okay i heard about the f-41 suspension, so im on ebay and there's a few auctions that catch my eye, this guy says that these are f-41 lower front control arms Link>>>http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=34200&item=4507889228&rd=1 but i see no differance in those control arms vs. these that are NOT f-41 Link>>http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=34200&item=4508484216&rd=1 comparision link 2 >>>http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=34200&item=4508135344&rd=1
??? So if you blast em' and soak them with POR15 then take a picture from a different angle with a bit more zoom... then they suddenly become F41 parts??? :error: I never was very good at those spotting the difference in the picture games but it sounds like "bunk" to me. regards
My impression was that F41 was typically heavy duty sway bars front and rear, boxed trailing arms in the back and spring pkg. I don't know what could possibly be different about the front control arms. o No:
as i mentioned in another thread, i was told that the front lower control arms, F41 suspension, on an LS6 chevelle are different than other a-body cars .
Well for what its worth, my brother in law has a 71 LS5 Chevelle with the F41 suspension, and he was working on his the same time as mine. We had both front ends apart and his control arms did not look any different than mine. In fact if it wasnt for the fact that he had oval bushings vs my round, we probably would of got them confused.
Yeah Gerry, thats why I said for what its worth, I have only seen the ones on his 71. Who knows what GM did back then.
bill: seems to me that the difference was an extra ridge/block(?) to keep the front spring mounted properly. i may pose this question to the chevelle site , if i can find my username & password.
Gerry, sounds good, let me know. I will try to get a hold of my brother in law and see if he knows if there is a difference also.
I recall reading in the advertising documents for the GSX (an F41 car) that it had firmer bushings (read: higher durometer rating), spring rates, and shocks, blah blah blah. I've got the exact wording at home - you can find it on the Poston catalog. Having rebuilt my own GSX's front end I can tell you that the bushings fell apart like any other. I bet it was just marketing BS.
Spoke to my brother in law and he says that the only difference is in the spring rates and sway bars.
Heres a link on Chevelle page and they seem to think the differece, other than springs and sway bars was that "frame braces" were added. These are the braces that the big block buicks have located between the upper and lower control arms. So maybe they dont know either--you are only as good as what you read or hear, unless someone can find a manual or whatever link http://www.chevelles.com/forum/ultimatebb.php/topic/35/3060.html#000003
The A Body (3-4000 series) Buick lower control arms carry the same part numbers from 65-72 with no differentiation for F41. 402038 402039 The same is true for the uppers from 66-72 402932 402935
Someone posted recently that the lower A-arm bolts were different on the HD susp versions......two of the four anyway. Something about an integral washer? I believe it was Tim that posted that..... Also the lower bumper was shown to be omitted on apps with HD susp, in some assembly manual drawings. Not necessarily done on production cars, tho. Sorry I'm a bit hazy on the facts...they were speaking of 70's Buicks. :laugh:
Actually I do believe it was the REAR control arm bolts that were different, but the 1972 assembly manual does not specify "F41", it says "GS, Heavy Duty and Wagon" for the rear (boxed I assume?) arm assemblies as opposed to the standard ones. But I have seen GS's without boxed arms so who knows. The forward lower control arm bolt for "GS Only" has a washer head of quite large diameter and also has a washer under the nut...this bolt also holds the front part of the frame brace.....the remaining six bolts also have variations (two are not pointed). This page (4-4.1) shows the frame braces but no swaybars. Page 4-5.1 of the same manual is called "F41 option". It shows the removal of the forward upper control arm bumper (I have yet to see that actually) with a note that says "Otherwise Same As Front Wheel Suspension Info Asm Dwg", front swaybar (which also came on cars with no rear swaybar), rear swaybar with shims (and another note that says "Otherwise Same As Rear Suspension Info Asm Dwg"), specific springs and shocks. Thats it. later Tim Basically, it was a swaybar/spring/shock package from what I can see. What the chevelles did who knows...but I'll bet it was the same.
