upper control arm restoration
 

who does correct upper control arm restoration ,including reriveting ball joints in...this is for a 1970 gm a body ..thx keith

Keith,

After sandblasting and painting I had Bair’s Corvette rivet the ball joints in and press in the bushings on my ‘68 Camaro control arms. They did a great job.

http://www.bairscorvette.com

Bob

Was the paint applied after the bushing installation?

Yes. I didn’t want the paint to get scratched when the ball joints and bushings were installed.

Bob

Bob, you did a great job but was wondering if the factory painted them after assembly.

They dipped them in a paint/water bucket prior to assembly.

Button Style Rivet
 

Anyone know a good source for riveting button style with the flat? Bair cannot do these. Shown is a '70 camaro. Do any other models share the same type?

I had a close friend do mine and he milled a flat onto standard ball joint round head rivets.

Those are super nice. Is your source open to do others? I have the arms and spot-welded ball joints.

I can ask...will send him an email and let you know.

...PM sent

Are the upper ball joints worn out? They don't wear out nearly as easily as the lowers. I have seen cars with 100k miles with good upper ball joints. If the boot did not split, and if they were greased periodically, they may still be good.

I masked mine off, painted them and just replaced the boots, which were just starting to rot. There is no play in the ball joints. Just another possible option. These rivets have never been out.

What is my best choice for a aftermarket correct lower ball joint?

Ball joints were replaced at some point using bolts. So, I'm having fun bringing my '70 z back to original.

Were did you get new boots and how are they put in

One of the Corvette specialty places. Was not Eckler's. I will have to do some digging to figure it out. Same as C3 upper ball joint boot. I may have bought a set for my 70 LT-1 Corvette. If so, I know it is from the same outfit.
I got sidetracked on my shop project, so after buying the Corvette and some parts, I haven't done squat to it since Feb. Will look in my stash of parts and see if I can find the receipt.

They just tuck in. The ones in the pictues are the replacement boots.

just buy the rivet bolts and save some money. No one will ever see the nuts under the control arm.