TLC Upper Drag Control Arms #TLC-42

Lightweight tubular upper control arms are now available from Global West for A-body cars such as Chevelle, El Camino, Malibu, and Monte Carlo (1964,1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, and 1972 models).

Part # TLC-42 includes tubular powder coated black upper tubular arms, upper ball joints, control arm bump stops, Aluminum billet upper cross shafts, Delrin bushings and related hardware. They are shipped fully assembled.

The Global West Advantage:

Reduced Bump Steer

With this set, bump steer is reduced through new geometry induced by the control arm. Bump steer is a condition that occurs as the front of the vehicle raises, the wheels turn on their own without driver input. This causes tire scrub and front end wander.

Note: Currently the stock upper control arms change the toe approximately 3/8 of an inch per 1 inch of travel. TLC-42 drops the toe change down to 1/8 inch for the same amount of travel. Plus TLC upper arms have 6 degrees of caster built into the arm. The stock arm usually tops out at 3 degrees with full shim packs.

Geometry Change

One of the biggest problems most production cars have is not enough caster. Caster provides straight-line stability and reduces wander at high speeds. It is part of the front end self-aligning force. For this reason, caster is essential on drag cars. Unfortunately, there is never enough caster available using stock front-end components. Too many alignment shims are needed and possible camber problems can occur. Even if you used offset upper control arm shafts in your stock arm, the best you may get is 3 or 4 degrees caster. Our TLC upper control arms are built with additional 6 degrees positive caster and setting camber is never a problem. Also the arms are made out of chromoly which removes 4 pounds off the front end.

Control Arm Shafts

All TLC upper control arms use billet aluminum cross-shafts. Steel sleeves are pressed in on each side of the shaft for protection. The sleeves isolate the aluminum shaft from alignment shims, frame bolts and nuts. This allows proper torque to be maintained on the cross-shaft. Without steel sleeves, alignment shims and upper shaft bolts would rest against the aluminum shaft and eventually work loose. Once the bolt works loose, alignment shims would fall out causing loose alignment.

Control Arm Bushings

All drag series A-arms use a low friction bushing that allows the control arm to literally drop when they are installed. The beauty of design is that not only is there reduced friction, but there is zero deflection and no fore and aft movement. TLCs use Delrin type bushings machined specifically for our shafts and housings. Delrin, which is patented, is a hard plastic and can handle extreme loads associated with suspension components. It is long lasting and very durable. Grease fittings are installed in the control arms for lubricating the bushings. Synthetic grease is recommended.

Bump Stops

Bump stops are installed on the upper control arms to stop ball joint over travel. This protects the upper ball joint from damage. Sometimes, if the front end travel needs to be limited, the bump stop may be removed and a limiter may be added in its place. Always check the suspension travel. Make sure the bump stop contacts the frame before the shock runs out of travel. Modifications to the suspension can change the distance required.

We recommended using our Drag Race Bump Stop Limiter—part# TLC-1100