Charlie Arms Back in Production (POSSIBLY)

[Renn937]

I have had a short discussion with Charlie of Wrightwood Racing, the maker of Charlie Arms, via email regarding running another batch of Charlie Arms. This is in a very early stage, but in order to take this possibility any further there needs to be enough volume to justify the set up and work. If there is in the range of 15-20 people interested, he is willing to discuss further. There is no guarantee, but in order to further run the numbers he need to make sure there is potential.

That said, if you are truly interested, comment below. Please only express interest if you would seriously follow through. I understand it is hard to do so without a price but I would expect them to be priced in the same ballpark as in the past, i.e. more than competition. They were not cheap 15+ years ago but there is not a better arm out there (in my opinion).

I am not sure if early/late offset or pin diameter matter at this point. I just need a number to report back to him.

[Renn937]

Side Note:

As far as the need to upgrade your control arms, I don't intend for this is to turn into a discussion around that. There are several good threads around this topic. But to put it briefly: the ball joints on factory arms have been known to fail on aggressively lowered cars and that are driven hard. Often track cars. Consequently, many consider it a necessary maintenance item. With these cars being 30+ years old and possibly original arms and ball joints worn/stressed for that long, replacement (or at minimum inspection) is a must, regardless of ride height and driving style.

Charlie arms were widely considered to be among the best arms available in the past (hopefully others can comment and attest to it). Production was very limited and sought after, with the last batch around 2006.

For full disclosure, alternatives include:

Rennbay ball joint rebuild kit: $185 (for both ball joints)
Eagleday.com: $480 (per rebuilt arms) *on sale for $340 as of 10/8/2019
944 arms (limited availability new): $668 (per arm) new from Paragon, ~$100 - $300 per arm used and likely to need rebuilt.
968 arms: $840 - $990 (per arm) new, susceptible to the same ball joint failure seen on 944 arms. technically not rebuildable.
High Strung 44, adjustable/non-adjustable: $1350/$1150
Racers Edge, Geometry Correcting: $1595 (per set)
Racers Edge, Billet: $1651 (per set) from Paragon
Lindsey Racing (look to be Racers Edge Billet arms): $1746 (per set)
Fabcar: $1900 (per set) from OG Racing
Charlie arms: price pending

*prices are for late offset. Early offset had replaceable ball joints.


If anyone has anything to add/correct, please do. This is the info I have to the best of my knowledge.

[DannoXYZ]

I would be interested in design that used bolt-on ball-joints like early 944 steel arms.
And bit more caster than stock.

[Renn937]

High Strung 44 arms have a bolt on ball joint like early offset arms. I forgot to add them to the list. I will update it now.

Total count of interested people is 6, including myself.

[Renn937]

If anyone is curious, in addition to their functional perfection, here is a thread to what they look like on a car: https://rennlist.com/forums/944-and-944s2-forum/1164460-944-cup-race-suspension-tour.html#post16155701

[Renn937]

Just for closure, this was a no go. We met his quota, but he decided it wasn't worth the hassle...