Hey Jim, I have had several Arf/Arc in the past few years. Almost all of them actually! The Nobler was the only one I changed the bell crank in due to the size and ability to saw through the metal material its made of. I have a Cardinal with a whole bunch of flights on it, about 8 or so gallons on, and a few weeks ago the leadout out pulled the the bell crank. From the looks of the leadout, looks like the crimp released the leadout. But we are talking a lot of flights here. Even that happening, I think it would be pretty safe to leave the bell crank in as stock. This could be a good question or kind of poll to ask as a post of recommended mods. Everyone knows there are many to make, but a post of mods will add some that we may not know about or thought of yet.
I am no expert with covering in plastic but do a descent job. If you like we can hook up in North Carolina, break out the Ultra Coat and cover wings and tail surfaces, and with that built up fuse, there is plenty of room to cut out that bell crank and put in another one. We can get Kent Tysor and his knives, he will cut that baby open. I believe his calling was to be a butcher, because he does not mind cutting into an airplane. See Ya John Rakes