Scott Drake Lower Control Arms

[Mosesatm]

I figured this was as good a time as any to finally replace my lower control arms. They've been sitting in a box for months and I have a few days off so what the heck, it'll only take a couple hours.

After removing the passenger side arm I compared the new Scott Drake replacement to it and take a look at what I found. It looks to me like the bushing seat is installed upside-down on the wrong side of the arm!!!! Both arms have the same apparent problem.

Lesson learned; If you replace your suspension parts please make sure the new parts are correct.

 

[Ruppstang]

I had heard that there was problems with them but did not know what they were. I have found many of the Scott Drake products to be quility suspect. I think went for the money and took his manufacturing to China and gave up the quility that gave him his start. Thanks for the tip. Marty

 

[GT/CS S Code]

Have to admit that we were wondering the same thing.
This past year we bought a complete set of rebuild parts for our big block power steering, but after the car was torn half apart we found that most of the parts wouldn't fit. Hoses were wrong lengths or wrong contours and a couple of the brackets wouldn't fit properly either. Most of the brand new parts we were supplied with by the distributor were all in Scott Drake packaging ...
We had to put most of the old steering components back into the car to make it road worthy for our trip up to Kamloops last August for their "Hot Nites" event.
To say the least we were not amused, and do not look forward to having to pull all the front end apart again this year to finally do the job properly. What a waste of time and hard earned money.
I have serious doubts about whether we would want ANY Scott Drake packaged parts ever again!
(Just my two cents worth ...)

 

[earlymustang]

It looks like you are comparing an older reproduction to the Drake unit and not an OEM unit and that is not a fair thing to do. I am not standing up for Drake parts but you need to be fair about your accusations.

 

[Mosesatm]

Why is it not fair? It's showing correct vs. incorrect. The Drake part is incorrect and cannot be used.

If I remember correctly the Scott Drake arm was purchased less than a year old and the Grab-A-Trak arm is probably 3 years old.

 

[hookedtrout]

Why is it not fair? It's showing correct vs. incorrect. The Drake part is incorrect and cannot be used.

If I remember correctly the Scott Drake arm was purchased less than a year old and the Grab-A-Trak arm is probably 3 years old.

I'd have to agree, Wrong is Wrong is Wrong, makes no difference what you compare it to.

If it's wrong and Drake isn't putting forth the effort to insure their parts are quality and accurate the WORLD needs to know so they either get it right or WE save the rest of the world that may be interested in Drake parts the headache of having to deal with it.

Thanks for sharing, keep us posted on what you find out or how Scott Drake manages it.

 

[obwan93001]

Dang, I installed Drake lowers (purchased from NPD) on my CS a lil over 3 years ago because I was not happy w/the quality of the ones from Laurel Mtn Mustang, even though I stuck w/the uppers from LMM, doh, they have cracked ball joint dust seals now. In regards to the SD lowers, I was too stupid/naive to compare to the originals that I removed and assumed being SD products they'd be correct so for all I know they have the same issues your pair have. :frust: What kind of issues would that problem cause when driving? I haven't noticed any issues but I am not a suspension guru either. I redid using GT specs for the most part and it is tight and w/some fine tuning is good for me so maybe mine didn't have that problem. Next time I have the car up I'll see if I can tell w/them on.

Thanks for bringing this crap to our attention!

 

[Mosesatm]

I've been told that the Drake part is an exact duplicate of the Ford part.

If that is true I certainly don't want to be giving out false information so does anyone have an original Ford control arm laying around that we can compare?

 

[obwan93001]

I've been told that the Drake part is an exact duplicate of the Ford part.

If that is true I certainly don't want to be giving out false information so does anyone have an original Ford control arm laying around that we can compare?

Hmmm, very interesting. Hahha remember Laugh In anyone? Artie Johnson I think was the comedian that used to say that when popping his head out of a bush dressed as a German WWII soldier wasn't it?

Anyhow, I'll go dig around the side of the house here where I put some of the stuff I took off my original suspension a few years ago and see if I still have the original LCAs, I have a feeling I gave them to one of the mobile scrap collectors a while ago but I'll go check in a minute. Someone here has to have an original one to compare to though so we'll find out soon.

Thanks for that Arlie, makes me feel a little bit better about the SD LCAs I have on my CS now.

 

[obwan93001]

You know, I wonder if the Grab-A-Trak LCAs are designed like that for performance reasons? Kind of like doing the Shelby front end drop? I'm not an engineer but just thought that may explain the difference w/the Grab-A-Trak LCA.

 

[robert campbell]

My steering malady on the GNS was finally traced to excessive slop in the lower ball joints. They were less than 3 years old and had very few miles on them. To be fair I will keep the supplier nameless, but they wore out way to fast to a point they were very dangerous. I bought them as a lower control arm assembly. Car darted to the left and to the right abruptly.

Not sure if Arlies would wear out prematurely? And of course mine were OEM with rivets, but I did not save or compare.

Now I wonder if what Arlie found is what happened on my car. If that is true, my car was nealy dangerous to drive and the "slop" in the ball joint was of extreme nature. Far more than a worn out OEM part.

Rob

 

[Mosesatm]

Rob,
That is exactly why I decided to replace my Grab-A-Trak lower control arms. On my last long road trip I felt a clunk every time I ran over a rock or a rut. The control arms are only 3 or 4 years old but the passenger side arm is definitely worn out.

Rick Schmidt, from NPD, told me that the Drake lower control arms should be used only with the “concours correct” AMK 5A486-1CK end-link kit. That kit uses stepped bushings that fit inside the round sleeves on the arms. The cheap generic bushings will get quickly mangled by the sleeves.

So, I still don't know if the Scott Drake arms are made correctly or incorrectly. My guess is the latter, mainly because the whole arrangement just doesn't look right, but I purchased the stepped bushings and have installed the arms on my car. We'll see what happens.

 

[Mosesatm]

This Shelby is supposed to be an original survivor. Its lower control arms have little brackets welded on each side. Is that original? What are they for?
Check out the missing camber adjustment bracket. Could Ford have just forgetten to install it?

Edit
Good catch Neil.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1968...6409213?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item41560a987d

 

[franklinair]

The small brackets (welded on) are the original Ford configuration. Repro's (at least the ones I've seen & used) do not have them. I THINK they were for jacking, to keep the floor jack from slipping. I do believe they are available to weld onto the new LCA's which do not have them.
The camber bracket IS there in the photo. Its just dirty and blends into the rest of the dirt/grease.

Neil

 

[Ruppstang]

Here are some pics of orignials on the 67 sprint convertible I am restoring.

 

[Mosesatm]

Scott Drake spring supports don't fit on Scott Drake upper control arms.
Pathetic.

 

[Ruppstang]

Is'nt that just discusting but not suprising of the China made Scott Drake parts of late.
Get out the rat tail file.

 

[dalorzo_f]

What I think are OEM 68's, believe 67's are slightly different due to the change in strut rod, not sure of any other design changes that may apply...

 

[Ruppstang]

The 67 version has 4 holes in it as the strut rod is strait and crosses it at a 45 dergee angle. The 68 strut rod has a hocky stick end. Marty

 

[dalorzo_f]

Yep. Thus the pics of 67's don't do much good for a GT/CS! :wink: