So i decided to do a ball joint flip with both the upper and bottom so as i began taking everything off the ball joints wont come off its super frustrating and i looked at other peoples ball joint swap and mine looks nothing like that... here are some pics sorry about the quality it got dark really quick lolz

below the lower control arm the strut bar

Upper control Arm ball joint

 

If I recall right, you cant BJ flip a 83. I thought the LCA had a hump that fouled the ball joint... something like that.

If you want to drop it, you need to convert it to a 84+ suspension.

 

man i wish i knew that lolz thanks bro

 

Mike, you and I are in the same boat. I was looking at my 83 this morning to do the bj flip. You were more persistant than I. I came to the conclusion that raff said. They are similar but not similar enough and you run into issues, particularly on the lower BJ. Have no fear...if you are still looking for a little lowering you can always wind the torsion. Although you most likely know that already. Hope you have more luck than I. I worked on those stupid lock nuts for 2 hrs and they did not budge. Trying to figure out what to do other than get a mechanic to loosen them for me.

 

dang bro i was thinking it was going to work but right when i tried to get the upper balljoint off i realized that this is not gunna work lolz..... try some wd40 and get a breaker bar might be able to loosen the nuts

 

PB Blaster is your friend. WD-40 can only go so far.

 

It looks to me like yours is definitely different. Look at the pics in Alex's thread and you'll see his has the joint pointing upward and the bracket attaches to the arm, and yours has the joint facing downward.

Even if you were able to get it undone from the arm, it most likely wouldn't work on top of the arm due to the fact it's pointing down and in the way. Completely different design...guess it's onto spindles for you now. (if they offer them for your year, not really sure what guys with 83's are doing)

Maybe newer OEM spindles with the ball joints like Alex's might work with your arms if the hole pattern is the same, not really sure. There are pics in the link here.

I've done a few Taco flips if you look at the pic below, and these are just the decent bolts that were reusable, about this many got tossed, then so did these. It was sad to throw away my flip trophy's.

http://www.toyotaminis.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5272

 

Well im about to do the same setup that raffaelli did he just swaped Upper control arms, lower control arms, ball joints, spindles w brakes and hubs, radius rods from a 88 and got a nice drop

 

Gotcha. Not quite as easy as you were hoping but in the end you'll have a upgraded front end and it'll be for the best and you'll be glad you did.

 

Cool man. Keep in mind to get all your parts from one truck. It keeps it simple.

You can buy drop LCA's, and spindles, giving you a 5 in drop!

Oh and try to find a set of 79-83 sway a ways. I found a set cheep and I luv em.

 

Where would you locate those sway a ways. I can only find 84+

They do not offer drop spindles for 83. Limited options unless you do the whole suspension swap.

 

Somebody posted a link here to an ebay buy.

I guess thats the only place because Sway a Way doesnt make em any more. Maybe call em and see if they have any NOS on the shelf.

 

sweet bro so i went to the local junkyard and removed all the parts i neeeded from an 87 and now just waiting on some good weather to swap it in its been super raining in washington... in the mean time i guess i will finish rebuilding my 327 SBC in the trunk of my 63 impalaa lolz ( hey when your still in high school and got no place to rebuild your motor the trunk looks pretty good kicking it old school LOL)