1975 150CS Decathlon Restoration

[Pitts12]

Been sorting parts of my project and came across a new set of struts in the box. Nice surprise, as I needed the right forward strut due to damage. The box had no markings on it and unfortunately no documentation inside. Were shipped in 1995.
Attached are a few pics of what I have. They are dimensionally the same, just different construction for attach fittings.
Is the new forward strut a current ACA part?
Is there any disadvantage in using my old struts?
Appreciate any insight from the Bellanca gurus!
Thanks
Ray

 

[Big Ed]

Looks legit. Give it a closer inspection for a stamped part number to be certain. Here are a few pics from my '78 Super D for comparison.

 

[Pitts12]

As a short follow up to the forward Decathlon strut differences. As per Barts suggestion, I called ACA.

The die formed and riveted forward strut attaches are the original Bellanca version. we probably all know this. If you have set, they are absolutely fine to use. Structural load wise, they are the same as the new struts.

My new strut is an early ACA strut. They originally used hi loks as the hardware to attach the fittings. The hi loks were getting expensive so they switched the attach hardware.

The current generation struts uses clevis bolts with washers and self locking nuts to attach the fittings.

All 3 types are able to be used, with no difference in structural integrity.

Since I have a mismatch set, I will order a new strut from ACA to match my existing new one.

 

[Bartman]

Glad you got it figured out Ray and thanks for posting the info here. Can you remove the hi lok hardware and replace it with nuts and bolts like the newer ACA ones? Are the struts interchangeable or is it strictly a left and right?

 

[Pitts12]

They are Left and Right.
The hi lok or nuts side should be down on the fuselage attach.
I suppose you could change the hi loks, but they are a bear to remove from past experience.
The only reason they changed was cost.