Project Jinxy, Part 1
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Up front we definitely wanted longer-than-factory control arms to locate our axle. This way the axle would not move back as much as the suspension drooped. But we could not decide what type of joint to use on the end. Also, it takes a fair amount of patience and time to find the correct way to mount the arms to take the axle through the correct arc as it travels. If you goof this up, you can get squatting or jacking, too much angle on the pinion, or just plain bad, incongruently mounted arms that like to bind. We decided to call Extreme Suspensions, the current producers of Dick Cepek Suspensions. We remembered that Cepek had offered a 6-inch suspension kit for Dodges that gave relocation brackets to mount control arms at the center of the frame. It also came with 48-inch-long control arms, more than enough for the travel we needed. In the picture you can see the size of them compared to the factory control arm (above the four long arms). By using the control arm kit we would not only have the correct geometry in the front end, but also have polyurethane bushings which is all this truck really needs. It will not see any hard-core rock duty and it isn't a racing truck, so it does not need extreme articulation or top-dollar parts. The bushings will not transmit vibrations through the body like rigid spherical bearing rod ends would. Best of all, it was bolt-on. View Related Article
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