59 Upper Arms

[Raven Rider]

Good morning gentlemen I'm back on the quest of getting my Ranch Wagon back to good driving shape.  I have all new Radiator, Motor, Trans, 4 wheel disks and rear diff.  So off to the rebuild of the front end.  I have read here about swapping out to a different upper A Arm.  What I have read it is easier to get a better alignment numbers am I right in this?  Also where can I find these other than EBay and is it worth the extra expense?  Not  going R&P yet.  Thanks and it is good to be back.

[lalessi1]

I used '59 upper arms mostly because I thought the bushings were an improved design. I was able to get about 3 degrees of caster by "cheating" on the number of turns on the bushing "nuts" (that moved the upper arms to the rear) and exceeding the factory specs on the difference in shim stack height by 1/16". I did buy mine on eBay. The stampings were also a little cleaner. The car drives great.

[Raven Rider]

I found on ebay a set of 63 64 FORD GALAXIE 500 FRONT UPPER CONTROL A ARMS LEFT RIGHT PAIR OEM.  About $100 shipped,can someone verify that these are replacement upgrade for my 57 Ranch wagon. I read here that 59-64 upper a arms are interchangeable.  I'm also going to order a suspension kit from P_S_T,  does this sound like a good way to go.  My RW came with some extra parts like ball joints but  researching these ball joint they are from china so I assume they Might not be as good as PST parts.  What say you?

[lalessi1]

The shafts, bushings, ball joints and bump stock are the same for 59-63, so odds are the arms themselves are all the same. (My parts DVD is in the black hole where stuff goes.) I didn't buy from PST, I thought their prices were high. I did find Moog ball joints that were made in Mexico, (better than China?).

[gasman826]

I'm not convinced the newer style upper control shaft and bushing yield more positive caster than the '57 style.  I have pressed the '57 bushing beyond the dimples to move the upper control arm rearward.  The rearward movement of the control arm is limited by interference with the frame.  So using either '57 or '59-64 will yield about the same amount of positive caster.

[57imposter]

When we were doing my chassis, we did some backyard garage engineering and decided that the best way to increase caster would be to move the spring pocket back. We removed the rivets and moved the hat back 3/16". Our figures said 3/16 th 1/4" I got cold feet and went 3/16 whereas I would have gone the 1/4 to 5/16. We were able to get about 3 1/2 caster which made a huge difference in handling. If I had it to do over I would go, at least 1/4 inch and I think that would allow for the 4 degrees needed for modern car handling with power steering.

[lalessi1]

If I remember right the '59 arm which is a completely different stamping did not hit the frame when I moved it rearward. Had I done a chassis I would have moved the spring pocket back. I think Fatman has lower control arms which allow for much more caster.

[RICH MUISE]

Just a thought, Jerry........make sure the'57 ball joints you order are interchangeable with whatever control arms you end up with so they're won't be a spindle issue developed. Nice talking with you on the phone this morning.

[KYBlueOval]

Correct me please if I'm wrong, but I thought the range was '58 - '64 on the better designed upper Control Arm. That's what i've seen in parts listings from Concours and others.

[lalessi1]

Correct me please if I'm wrong, but I thought the range was '58 - '64 on the better designed upper Control Arm. That's what i've seen in parts listings from Concours and others.

I think you are correct.

[RICH MUISE]

Well then, I guess that brings up a related question.....Are the spindles the same 57 thru 64?

[Raven Rider]

57imposter when you moved the spring pockets did you bolt them in place or did you weld/rivet them.  I'm asking you to see if this can be done on a car that is together minus the control arms