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Front end alignment

steve from staten island

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After searching for a shop I could trust do do a alignment on my 69, I finally found one shop with a older gentleman who knew his stuff
He went over that car, took measurements, checked tire pressure and really took pride in what he did
The end result is amazing
The only modifications I have to front end is besides being all new parts
I have a sway bar, feel firm steering box, upper tubular control arms
The car feels like it’s glued to the road, conners flat
What a difference
Talking to the mechanic I told him if I was one of these young mechanics, my head would be up his *** trying to learn
He laughed and said no that’s not the way it is
That want to set toe and out the door
He took a picture of my car to add to his collection
He was a older guy I’d say early sixties
When guys like him retire and don’t pass on their knowledge as younger guys ain’t interested, that’s a real shame
But I shouldn’t be surprised I see it in my own trade
Either way in a happy with the end results
 
You are lucky to find such a guy.Very few and far between.
I learned back in the 70's and ran a Beam Visuliner.For years.
Most of us just buy the tools and do it ourselves.
The phrase "Set the toe and let it go" Has been around for decades.:D
 
When guys like him retire and don’t pass on their knowledge as younger guys ain’t interested, that’s a real shame
But I shouldn’t be surprised I see it in my own trade

Would not be a bit surprised to hear it's the same in a lot of trades...... I know construction is going South!!
 
Luckily I have a local front end shop that has been open since I was a little kid and my grandfather would get his Fury III aligned after getting new tires or front end work. I think the owners son runs it now but they know older cars really well.
 
It’s remarkable to me the lack of curiosity in some people. Doesn’t take much to comprehend an alignment.
 
After searching for a shop I could trust do do a alignment on my 69, I finally found one shop with a older gentleman who knew his stuff
He went over that car, took measurements, checked tire pressure and really took pride in what he did
The end result is amazing
The only modifications I have to front end is besides being all new parts
I have a sway bar, feel firm steering box, upper tubular control arms
The car feels like it’s glued to the road, conners flat
What a difference
Talking to the mechanic I told him if I was one of these young mechanics, my head would be up his *** trying to learn
He laughed and said no that’s not the way it is
That want to set toe and out the door
He took a picture of my car to add to his collection
He was a older guy I’d say early sixties
When guys like him retire and don’t pass on their knowledge as younger guys ain’t interested, that’s a real shame
But I shouldn’t be surprised I see it in my own trade
Either way in a happy with the end results
What was your car set at? Caster, Camber, Toe?
 
What was your car set at? Caster, Camber, Toe?
72C41A67-B145-4765-A26F-D856F1175476.jpeg
 
I can't see the numbers clearly, but I like -.5 camber, as much pos caster as you can get 2.0 +, pos toe-in .125 (1/8")....
 
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Why did he put so much positive caster in it? Max positive caster is listed as 0 degrees for each side. I used to be a mechanic from the mid 70's to the late 90's and did hundreds of alignments. I learned on a Hunter Lite-a-line just like the one in the picture. I never worked with any mechanics who did wheel alignments who didn't adjust anything that was not within specs that could be adjusted. And where I worked we had a Porta Power and we would bend some that didn't have caster or camber adjustments to get them within specs.

post-1591-0-58565900-1404946565.jpg
 
I can't see the numbers clearly, but I like -.5 camber, as much pos caster as you can get 2.0 +, pos toe-in .125 (1/8")....

Yep, he set the total toe in to a heavy quarter of an inch. That is a lot and I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't wear the outside of the tires. Back then most were set to 1/8th inch in total toe.
 
After searching for a shop I could trust do do a alignment on my 69, I finally found one shop with a older gentleman who knew his stuff
He went over that car, took measurements, checked tire pressure and really took pride in what he did
The end result is amazing
The only modifications I have to front end is besides being all new parts
I have a sway bar, feel firm steering box, upper tubular control arms
The car feels like it’s glued to the road, conners flat
What a difference
Talking to the mechanic I told him if I was one of these young mechanics, my head would be up his *** trying to learn
He laughed and said no that’s not the way it is
That want to set toe and out the door
He took a picture of my car to add to his collection
He was a older guy I’d say early sixties
When guys like him retire and don’t pass on their knowledge as younger guys ain’t interested, that’s a real shame
But I shouldn’t be surprised I see it in my own trade
Either way in a happy with the end results
A lot of years ago I went to a shop that was supposed to know his beans but don't think he did. I started dabbling in alignment before I went there and had already set things up but took my car to him just to make sure I wasn't doing things wrong. He said everything was fine except the toe in which surprised me since setting that isn't hard. Well, it drove like crap on the way home and when I checked it, it was toed in 1"!! Didn't know you could go that far lol.

Would not be a bit surprised to hear it's the same in a lot of trades...... I know construction is going South!!
Not going South.....it's going down the drain!

Why did he put so much positive caster in it? Max positive caster is listed as 0 degrees for each side. I used to be a mechanic from the mid 70's to the late 90's and did hundreds of alignments. I learned on a Hunter Lite-a-line just like the one in the picture. I never worked with any mechanics who did wheel alignments who didn't adjust anything that was not within specs that could be adjusted. And where I worked we had a Porta Power and we would bend some that didn't have caster or camber adjustments to get them within specs.

View attachment 1122601
I've always deviated from the factory specs.....especially with radial tires. Positive caster makes the car drive better at higher speeds but you probably already know that. Never have liked the way my older Mopars handled with factory specs.

Yep, he set the total toe in to a heavy quarter of an inch. That is a lot and I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't wear the outside of the tires. Back then most were set to 1/8th inch in total toe.
Yeah, that's a lot. I couldn't read the spec sheet either....but could you? If his car has a lot of negative camber, 1/4" might not be too bad. I tried to keep mine to no more than 3/16's with all the camber I could get and tire wear actually surprised me but my tires weren't all that wide...235-75-15's on cop car wheels. It handled pretty decent for not having sway bars on it.
 
There is a thing as "Total Toe" I can't read that photo of the settings you sent..Anyway total toe on the old mopes can go as high as 1/4'' no problem.
Even 3/8'' total on bias tires.
 
By the way on the new computerised alignment machines,They red X all my specs that I use.:BangHead:
My buddy has a $100,000 alignment machine at his bodyshop. It hates me....:cursin:
 
A 100,00.00 dollar alignment machine?
I like the way the numbers look. That is very close to what I set my 65 to. I do have my camber set to 0 on both. Caster I set to left 2.2 right 2.5 to compensate for road crown. If I had power steering I would have set caster higher. My toe is at .2 and I have little to no tire wear and my car drives straight.
 
Why did he put so much positive caster in it? Max positive caster is listed as 0 degrees for each side. I used to be a mechanic from the mid 70's to the late 90's and did hundreds of alignments. I learned on a Hunter Lite-a-line just like the one in the picture. I never worked with any mechanics who did wheel alignments who didn't adjust anything that was not within specs that could be adjusted. And where I worked we had a Porta Power and we would bend some that didn't have caster or camber adjustments to get them within specs.

View attachment 1122601

I would have put more caster in it.... Looks like 3.5 was attainable... 0 caster is fine if you drive like Grandpa and only run Bias Ply tires.... Caster is not a tire wearing angle and more caster means the car tracks straighter & the steering returns to center crisply.... And more importantly positive caster helps to create increased negative camber on the outside wheel during cornering... Negative camber plants the tire better allowing greater cornering load without slippage....

The numbers are pretty good and a reasonable compromise....

Anyone aligning these cars who worries more about tire wear over how the car drives obviously doesn't grasp that the tires are gonna die of old age long before they wear out....
 
I learned on a Hunter Lite-a-line just like the one in the picture.

View attachment 1122601

As far as the Lite-a-Line just make sure you don't have it next to a big plate glass window cause the out side light can effect the accuracy of the machine...

IMO the Hunter with strings worked allot better... and honestly I'd prefer an old school set of snap gauges...
 
A lot of years ago I went to a shop that was supposed to know his beans but don't think he did. I started dabbling in alignment before I went there and had already set things up but took my car to him just to make sure I wasn't doing things wrong. He said everything was fine except the toe in which surprised me since setting that isn't hard. Well, it drove like crap on the way home and when I checked it, it was toed in 1"!! Didn't know you could go that far lol.

Not going South.....it's going down the drain!

I've always deviated from the factory specs.....especially with radial tires. Positive caster makes the car drive better at higher speeds but you probably already know that. Never have liked the way my older Mopars handled with factory specs.

Yeah, that's a lot. I couldn't read the spec sheet either....but could you? If his car has a lot of negative camber, 1/4" might not be too bad. I tried to keep mine to no more than 3/16's with all the camber I could get and tire wear actually surprised me but my tires weren't all that wide...235-75-15's on cop car wheels. It handled pretty decent for not having sway bars on it.
I copied the picture to a file and then blew it up so I could read it. He has camber set at +1/2 on both sides which is dead center of the specs.
 
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