Front A-arm bushings: delrin bushing OK?

[gattia86]

I've just posted a similar question in the Spider section that was discussing the topic, but...

I'm replacing the front lower A-arm bushings on my '74 GTV, and got to wondering...

Does anyone know why the lower A-arms need to pivot on a spherical bearing, and not simply a bushing like every other car in the known universe?

The A-arms simply pivot up and down on a single axis, and don't need to travel in any multi-axis manner... so the only reason I can think of to use a spherical bearing is to allow for some misalignment or very sloppy manufacturing tollerances... which is just wierd. The spherical ball can take some axial thrust load, but the same can be done (more effectively) with a shoulder on a bushing (like the trunion bushings, for example).

Every other car in the world with a similar lower A-arm uses a simple bushing (like the trailing arm bushings) for this location.

I'm asking, with a certain amount of annoyance, since the A-arm pivots on my car are shot, and I'd like to machine up a simple set of delrin bushings to replace them (total cost, $5.00), instead of having to order almost $200 worth of over-engineered Alfa parts.

For example, vintage Volvo 122 and 142 race cars with very similar layouts use delrin bushings in this location. American stock cars and dirt-track type cars use hard rubber or delrin bushings for the same purpose.

Am I missing or overlooking some critical function of these lower A-arms?

Thanks,

George

'74 GTV... front end all apart, awaiting infusion of large amounts of money