Ok, there is a lot of us here. and I like to think that we are all trustable people. Because it would only take one dishonest person to break this chain.

This scenario follows the “floater” or “advance replacement program” theory.

But someone has to be willing to start it.

I want to redo my front control arms in poly and new ball joints. But I don’t want my car down for a few days to do it.

The way to solve this problem is a list is made of people wanting to do this.

Once you have 4 or so people on the list it will keep growing.

It has to start with a very trusting person (insert your name here) and you ship a set of old A arms to the first person on the list that has all the new parts in their possession and is waiting.
The first person then rebuilds the A arms within a few days and puts them on the car, and ships their old “cores” to the next person on the list that has all their parts and is waiting. With each person paying for the next guys shipping.

With 6682 members on this forum this is very doable.

Anyone want in?

If someone is willing to donate the A arms I will even pay the first persons shipping

this can work...

Damn and now this has to happen!! would of been great a week ago.. LOL

I'm trying to see how this will work, so bear with me.

A ships to B.
B rebuilds A's arms and swaps A's arms for B's arms on the car.
B ships to C.
C rebuilds B's arms, etc...
C ships to D.

When does A get a set of arms back? Or, if B ships back to A, then B has saved time, but A has used a lot more time (the original build time, and two times the ship time).

That being said, I have a set of spare rear A-arms from an 84 to start the chain.

thanks steve,
you have it just right.

A would have to be willing to wait a very long time for them to come back to him. or willing to just give them up.
if i would have only thought about this a year ago i had a 84 that parted out. i accually cut up parts of the frame for guys to repair collision damage.

someone kick me please.

[This message has been edited by buddycraigg (edited 02-22-2003).]

Well I see where this is going. I'd prob. be willing to donate a set of A-arms, regardless if I get them back.

Just to note though, the 84s and 88s are different afaik....

------------------

19 Year Old Fierophile.
R.I.P.--1986 GT Daily Driver, 4:10s, NX 50 Shot, Borla exhaust, ported manifolds, more goodies
--1986 SE V6, Mostly stock W/Integrated rockers and COMING SOON: Intercooled Turbo!!! (possibly)
--1984 SE 4.9, IMSA spoiler, Duel exhuast, GT rear bumper, Konis, drop spindles, Rear adjustable perch, Poly total kit, Poly cradle bushings, Big front bar, Added rear bar, 11.25" brakes on all corners w/SS hoses, Fancy wheels wrapped w/soft rubber, and much much more.

thanks Jncomutt, are those pre 88, front or rear?

Steve, if you cant go a long time before you see them again i have a pre 88 set i can let go since it will be a VERY long time before i will need them. unless I win the lottery.

so at this point we defiantly have a set of pre 88 rears to start of with.

i really didn't expect to get this far so fast.

quote Originally posted by buddycraigg: thanks steve, you have it just right. A would have to be willing to wait a very long time for them to come back to him. or willing to just give them up. if i would have only thought about this a year ago i had a 84 that parted out. i accually cut up parts of the frame for guys to repair collision damage. someone kick me please. [This message has been edited by buddycraigg (edited 02-22-2003).]

I am confused here. Why does A have to wait for some back? He/she already has a set on the car that they rebuilt, remember? "A" would end up having two sets of control arms the way I am understanding it. Please help my brain here.

p.s. I could have used this idea for the rear on my '85 about 3 weeks ago, but the front is waiting for money yet

------------------
--Jess--

If you expect the unexpected, was it really even UNexpected in the first place?

'85 SE, 4cyl, 5spd, silver/grey

'02 Yamaha R6, blue/white, 3200 miles, LIGHT case of roadrash

'02 for sale/trade for Fiero(s)

Everything will work till someone passes along a bent pair of arms. The chain stops.

One important thing has been forgotten...who will maintain the list?

I'll donate all the arms to start the chain.

------------------
2 Indys
1 Indy A/C delete
84 black/silver, T-top, IRM car
85 GT convertible
86 GT Yellow
86 GT Pearl White, T-top, 3.4 engine
88 T-top coupe
88 Formula, Red
88 GT Black, leather
88 GT Black, lumbar
88 GT Black, T-top, 5 speed, 3.4 engine
88 GT White, T-top, 5 speed.
88 T-Top Rolling Frame. 3800 project
www.fierowarehouse.com

However......
"Time is the most precious and perishable of my possessions."

Why not just buy a new (used) pair from one of the trustworthy vendors on this forum? I doubt 84-87 A arms cost that much. If they do, I'll donate a set I have. This way, you don't have to worry about getting a bent set or getting a set from a northern car that are very rusty.

I don't know about you, but I'd rather spend a few $$ to make sure I get good parts.

jim

quote Originally posted by jlhuber: I am confused here. Why does A have to wait for some back? He/she already has a set on the car that they rebuilt, remember? "A" would end up having two sets of control arms the way I am understanding it. Please help my brain here. p.s. I could have used this idea for the rear on my '85 about 3 weeks ago, but the front is waiting for money yet

A would have a car missing a set up on blocks.

and about needing this 3 weeks ago.. that the way things go in my life too.

quote Originally posted by 007DOUG: Everything will work till someone passes along a bent pair of arms. The chain stops. One important thing has been forgotten...who will maintain the list? I'll donate all the arms to start the chain.

yes a bent or rusted out pair would stop things too. that's another point where we all have to be trustable. we would have to make an agreement something like after you get your new ones built and put on and you discover that your original ones are bad you agree to find a replacement set.

about who would maintain the list, we all would. if people post to the list. like B posts that he has shipped to C we all would be keeping our eye on C. and then if D got bent or rusted arms then we all would know that C is not a trustable person and should be shuned.

thanks for 007doug and summerjim for donating,

it's funny. right now it's working backwards. we have more people wanting to donate than people needing them to do their project.

i guess we'll give it a few days and see what happens.

maybe it's a stupid idea to everyone else but me.

What I'm not following with this exchange program is why spend the extra money to ship A arms to the next person on the list after you have spent the money rebuilt them when all you would have to do is rebuild the A arms you currently have (same as rebuilding them for the next person) and save yourself the shipping charges.

you save down time. you get your bushing and ball joints in the other arms while your car is still on the road. and you'll only have your car apart for a few hours when you swap the arms

ok, instead of asking who likes this idea, maybe i'll get more responces if i ask who thinks this is a bad idea

I guess it would be a bad idea if I was number 6,000 and got to rebuild mine in the year 2175.

Ok, maybe it's just me, but...

I figured out how long it'll take to change out your bushings for the poly ones - it's roughly the same time it takes to package up a set and drive to the UPS/post office with them! Not to mention the actual shipping time and costs.

They're SO easy to change out!

Pull the arm, torch the OUTTER shell with a propane torch (just takes a bit longer than oxy/acet.) all the way around for a bit, then concentrate on one spot. It'll either go PATOOEY and spit it out (rather violently sometimes), or it'll just catch on fire. Let it burn for 5 min's, then poke it with a long old screwdriver. Rub up the inside with a round wire brush, pop in the poly and you're done! Take's like 10 min's per arm.

that's better.

i figured i would get a better responce if i asked for negative feedback.

I'm with Watts. I am not fast at wrenching, but I had the front end disassembed in 2 or 3 hours. It took me another hour or two to burn out the bushings. I took the lower control arms into the shop and had them press out the balljoints and install the new ones. I wire brushed and lightly sanded the control arms and painted them. Next day I reassembled everything, including replacing all the front tie rod ends. I got it all done within one weekend. Again, I'm, slow and had trouble getting a couple bolts out of the lower control arms, plus I spent time painting them. It's not that big of a deal to rebuild the control arms.

i have a rear pair (84-87) that i can donate if someone needs them, i do want to get into the front pair list though...

------------------
Eric
'87 GT 5-speed Gold/Tan NOW with a 4.10 4-speed
3.1 TDC + other goodies coming summer of '03
-2.8 aluminum head crank, 6" SBC rods, 3.4 pushrod pistons (8.8:1), T3/T4, custom built headers and Y-pipe, 36#/hr injectors
OR
-2.8 aluminum head crank, 6" SBC rods, N* pistons (11.5:1), 96+ heads, home built equal lenth headers, custom tunnel ram intake manifold, 24 #/hr injectors, and a 100 shot of N20 :)

choices....

quote Originally posted by buddycraigg: Steve, if you cant go a long time before you see them again i have a pre 88 set i can let go since it will be a VERY long time before i will need them. unless I win the lottery.

Right now, I have 1 pre-88 car and 3 pairs of rear A-arms, so I think I can spare a set. I can risk that they won't come back.

84-87
i've done my rear set.
something i tried that worked was i threaded a metal coat hanger through the sleves, so when they "popped" out they didn't shoot across the room.

who is willing to send me a front set if pay for shipping?

Jncomutt
007DOUG
summerjim
anyone?

[This message has been edited by buddycraigg (edited 03-02-2003).]