alignment tool

reborn55 · September 02, 2008, 03:46:36 PM

Thinking of getting my own caster/camber gauges for use on my own stuff. Was looking at the Longacre 78260 with magnetic base(will probably have to get the threaded adaptor for GM as I have aluminum wheels) which seems pretty good at a reasonable price. Any one have any experience wih this guage--good or bad, or have any other recommendations in the same price range. Already have toe gauge so this would help. Thanks

wayne petty · September 03, 2008, 11:18:16 AM

that is like my antique bender magnetic units.. very handy... do you have turn tables or greased sheet metal to remove any traction with the floor that will put a bind in your changes...

the guy with the fairlane has a triangular wheel alignment gauge that extends vertical to clip onto the edge of the rim... but there is no calibrated 0 bubble for camber.... i tried to get it across to him about setting it up on the rear wheels and going back and forth till it reads equal between the sides... his parking work area is not that level...

reborn55 · September 03, 2008, 11:23:01 AM

no not yet---just figured I would try one of these and keep my eyes out on ebay for some used turn tables or try the local swap meets.

sirstude · September 03, 2008, 12:30:44 PM

Harbor Freight ususally has turntables for a reasonable price. I have been thinking about getting a set myself. And the bubble gauge, since that is what I learned on.

Doug

sirstude · September 03, 2008, 12:39:41 PM

What is the threaded adapter for GM? Got a part number or link please. I will have to put steel wheels on to use the magnetic setup.

Doug

reborn55 · September 03, 2008, 01:01:55 PM

www.longacreracing.com
part number 78262
should be 78410 for the adaptor

1FATGMC · September 03, 2008, 01:50:49 PM

What I've done with my truck is have it aligned and then watch the tire wear and add or subtract shims to adjust the camber if it is wearing on the inside or outside until I get the best tire wear. Nothing real exciting, just thought I would throw that out there. The caster I don't mess with once the shop sets that. After our experience messing with the toe on Hooley's race car and messing it up and then getting it right I think I'll get some angle iron like we used to get it right and use that to set and check the toe,

Sum

sirstude · September 03, 2008, 03:05:40 PM

Ken, that makes sense now that I could see the picture.

Sum, long time ago when I was doing front ends, we used to have a setup for doing toe in. The first piece was a stand with a pointer like an old phonograph needle. You would spin the tire and mark the center with the pointer and then the other piece was a long piece of square tubing with legs and adjustable pointers on each end. You would adjust it to the mark on the front of the tire, with setting the pointers as close to the center of the tire vertically. Then take the hole mess to the back of the tire and just measure the difference for the toe. Was simple and very accurate. Wish I could find one of them, but I will probably just build it. I have no idea where to find the marking stand.

Doug

Ed ke6bnl · September 03, 2008, 04:23:45 PM

this is the one I picked up at the swap meet for $9.00 sorta magnetically couple to the spindle hub.

1FATGMC · September 03, 2008, 04:41:48 PM

Quote from: "sirstude"Ken, that makes sense now that I could see the picture.

Sum, long time ago when I was doing front ends, we used to have a setup for doing toe in. The first piece was a stand with a pointer like an old phonograph needle. You would spin the tire and mark the center with the pointer and then the other piece was a long piece of square tubing with legs and adjustable pointers on each end. You would adjust it to the mark on the front of the tire, with setting the pointers as close to the center of the tire vertically. Then take the hole mess to the back of the tire and just measure the difference for the toe. Was simple and very accurate. Wish I could find one of them, but I will probably just build it. I have no idea where to find the marking stand.
Doug

What we borrowed on the salt to fix our screw-up at my place was two pieces of angle iron (maybe aluminum) where the legs were about 4 inches and they were about 24 inches long.... like this...

..........but in our case it didn't have the wood under it. It was centered on the tire and then the tape hooked into the slot on the angle on the far side of the car and then measured on the near side like in the picture. We had one tape, so we would measure the front then the back and then adjust the tie rod and measure again. It is important after a measurement is taken and an adjustment made to make sure the angle is tight on the wheel before the next adjustment is made as we found out :oops: . It is simple and seemed to be very accurate.

Here is the article that goes with the picture above......

http://www.hillmanimages.com/912/adj_toein.html

................ and here is a link to a site that sells the plates already setup for use....

http://www.pegasusautoracing.com/productdetails.asp?RecId=5124

............and they have some other products for caster/camber.

I'm going to make some of these,

Sum

enjenjo · September 03, 2008, 05:13:21 PM

You guys need to learn how to string a car. A lot of racers do it this way, you can not only set toe, you can set left and right toe in, for going left all the time.

river1 · September 03, 2008, 05:21:26 PM

Quote from: "enjenjo"You guys need to learn how to string a car. A lot of racers do it this way, you can not only set toe, you can set left and right toe in, for going left all the time.

interesting, i had never heard of stringing a car so i did a search.

http://www.circletrack.com/techarticles/rear_end_measurement_alignment/index.html

i learn something new everyday

later jim

1FATGMC · September 03, 2008, 06:37:19 PM

Quote from: "enjenjo"You guys need to learn how to string a car. A lot of racers do it this way, you can not only set toe, you can set left and right toe in, for going left all the time.

Hey Frank I've done that with the lakester, but I'm not a racer yet :cry: .

I was stringing the car off of some pieces of wood attached to the building and the build table, but then thought that I could make some pieces....

.... that attach to the car itself and be able to string the car anywhere. They detach when not in use.

Of course this is easier since the car is a lakester with exposed wheels/tires, so there isn't a body or fenders in the way.

There is a little more here......

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/bvillecar-2/construction%20page-79.html

Sum