Source for Front A-Arm Bushings

[budzinsk]

Hi. Sorry for the several posts this week. I need to replace all 4 of the A-Arm (Wishbone) bushings in my 82 Zagato. I have tried the following places and they are out of stock:

Vicks
International Auto
Difatti Brothers (only have 2)
Bruce's Parts Bin
ItallianCarParts.com

I think I can get them at Beta Boyz but would like to see if I can get them in the USA because of shipping Time/Shipping Cost/Exchange Rate. Does anyone know of another place I can look?

Thanks,
Rob

[DJ]

Hi. Sorry for the several posts this week.

Why? That's what the site is here for! :)

You might try Matt at Midwest Bayless (www.midwest-bayless.com) or Val at Performance Fiat (www.performancefiat.com).

[budzinsk]

Thanks. I sent both of them an email. Are these unique to Lancia or are they the same as a Spider?

Thanks,
Rob

[DJ]

I'm not sure. Many of the parts look the same or similar but have minor differences.

Matt is a primarily FIAT guy but with his recent Bayless acquisition he may have what you need.

Val is a big Beta guy so he'll know what will work for your car.

[budzinsk]

Great, Thanks so much!
Rob

[SubGothius]

Also don't forget the polyurethane bushing kits offered by Beta Boyz UK (http://betaboyz.co.uk/). A bit spendy vs. stock bushings, but IMHO they're worth it for longevity and ease of installation alone, nevermind the crisper handling/suspension feel (~10% stiffer than stock bushings), and the proceeds go back into funding their remanufacturing activities, so you're helping to keep Betas on the road.

[KeppelmanJ]

Chris Obert at Fiat Plus also has them. I just bought two.

[budzinsk]

Thanks guys. I had talked to Chris yesterday and he said he was sold out. I like the bushings that BetaBoyz has but I was hoping to get something this week. If I cannot locate any in the states this week I will order them from BetaBoyz. I appreciate what they are doing trying to keep these cars alive!

Thanks,
Rob

[Jim Keller]

Watch getting in a hurry Rob, it'll only frustrate you, cost you more for instant gratification on one thing only to find you still need another and possibly make you hate the car and bail on it. It isn't a car for daily driving, (even though I have had a few I used as such myself, but I had lots of sparres on my shelf's at the time too, being in the used parts buiss back then), due to the parts supply chain not being like it is for current production cars, it can leave you stranded without transportation waiting on things.

Beta Boyz stuff normally only takes a few days believe it or not, (and typically well value priced), at least to the middle of no where Ohio anyway. Once I placed my orders, if the parts were in stock that is, they normally come in two to four days via Fed Express or DHL, seems they get here faster than the go there, at least that's been my experiance with Beta Boyz and shipping parts my self around the world

If they don't have them in stock, they should be able to source stock A-arm bushings if you prefer those, just ask, I have had them source many parts they do not list for me thru time. They do it no charge and are pretty fast about it too.

[budzinsk]

Thanks Jim. That is a good thing to know. I assumed it would take a few weeks. I am in PA so we should be on a relatively close shipping schedule.

Thanks
Rob

[Charley]

The last a-arm bushing set I bought was from Bayless. They were OEM originals. Matt may have to search a bit,but I'd bet he has more of them.The OEM bushings were purchased to replace the Betaboyz poly bushings that I installed on my car which quickly failed and crumbled into pieces. Search back in the archives somewhere,you will find the thread about my a-arm bushing problems.
Another possibility is to call Danny at Fun Imported Autos and Toys (http://www.funimported.com/).Although he doesn't list many Beta parts on his web site,he has a pretty large inventory of NOS/OEM Beta parts.

[rossocorsa]

replace the Betaboyz poly bushings that I installed on my car which quickly failed and crumbled into pieces.

did you ever check this out with betaboyz? I'm interested too know why it happened

[Jim Keller]

Yes, if memory serves, he did not pre-load the suspension before he tightened them, even stock will fail quickly if not installed corretly. However, I had a firewall motor mount fail in just over a years time from Beta Boyz too, it was made from the red material, I think they have fixed that problem though