Doing this the legit way is both a pain in the ass, and requires much RAM

...the legit way being detailing down to the nut-and-bolt level. I give a lot of credit to the '04 team for having been as detailed as they were. A tradition which never caught on!

Speaking of which, at the moment I'm leaning toward rod-end bearings chassis-side. I had thought about using sphericals all around - they're cheaper - but they're definitely more difficult to set up and replace. I will be using sphericals at the wheel side, since we all know putting rod-ends in bending is the work of Satan and will condemn you to an eternity in Hell. Or at least that's what the FSAE judges would lead you to believe!

Bolts are a less obvious choice than one might think. It's tempting to just use AN hardware all around. But I'm sure we've all been in a situation where you go to put your AN suspension hardware into your closely toleranced bearings and spacers only to find they're all undersized! Generic socket head cap screws tend to be the same way. Then you get slop in your suspension, the bolt bangs around in there, and if you're using aluminum spacers it will inevitably lose its shape and gall or seize up. Seriously, who hasn't had that happen to them at least once?

There are NAS series fasteners which are close tolerance for such precision shear applications, and at the moment I will be using those. Likewise I will be using stainless top hat spacers all around. No rust, and no fumbling around like you would with normal barrel spacers. I'll take the small weight penalty over aluminum for the added hardness!