[Thunderbird Pilot 89]

Well son of a *****! The AC Delco arm I got from Rockauto is the wrong one! The box had the right label and part number, but the arm is SKP SK8596 which is $24 cheaper, has a thinner cross section and no grease fitting, so it's not even a comparable substitution.

 

[supergordo]

Yeah, that happens.

 

[Thunderbird Pilot 89]

Rockauto says they will accept the return, even though it's past 30 days. That still leaves me needing alternates of some kind.

The Mevotech Supreme arms look similar to AC Delco, they have the thicker cross section and have grease fittings. Does anyone know if these are good, assuming I don't get another bait and switch?

 

[supergordo]

Mevotech supreme parts seem to be pretty good in the cases I've used them. I've also used plenty of control arms from Autozone. And while I know it's not everyones favorite they are lifetime warranty. Autozone gives me new ones whenever I want.

 

[charlotte94]

Well son of a *! The AC Delco arm I got from Rockauto is the wrong one! The box had the right label and part number, but the arm is SKP SK8596 which is $24 cheaper, has a thinner cross section and no grease fitting, so it's not even a comparable substitution.

That REALLY bites! I've never done business with RockAuto and don't think I will.

Getting the control arm/ball joint assemblies from Bill at Super Coupe Performance is looking like the best option I have to get my Bird back on the road!

 

[Thunderbird Pilot 89]

That REALLY bites! I've never done business with RockAuto and don't think I will.

Getting the control arm/ball joint assemblies from Bill at Super Coupe Performance is looking like the best option I have to get my Bird back on the road!

Rockauto says it's the manufacturers that swap parts and they have no control over it. Considering the box had an AC Delco label I'll take their word on it, but they absolutely have control over what parts they sell and which makers they do business with.

I just ordered the Mevotech Supreme arms from Amazon. I've made hundreds of orders with Amazon over the years, including some car parts, and never had a problem with them. Fingers crossed.

 

[charlotte94]

Rockauto says it's the manufacturers that swap parts and they have no control over it. Considering the box had an AC Delco label I'll take their word on it, but they absolutely have control over what parts they sell and which makers they do business with.

I just ordered the Mevotech Supreme arms from Amazon. I've made hundreds of orders with Amazon over the years, including some car parts, and never had a problem with them. Fingers crossed.

If RockAuto is just a big warehouse of parts, you would think they'd make sure the parts in the box were from the maker who's on the label on the box. Recently I saw a photo of an AC Delco control arm for Birds with it out of the box. The close-up photo of the arm said "TRW" on it!!! The ball joint rubber boot was clear instead of the usual black. I won't think a clear boot would last that long!

 

[CDsDontBurn]

Just checked the Summit Racing order status and NOW the expected shipping date has been moved from Nov. 20 to Nov. 28!!!

I had the same problem with the 3000GT inserts for the front suspension mod. I waiting something like 6mo before they were available again. You just need to be patient, but I understand that you need these now due to moving.

I'd say just go with the parts store units for now just to get going and once you've moved to the new place, wait it out there.

Well son of a *! The AC Delco arm I got from Rockauto is the wrong one! The box had the right label and part number, but the arm is SKP SK8596 which is $24 cheaper, has a thinner cross section and no grease fitting, so it's not even a comparable substitution.

Yeah, that happened to me too. It's not just RA, but also from Amazon, and Summit. This isn't a vendor issue, but rather a manufacturer issue at time of packaging. I went through something like 7 returns with various online retailers before I got the "right" unit. This is where I ended up flipping the ball joint over on my UCA.

This was when I discovered that both arms were identical to each other and that they were just left / right only because of which way the ball joint was pushed through.

And here it is where I got it fixed.

That REALLY bites! I've never done business with RockAuto and don't think I will.

Getting the control arm/ball joint assemblies from Bill at Super Coupe Performance is looking like the best option I have to get my Bird back on the road!

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Bill uses AutoZone or O'Reilly's units at significantly marked up pricing.

 

[charlotte94]

I had the same problem with the 3000GT inserts for the front suspension mod. I waiting something like 6mo before they were available again. You just need to be patient, but I understand that you need these now due to moving.

I'd say just go with the parts store units for now just to get going and once you've moved to the new place, wait it out there.

I'm moving to the country and readily getting vehicles repaired will be a hardship. Currently I live in town, so of course it's much easier to go to the shop. I would rather get the repair done and not have to worry about it again.



Yeah, that happened to me too. It's not just RA, but also from Amazon, and Summit. This isn't a vendor issue, but rather a manufacturer issue at time of packaging. I went through something like 7 returns with various online retailers before I got the "right" unit. This is where I ended up flipping the ball joint over on my UCA.

This was when I discovered that both arms were identical to each other and that they were just left / right only because of which way the ball joint was pushed through.

View attachment 51433

And here it is where I got it fixed.

View attachment 51434



I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Bill uses AutoZone or O'Reilly's units at significantly marked up pricing.

OMG!! I had asked Bill in an email who the manufacturer is of his suspension parts and the country of origin, and he would not tell me! According to the above photo, the left control arm ball joint boot looks like it is not sealing against the silver shaft. I would think dirt could get in there and cause problems.

What I am VERY WORRIED about is manufacturing quality of these parts, as I do not want me or my Bird hurt bad if there was a failure!

A former co-worker of mine has a 2000 or so Dodge Pickup and had went through about SIX power steering gears from AutoZone!!!! He'd just get one put on and the damn thing failed right away!!! That's no good even if there would be a "lifetime" warranty!

I'm moving to the country and readily getting vehicles repaired will be a hardship. Currently I live in town, so of course it's much easier to go to the shop. I would rather get the repair done and not have to worry about it again. Anyway, I'm retired now and really can't afford to have this repair done twice.

 

[Chris_Murder]

OMG!! I had asked Bill in an email who the manufacturer is of his suspension parts and the country of origin, and he would not tell me! According to the above photo, the left control arm ball joint boot looks like it is not sealing against the silver shaft. I would think dirt could get in there and cause problems.

What I am VERY WORRIED about is manufacturing quality of these parts, as I do not want me or my Bird hurt bad if there was a failure!

That's a very Bill response. He does not reveal his suppliers because he makes a substantial profit margin on selling them under his SCP brand.

He won't tell you the supplier information because you'll go directly to the source and save a substantial amount of money, causing him to lose a sale. Part of his brand's prestige is that you are supposed to blindly trust his supply and product because he did the research for you, they may only have a 30 day warranty and he trusts that the hassle of removal/return will dissuade you from returning them for warranty. They may have a lifetime warranty, but he doesn't want to deal with it long term. I trust that they aren't ebay world suspension/OEM knock offs that will harm anyone because he wants to keep customers.

I do not know anyone who personally runs the SCP arms or suspension kits. I know lots who run his proprietary bushings, springs, headers, etc.. because he is the only source. He likes to strike up deals that cut out direct to consumer sales to make the money in the middle. I'm not saying I dislike him personally or his tactics, but his selling techniques are dated. Just wait until your order comes in a re-purposed box with Sunday circulars/news paper ads in it. 🤣

I only use Bill for parts that I literally can not get anywhere else cheaper or directly from source. I appreciate that he's keeping the support alive but his mark ups are high. He's not a charity. There have been and are currently others who still support this chassis without gouging the consumer.

I am currently running the Mevotech Supreme arms, and outer tie rod ends on my daily driven SC without issues. Previously the inner tie rods as well until I had my steering rack replaced. I did receive a mispacked box from rockauto and had to have that sorted out. They are another supplier that I'm starting to use sparingly. Their customer support and service used to be much better. Napa and O'Reilly both rebrand the Mevotech Supreme arms for our chassis.

 

[XR7-4.6]

You could buy three pairs of the equivalent arms for the cost of bill’s and their three year warranty.

 

[Chris_Murder]

You could buy three pairs of the equivalent arms for the cost of bill’s and their three year warranty.

For the premium he charges you could buy the lifetime warranty control arms from whichever O'Reilly, Napa, Car Quest, Autozone, Pep Boys, etc...is closest to you and rotate them out and you find any and all wear.

Sure seems like a better deal than sending them back at your expense and waiting for someone to decide whether or not it's warranty and then continue to wait for either a new one, remanufactured one, or your original one back.

Sometimes buying local with lifetime warranty is worth the extra overhead so to speak.

 

[supergordo]

For the premium he charges you could buy the lifetime warranty control arms from whichever O'Reilly, Napa, Car Quest, Autozone, Pep Boys, etc...is closest to you and rotate them out and you find any and all wear.

Sure seems like a better deal than sending them back at your expense and waiting for someone to decide whether or not it's warranty and then continue to wait for either a new one, remanufactured one, or your original one back.

Sometimes buying local with lifetime warranty is worth the extra overhead so to speak.

That's why I do use the autozone arms. Soon as I don't like how they look, I take them in. they give me new ones. In fact, I keep a worn out set on the shelf. When I need new control arms for a tbird, I turn in the old ones. They give me the new ones. I install them, then stick the old ones back on the shelf till next time.

 

[Thunderbird Pilot 89]

I got the Amazon order today, actually Autoplicity sold through Amazon. These are the correct Mevetech Supremes, the thicker arms are noticeably heavier than the SKP.

 

[charlotte94]

Checked on the NAPA website and the upper control arms are $86 & $93. Bill wants $51 per control arm. Thought about ordering the NAPA ones, since they do have the limited lifetime warranty, but read horror stories about online ordering from NAPA! There is a NAPA store in the town I live in, so I could go there and order them in person. And am sure they'll be made in China, like almost everything else is unfortunately!!! Since I'm retired now, I won't be driving as many miles, so hope that the control arms I finally choose, will be ok on the car for many years.

Summit Racing has yet again pushed the shipping date ahead on the AC Delco arms to now Dec. 6!!

 

[Thunderbird Pilot 89]

Checked on the NAPA website and the upper control arms are $86 & $93. Bill wants $51 per control arm.

The Mevotech Supremes I got through Amazon are $31.14 each. They sent the correct ones and they are very similar to the AC Delco, the only two brands I've seen with the thicker arm design.

 

[charlotte94]

The Mevotech Supremes I got through Amazon are $31.14 each. They sent the correct ones and they are very similar to the AC Delco, the only two brands I've seen with the thicker arm design.

Are the Mevotech Supremes made in China and do they have a limited lifetime warranty? Have you used them enough to determine that they are of high quality?

 

[Thunderbird Pilot 89]

Are the Mevotech Supremes made in China and do they have a limited lifetime warranty? Have you used them enough to determine that they are of high quality?

Yes they're made in China, as are most things today. You can't swing a dead cat without hitting something made in China, and that probably applies to the cat as well. Yes on the warranty. Mine are still in the boxes so I can't speak to quality (other than the visual inspection I posted upthread) but others have posted in this thread recommending them, and I purchased them on that basis.

 

[charlotte94]

Appreciate everyone's input on the control arms. Found this on the bobistheoilguy.com forum (and decided to go with the Proforged brand of control arms, since they were in stock on Summit Racing):

Nov 2, 2021
Given the apparent parts shortage at the moment many well known and quality parts are absent, go with OE, TRW, ProForge, Delphi or Raybestos Gold (I think that is what they are calling their better quality ones now) if available before Mevotech or Moog, both of these have very serious QC issues.

I found that Proforged is in the Holley family of companies and is headquarterd in Boulder Colorado (my home state).
The control arms are made in Taiwan. Someone said that is better than made in China. I would hope so. They have a "million mile" warranty, which of course is a limited lifetime warranty. They were $86.66 each. I know they cost more that the AC Delcos etc., but I'm looking at quality and not having to have the job done a second time. The box says "severe duty chassis part." O'Reilly's had Proforged listed on their website, but the control arms for my Bird were out of stock, so I'm so thankful Summit Racing had them in stock, shipping directly from the manufacturer!!

Just received the control arms via UPS today and had my mechanic check them on build quality. He said they would outlast me, so that was a HUGE relief! The ball joint rubber boots have a wire clamp on each end, and noticed on a photo of the AC Delco, that they only have a clamp around the bottom. That was another deciding factor toward the Proforged. I had asked Bill at Super Coupe Performance on what the country of origin was on his control arms, and he said he wasn't sure where they are made! That was a bit shocking!

The car will be going in the shop Dec. 1, then I'll be able to drive it again! It's been out of commission since Sept. 2! These control arms do not have grease zerks unfortunately, but with moving out-of-state, I simply could NOT keep waiting for the AC Delcos! Almost every day they were pushed back to another shipping date and it would probably end up being in January before they'd actually ship or got canceled altogether. Just canceled the ACDelco order.

This will be a repair that I won't have to worry about again thank goodness!

 

[Rodeo Joe]

Did you take any pictures of them?

Joe

They look nice online, there's pictures of them on their website.