This is how the front upper control arms and CV/Hub assemblies looked as they came off the car: And this is the damaage and previous patching work that has to be repaired and/or removed: The upper control arms were originally open tubular arms but while the car was being towed around the country on its trailer the arms cracked. Repairs were made in a gas station with steel plates added using a MIG wedler. The original welds on the UCAs were all TIG welds. Since the car is being restored into the condition it was when it set the record, the plates and ribs must be removed. So, here's some pictures during the cut and grind phase: And here's what the LCA looked like ater 2.5 hours of cutting and grinding. Just about ready to weld. And, the welding begins. There are large gaps on the tubing where I've had to slip a 3/4" rod inside to provide some strength. Even with the rod I have to fill large areas where the tubing has cracked and flaked away. . Both connections where the arms meet the pivot were cracked and separated. I squeezed them together as tight as I could but the back sides started cracking. I just had to fill the gaps again with lots of ER70S-2 filler rod. I just kept adding filler until I built up the areas above the original material. And now its time to grind down most of the welds so you can't tell any repairs were done. Seems funny that I go to all this work to make sure no one can tell I went to all this work. And here are more pictures of the other upper control arm after most of the work is done. Its the same one that's in the top 4 pictures on this page. | Back to the main Goldenrod page | Back to Bench Racing |