I have my front end apart and was removing the bushings from the UCAs today. I noted this bushing was already out by about 1/4 inch before I got to it... Surely it should have been pressed completely flush to the lip. This car is very original, but I am unsure if these have ever been removed and replaced prior my ownership.

Thoughts?

The bushings can't really work themselves 'out' because they are clamped between the posts on the frame and pressed in the arms from the 'outside'.

My guess is either the control arms are not correct for your car or the bushing mountposts have been altered in time.

Check straightness and width. The car may have been in an accident at one time.

Thanks BBM and Jim - I've just measured both sides of the on top of the frames where they mount - bilaterally they both measure the same on the car.

The car has the original paint and shows no evidence of any sort of repair in the wheel wells either. I may have worked the bushing out some when I removed the UCA from the car. I'll talk to the original owner in a bit to make sure.

Car forensics 101.

measure the width of the arm across the bushings, see if it would fit---if too long, the bushing came out while dismantling.

Dunno what you're working on, but in my A and C bodies, if that bushing isn't fully seated in the UCA then you'll never get the UCA installed.

and if by removing it you worked it out a 1/4" of inch, you have additional issues.

Well crap.

I pulled the other UCA (right side) out of it's EvapoRust bath and saw the issue when I laid them back-to-back. My problem was obvious.

I have a set of 73+ UCAs that actually do measure the same. I was trying to keep true to the period and stay with the original setup, KH brakes and all.

Now I may just collect the parts for the later disc setup and roll with the 4 1/2 BBP wheels - and reap the benefits of a larger wheel pool.

I'll mess with the LCAs and think about it all for a bit.