Front End Alignment

tomslik · March 11, 2005, 07:14:29 PM

Quote from: "tonto1"Thanks for all the input. I called a shop yesterday that has an older machine, and he does street rods quite often. He said he'll align it however I want. The kind of guy I'm looking for.
I may be missing something, but I can't understand how wheelbase comes into play. I think the first guy isn't much of a thinker.

sounds like our alignment guy, if it ain't on the computer,he can't align it.
guess that's why i have to do the custom stuff...

Leon · March 13, 2005, 01:05:38 AM

I just had my S10 done yesterday by the guy that does all my cars. Since I spend 95% of my time on highway I had him crank in a little more caster and he has it set at 7 degrees. I love the way it drives now. When I took my 54 in to him he knew the specs without having to look them up. Said he learned on kingpin front ends, also sets up 50's vintage Corvettes for road racing. That kind of mechanic is hard to find but I'm lucky to have him in town.

tonto1 · March 25, 2005, 11:41:35 AM

Well, after looking at my front end again, I decided it sets lower than I want it to with less than 50 miles on it. Figure it will probably set lower with time, so I may as well get different springs now. Talked to Eaton-Detroit Spring where I bought the set that is on there now and he sent out a pair that are about 1 1/2" longer but the wire size was .625 vs .580 for the originals. Couldn't even get the lower control arm into the spindle with the spring compressor on and the car's weight setting on the lower control arm.
So, I called him back and he's sending out a set the same length with .590 dia.
Pretty soon I'll have the worth of the springs in shipping, but life moves on.

tonto1 · February 08, 2006, 05:27:41 PM

After putting in a new Rack and Pinion, I'm finally ready to get the front end aligned. A friend of mine is managing a new Plaza Tire Store. I used his man to do the alignment on my Dakota pickup and he did a nice job, so I'll go back with the '41.
I did a search on here to find if someone had posted spec's for a MII front suspension and found these: +1 deg Camber, up to 6 deg caster, and 1/32 toe.
Doesn't positive camber have the top of the tire leaning out? I thought the were supposed to lean in a little.
Also another question about the rack. I'm using a '79 Mustang power rack and were two different racks used that year. A Ford rack and a TRW rack. I was originally using a Ford rack but changed to the TRW and it seems to steer quicker. Does anyone know if that if a fact or just a figment if my imagination?

Crosley.In.AZ · February 08, 2006, 10:51:49 PM

you guys are showing your age by calling them mechanics.......

I am thinking about doing my own alignment on my 62 Falcon... I need specs and I guess a magnetic spindle tool

Glen · February 08, 2006, 10:58:54 PM

Quote from: "tonto1"................. A Ford rack and a TRW rack. I was originally using a Ford rack but changed to the TRW and it seems to steer quicker. Does anyone know if that if a fact or just a figment if my imagination?

I was always told to use a T-bird rack because they require more turns lock to lock than a mustang II, thats what I put on my buick with about 5 degrees of caster.

Bob Paulin · February 09, 2006, 09:03:28 AM

Quote from: "Crosley"you guys are showing your age by calling them mechanics.......

I am thinking about doing my own alignment on my 62 Falcon... I need specs and I guess a magnetic spindle tool

Actually, I've done alignments at the race track with a $10 Sears protractor.

Stick it on the machined hub surface for camber, and fabricate a straightedge to fit between the ball joint studs to stick the protractor on for caster.

Keep in mind that the adapter might have to be a bit thicker on one end than the other to compensate for different ball joint stud sizes, or you will get a false caster reading.

Buy your protractor at Sears on Saturday morning, and you should be checking alignments by Saturday afternoon.....

B.P.

tonto1 · February 09, 2006, 09:27:58 AM

What I used was a '79 Mustang rack, which isn't a Mustang II and I don't remember who recommended it. Probably someone here on the board.
I'm happy enough with it, it just seems quicker.

Varicam · February 09, 2006, 04:14:39 PM

Quote from: "tonto1"What I used was a '79 Mustang rack, which isn't a Mustang II and I don't remember who recommended it. Probably someone here on the board.
I'm happy enough with it, it just seems quicker.

The '79-93 power rack is slower than the earlier ones. Fat Man Fabrications recommends the later power racks because the '78 and earlier ones are extremely quick and sensitive. Only problem is the later rack won't bolt onto an early Fat Man Mll kit due to hole spacing. Later Mll kits have cross members with an elongated slot that will accomodate both early and late racks. Don't know about Ford vs. TRW, I thought they were the same for a given model year.

jaybee · February 09, 2006, 05:53:52 PM

Early racks used a lower line pressure from the p/s pump. Using those racks with a GM pump gives over-assisted steering.

Varicam · February 09, 2006, 08:22:46 PM

Quote from: "jaybee"Early racks used a lower line pressure from the p/s pump. Using those racks with a GM pump gives over-assisted steering.

Using an unmodified GM pump definitely makes the early racks overly sensitive. But, even with the correct pressure the racks are quick. I've got a '78 Mll power rack on my '38 Ford. It has a GM type ll pump thats setup to deliver the correct pressure for a Mll rack. The steering wheel only turns 2 1/4 times lock to lock, and it was a little twitchy with the front end aligned to standard Mll specs. Setting the caster to 5 degrees made it a lot more stable, but it'll still change directions in a hurry. My understanding is that the later racks are about 4 turns lock to lock.