1981 Control Arms - Factory Repair

[Howell J.]

I purchased a set of what was advertised as upper and lower control arms from a 1981. At first look, they appeared almost like new, no rust and no dirt. I decided to use them on my 1970. Working with them I was surprised to find that all four, on their lower surfaces, had welds around the ends of the arms, around the circular holes for the the ball joints . The welds also traveled on the underneath surface along the outer edges of the lower arms. The welds look very nice. The weld beads are very smooth, no puddling - under the paint they resemble a long smooth bead of glue. (TIG welds?) The first obvious thought was the previous owner covered up cracking. Now I noticed that on the lower arms, the beads run underneath the bracket that provides the attach point for the front sway bar. The welds would have been made before the sway bracket was welded on;i.e. made at the factory. Maybe the cracks were the result of a pressing problem at the factory? It's hard to imagine the factory would repair defective press work, but it certainly appears so. Anyone seen anything like this?

[Patrick H.]

Re: 1981 Control Arms - Factory Repair

Any chance that you can post a picture?