Help me engineering guys, you're my only hope.

In reply to GTXVette:

Thats something that I hadn't thought about. Ill do some staring and coffee drinking.

Sorry the lower joints all press in to a smooth sleeve.

A 3/4 to 1" strap wrapped around the end of the arm and maybe a boxing plate to that will be very strong.

You want the most rigidity and bending forces controlled between the ball joint and shock mount and without adding unnecessary weight. As you get closer to the inner end lower forces are present.

Here is a broken arm showing the stress point Broken arm

And below the fix to prevent breakage, see how the end of the arm is boxed with the tube and shock mount is gusseted into the joint.

Ok. I see what you are talking about. I was thinking in the middle of the arm was where i had to worry, not the end.

You also seem well versed in the amc front end. Any recommendations or links? Im making all this E36 M3 up as i go.....

There are a couple comments on page one that state that the shock mount loading is significantly less than that of the spring's mounts. This is completely false.

If a spring is mounted by itself, its mounting points do not see anywhere the loads that the shock does. The spring will absorb high velocity bumps and delay the load into the mount.

A shock mount will have something along the lines of 10X the loading that a spring-only mount will have.

Carry on, good ideas.

Dusterbd13 wrote: Ok. I see what you are talking about. I was thinking in the middle of the arm was where i had to worry, not the end. You also seem well versed in the amc front end. Any recommendations or links? Im making all this E36 M3 up as i go.....

That front end is very similar to a Mustang/Falcon. The fix on a Mustang is to use a taller spindle to get some downhill angle on the upper arm. Didn't the Trans Am car have a flipped upper arm (probably to fix ball joint angle issue) and relocated upper inner mounting points. This was done for the same reason.

Fat Man talks about it in the spots on You Tube Brent Vandervort Best Suspension Watch all 4 of these videos, he talks extensively about exactly what you will be dealing with.

Ok. Time to look at it some more in the trans am pictures and what is on my lift.

I would look for a taller dropped spindle that does not compromise brakes. A dropped spindle will lower the car without significantly negatively affecting the roll center.

There has been a lot of parts made since that Trans Am car was built, there may be something that is a better choice.

Call up Fat Man Fabrication and see what they have or recommend. (get Brent on the phone if you can) (that guy is a walking encyclopedia)

Have measurements ready, height of the spindle, lower joint to axle center, steering arm height, brake caliper piston size, length of arms, front or rear steer, etc. (measurements would be taken from the center of the lower joint as a base)

I think most of the aftermarket spindles will be cast steel, if you can find something forged you can heat and bend them to your liking. Depending on your level of creativity and skills you could even fab a spindle if necessary. Relocating the upper inner joints may be enough.

You can buy lower arms cheap from Speedway, AFCO, etc. Weld to Fit Late Model Lower Arm (weld to fit is home made)

I would also look at a steering quickener if you have power steering (you do have power steering, right?)