I was wondering who was running aftermarket uca's. What companies have high quality? Any brands that should be avoided? I remember a few years back that someone made arms that required modifications to work and that just seems kinda ridiculous to me. I am finally upgrading to discs and need big bj arms so instead of dumpster diving at the junkyard I was just going to buy a new set. They will going on my daily driver signet (40 miles highway roundtrip) so I don't plan on using anything extreme like spherical rod ends. Thanks in advance.

I use the arms from Firm Feel on my Coronet. I was in the same boat as you, I didn't want to try to find arms in a wrecking yard and then spend a ton of time cleaning them up and rebuilding them so I just bought new ones. I've used a bunch of Firm Feel stuff on my car and always had good experiences working with those guys.

Thanks andyf We've all seen the pictures of your killer front brakes, but what do you have out back.

Bill Reilly at bigblockdart.com makes good ones that I have heard nothing but good reports about. I also saw a pair at the Nats and was impressed (with him too).

Lou

_________________
Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

Yes, I've also heard good feedback on Bill's parts. I just happen to live a short distance from Firm Feel so I visit them on a regular basis and have gotten to know them pretty well.

i bought a set with heim joint ends from bill reilly at carlisle. i have not installed them yet but they look real nice and he has always been a particularly nice guy to deal with. have not seen the ffi arms but the '73 and up swaybar i bought from them is way better than the universal crap that addco sold me.
perhaps if i give someone in town a hand installing a set of fiberglass leaf springs in his valiant he would help me hang these things on my swinger and set up the alignment. now who do i know that fits this description?...

-james

_________________

Hmmm. Springs are in, but there's a certain head gasket...

Lou

_________________
Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

sure, i can do that! the motor on the stand, right?

-james

_________________

I am using Magnum Force Racing uppers right now. I had the triangular shaped (V) ones with regular bushings which requires you to notch out a .5" by 1.5" piece off the front inner camber slot (shock tower brace) that rubs on the inner arms when in full jounce (with wheels hanging). After setting the camber to zero, the camber bolts were all the way towards the engine for maximum camber and the arms continued to rub! Big hassle. I ended up purchasing another set but this time went with the ones with adjustable rob ends that can be used with coilovers, they have more of a U shape instead of a V shape which does not rub at all. I have no problems going to the camber extremes even with the car lower than stock ride height, and can get 5 degrees of Caster out of it, which is real nice on the freeway. They also carry a "bent bushed" style which is a cross between the U and V shape but without the adjustable rod ends for an easy alignment and a less steep angle that doesnt rub. I have no complaints with the adj arms so far; they use poly bushings and the new balljoints that recess in the head when worn. One thing on installation though, I found my camber slots were different lengths apart from side to side and had to make offset spacers to fit them. No complaints with the arms themselves tho.

ps: I also got a set of caliper adapters from AndyF, AREngineering, and will soon be running 2002 Viper calipers on my Scamp! woohoo. Dodge wanted $650 each caliper unloaded, I got two on ebay with pads and lines for $500 with only 900 miles on them, more fabrication here I come

I thought that there was a arm that req. mods to work. If they were properly designed no modifications would be req.

It won't take any modification to put those Viper calipers on there. I assume you're doing the Viper on 11.75 kit based on the fact that you said 2002 calipers.

The new calipers cost less than $300 each from the dealer and they are nicer than the older calipers. BUT, they'll only fit on a 13 inch rotor which in turn requires a 17 inch rim. The early calipers are smaller so they'll fit under 15 inch disc brake rims.