way to skin a cat!


When i get mine made ill be sure to post pictures and see what you guys think.....

[losthope]

Originally Posted by richards72chevy

Attachment 1063339Is this what your doing?

basically where your picture shows the bottom gusset your holding up my exsisting control arm will extend to that point , then ill have the donor ball joint piece welded on top, like in your picture..

[Reyals Bemus]

Dude I think you're gonna have wheel/tire fitment issues with the way you are describing. I'd do it the way richards showed. Its no less strong if done correctly.

[losthope]

Originally Posted by Reyals Bemus

Dude I think you're gonna have wheel/tire fitment issues with the way you are describing. I'd do it the way richards showed. Its no less strong if done correctly.

its going to be the same shape as the stepped control arm pictured above , but instead of a gusset added on the bottom the control are is going to be extended and slant cut where the gusset would be, how would it be any different? except that i have the ability to run the bottom control arm under the donor piece because i have access to two sets of control arms , vs. the pictured stepped control arm above is only using one control arm and welding it to flat stock...

[losthope]

maybe this will help? or maybe not, i took the picture above to try and show how im going to do it,my friend and i had it layed out on the donor set be for i ended up cutting both ends of the control arms, it should work , i know the ball joint area bends up,i just made a couple picture references to try and explain:

so picture the brown part i painted as the lower control arm cut at a slant:


under the donor ball joint area is a piece of square tubing sitting on the control arm :


the plated on both sides and also plate bottom inside :


who knows maybe itll work maybe it wont ,if it doesnt work ill still be able to stepit the "traditional" way with the parts still..I just like the idea of over lapping better then the other way

[LostMy65]

Hey Losthope.
I stumbled across this thread researching pancaking/sectioning, and 'Z' frame threads.
From the moment you mentioned your idea at the beginning of this thread, I was able to visualize your idea.
I could see how you would just leave the lower part of the original lower arm long and then take the additional lower arm you have and layer the ball joint portion over the original lower arm.
I can visualize it not extending any further into interference with the wheel anymore than the lower gusset.
Basically you're using the original lower arm to eliminate the lower gusset.
Anyway,....
Have you made any progress with this mod?

[Jeff La]

you could correct camber problems when you do this

[WEBBY1]

2". Almost done... I cannot stress enough in taking your time and making sure everything is right..

[chevyrestoguy]

Even with the pancaked crossmember and the stepped arms, your main issue is still going to be the LCA to ground height. Actually, stepping the arms will make it more of an issue, as the wheel is going to be located higher in relation to the LCA.

If you're on a budget and you don't mind doing fab work, then Z'ing the chassis is the way to go. You get instant results on ground clearance, and you can also resolve a glaring anomaly that occurs when the '63-'87 trucks get lowered: the wheel moving back in the wheel opening after lowering the front more than 2". Look at every '63-'87 truck that been lowered and you'll see what I mean. Once you notice it, it's glaringly obvious.

The actual job of Z'ing the frame is relatively easy, but there is a lot of issues that you will need to address as a result of the Z. Issues like inner fenders, steering linkage, and front sway bar mounts. No radical lowering method is easy, you just have to determine what you're trying to achieve, what your budget is, and how much fab work you're willing to do.

[tinydb84]

I'm doing a Z now and it seems like much less work than a cross member notch and moving everything up. Instead of stepping the arms why not do drop spidles?