SPC Mustang II Adjustable Upper Control Arm Install

[81dmc]

Are the ball joints that come with the SPC arms regular mustang ii ball joints?

Kind of. They are 1/2" longer and pretty thick, and it's why 97001 ball joints are required.



And note the 97001 is a smaller diameter stud and taper than the joints that come with the arms. If you drill the knuckles for the longer and thicker studs, you will have an oversized hole.


That's what happened to me. So far, I've destroyed 3 knuckles. Also, it's best to have a machine shop drill the taper larger or do it your self using a drill press. Even on a vice, it"s hard to get it straight.

Large side of taper is enlarged to about .630"

[Dickey]

Thank you. I am running NB Miata spindles which use mustang ii ball joints and am curious about alternatives that offer more adjustment than what I've currently got.

[Josh]

When testing clearance i would set the car down on the ground or load up the suspension. It may not be a concern at the different angle of the arm.

[81dmc]

It took awhile but I finally got the bushing spacers from SPC. So I inserted SPC spacer from inside to out on bushings. Rear mount has no other spacer, just the SPC adapter. Front mount has an additional 1/2" spacer with the SPC adapter. This yields even better clearance with rim.

Blue arrow is 1/2" spacer from McMaster, red arrows are the bushing adapters from SPC.

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So far, my camber is around -0.5* and caster is around +6.5*. Car drives great.

[81dmc]

I also will eventually try the entire NB Miata knuckle and spindle. Will update here when I have results.

[dmcman73]

Thank you. I am running NB Miata spindles which use mustang ii ball joints and am curious about alternatives that offer more adjustment than what I've currently got.

What did you have to do to retrofit the Miata steering knuckles and spindles besides the upper ball joint? I use a speedbox so the angle drive I don't use, my brake setup is already from the Miata and I have the SPC upper control arms with the original Mustang II ball joints and the smaller ones listed in this thread, but I have not installed them or modified my original steering knuckles.

Do the hubs have the same offset as the original?
Do you need to change the lower control arm ball joint?
Do the Delorean tie rod ends fit into the taper of the Miata steering knuckle?
Do you loose/gain steering radius?

Thanks!

[Dickey]

What did you have to do to retrofit the Miata steering knuckles and spindles besides the upper ball joint? I use a speedbox so the angle drive I don't use, my brake setup is already from the Miata and I have the SPC upper control arms with the original Mustang II ball joints and the smaller ones listed in this thread, but I have not installed them or modified my original steering knuckles.

Do the hubs have the same offset as the original?
Do you need to change the lower control arm ball joint?
Do the Delorean tie rod ends fit into the taper of the Miata steering knuckle?
Do you loose/gain steering radius?

Thanks!

I use mustang II upper ball joints for both the upper and lower ball joints. The Miata uses a standard Ford taper so the lower spindle connection fit without issue and the upper spindle opening just needed to be adjusted with a reeming tool. I cut and welded new ball joint cups for both upper and lower control arms.

I made them so the wheels sit exactly as they did with the factory stuff under there.

I used Mazda tie rod ends and retapped them to match the delorean steering rack.

There is no change in the steering characteristics of the car as best I can tell. It's been over a decade since I did the swap though and I don't remember the last time I drove a delorean that wasn't mine. Both of mine have Miata stuff up front at the moment, though the angry one may get switched over to a standard mustang II ifs because the drag racing components are more plentiful.

I wrote up most of what I did on a garage journal thread if you're curious to read more about it:

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/...ean-vd.172106/

[dmcman73]

I just completed this upgrade last week and it went perfect. I did use thicker washers I purchased from McMaster-Carr for spacers rather than the additional bushing that was listed in this thread and that worked very well. Thanks for the help with this and the written up instructions and "shopping" list!

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