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Sat Jul 09, 2005 5:57 pm

I am looking for a lifted BJ front arms. Does anyone know of a good source for these.?

Thanks

Bob

Sat Jul 09, 2005 6:17 pm

they do not exist.

Sat Jul 09, 2005 6:21 pm

Doesn't using thing arms and spindles add lift?

Sat Jul 09, 2005 6:35 pm

thing arms and spindles add 2.5" thats the only thing to do with b/j besides cutting and turning

Sat Jul 09, 2005 6:40 pm

read this

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=101670

Sat Jul 09, 2005 7:14 pm

You could use modified stock, lifted spindles but in my opinion they are very weak for hard off road use.

Sat Jul 09, 2005 9:39 pm

Lift spindles are slightly weaker, but they are not what I consider to be the "weakest link" in a B/J front end. They are what I would use to add extra lift on a B/J setup. They will offer a better ride, and they are much easier to install than modifying the beam.

As for extended arms, Brad said it all with his statement, "they don't exist".

SHMO

Sun Jul 10, 2005 4:04 am

I wonder why? They don't seem to me to be any harder to make than link pin ones.

Sun Jul 10, 2005 12:25 pm

dvd8n wrote: I wonder why? They don't seem to me to be any harder to make than link pin ones.
It could be that the balljoints cant take the angles.

Sun Jul 10, 2005 8:21 pm

A few years back Tweed made them, on an exchange basis, out of stock arms. He'd cut off the actual arm, and weld on DOM tubing, using the stock part that goes in the beam. This converted your B/J to K/L with the use of his 3" lift spindles- no new framehead necessary!
Unfortunately, they're not on his site anymore... low sales?
Someone should ask him if he'll still make them- surely the jigs are still around.
Other than that, Thing spindles are the way to go- 3" lift, with stock B/J angles (unless you cut+turn). Pop up occasionally on Ebay.

Sun Jul 10, 2005 8:23 pm

Good stuff...

http://tweedsdesigns.com/

Sun Jul 10, 2005 8:26 pm

linkpin spindles wont work well on a balljoint beam unless they are taller to match the larger spread on the torsion tubes. the geometry would be way off and caster would be craaaaaaazzzzzyyyyy

Sun Jul 10, 2005 9:15 pm

so in a nut shell the reason not to make longer ball joint arms is becouse of the ball joint itself, it has a smaller travel range compared to king pin and after it exceeds the travel limits it will fail/break.
you can have added ride height if you add the proper spindles, either thing/181 (with 181 arms) or lifted ball joint spindles to give the lift.

there are rumors of clearancing a thing ball joint to get a few inches more out of them, but after taking a good hard look at doing that (i have both thing and bug ball joints in the garage) i reccomend caging the car from end to end and hanging a king pin beam on the front. that is the easiest low budget fix, if you can't step up to that level just yet be happy with your front end and save your pennies for the cage and new front end.

Mon Jul 11, 2005 12:55 am

Cant you buy high angle ball joints?

Mon Jul 11, 2005 8:33 am

Where is a good source for lifted spindles. Also, I need to replace all the ball joints, where is a good source for them or for rebuilt arms with new ball joints installed. I live in So. Cal.

Thanks

Mon Jul 11, 2005 9:37 am

so cal imports in long beach, ca

Mon Jul 11, 2005 11:04 pm

HamburgerBrad wrote: so cal imports in long beach, ca

....I threw some on a car for a guy a few weeks back. He got them from So Cal Imports........seem to be very well made.
Perfect for trail driving, cruising the dez and I'll bet they'll withstand the occasional 'whoop' section, too.

Tue Jul 12, 2005 5:22 pm

I've read somewhere that the thing arms place the ball joints differently then the sedan arms. They are pressed in from the bottom on both arms. The take hard hits better from the bottom so you don't have a chance of pushing the bottom joint out on sedan lower arms.

Tue Jul 12, 2005 5:24 pm

jps1145 wrote: I've read somewhere that the thing arms place the ball joints differently then the sedan arms. They are pressed in from the bottom on both arms. The take hard hits better from the bottom so you don't have a chance of pushing the bottom joint out on sedan lower arms.
bingo. and positioning both balljoints in the same orientation is part of what gives you the extra lift