If the machine shop truly bent up your arm, it would not fit properly on the crossmember. My guess would be that it they would have bent it "closed" and you'd be unable to fit it. Measure the difference between the left and right lower A arms. If one is bent it should be obvious.

My suspicion is that the bushing is not installed "squarely" in the hole. It should be fine if you can straighten it with the bolt. it would probably right itself after installation and a proper torquing.

I too, was afraid of replacing those bushings myself. The VClassics article is right to caution the reader about bushing replacement and front springs, but I found that neither task was as dangerous or risky as the article suggested... 'course I *do* seem to have abnormally good luck on some things...

I found that the lower arms are quite strong and a hand-powered benchtop press from HarborFreight ($40.00) *will* work w/o bending them. It really helps to chamfer the bushings slightly with a grinder wheel, polish and oil the metal bushing sleeve and clean up the receiver with a wire wheel before pressing them t in...