1966 Alignment Questions

bizkit1976 · May 15, 2013

Thanks Dennis! I took off my front wheels and looks at the upper control arm that I am having issues with. (passenger side) I noticed that the rear zerk fitting is almost touching the rear of the shock tower. Will rotating the eyes forward create more space there? I am thinking that it almost has to. I do not want to touch to driver side if I do not have to. I have +2.6 caster on that side and that seems to be good from what I have read.

Will adjusting the caster on the passenger side affect the drivers side? I am sorry for all of the questions but I am really trying to get this to sink in. Thanks again for taking the time to help me out....

Chris

dennis112 · May 15, 2013

Rotating the eyes forward will move the whole control arm rearward and that will make even less clearance at the rear zerk. Is the rear zerk a 90 degree one like it should be? If the zerkis going to hit then you shouldn't try to get more caster this way. Hopefully the big nut on the end of the shaft is screwed in tight. The zerk really doesn't need much clearance and you can test for rotational clearance when the spring is removed.

A caster change on the passenger side will not directly affect the driver's side camber and caster. It will most likely affect the toe-in though so that should be checked with the wheels pointed straight once done.

I would be curious what you would find if you measured the wheelbase on both sides using the string method.

bizkit1976 · May 15, 2013

Ok...I got the passenger side tore down. There is actually about 1/4" clearance between the zirk and the rear of the shock tower. The driver side zirk is almost touching the rear of the shock tower. I am thinking this is a good sign. I will rotate the eyes forward on the passenger side until it matches the drivers side.

I also got my adjustable struts installed. When I measured from the ball joint to where the struts attach to the body, they were off about 1/4" between the driver and passenger sides. I am assuming that they should be equal?

I am at a stopping point tonight, but I will measure the distance between the front and rear wheels tomorrow. I am not familiar with the string method but will do some research. Any suggestions on measuring points?

I am getting more confident as I go and all of the input here has been a major contributor!

Thanks everyone!!!

Chris

lord_cobra · May 15, 2013

Sounds like you are getting somewhere. You should post some pics up.

Sent from my rotary phone!

spirockp · May 16, 2013

Wow there is a lot of information going back and forth in this thread. Just got mine aligned Tuesday. I replaced everything about 7 years ago. Got it aligned then, then late last summer I noticed it was out. So needed to get it done again.

bizkit1976 · May 16, 2013

I love the paint on her...that is a flat black right?

bizkit1976 · May 16, 2013

Here are a few. It's hard to tell the depth (i'm not the picture taker in the family) but like I said, I think I am getting on the right track. Any input in regards to the strut arm lengths? Is it ok to dial in a little more caster on one side, in turn, making the lengths not equal?

I also googled the string method. I will pick up some string tonight after work but I wont' be able to do anything until I get the tires back on. That is unless I am completely off track again.

I did notice something about my rear end last night. When looking at the tires from behind, my driver side rear tire sticks out a little more than the other side. What could cause this?

I went ahead and added a pic of my baby as my Avatar. I am used to driver her weekly so this last week has sucked! I did get a radiator and power steering pump in so hopefully she will forgive me....

Thanks as always for the input...
Chris

lord_cobra · May 16, 2013

Looks like a nice radiator. Where did you get it?

Sent from my rotary phone!

bizkit1976 · May 16, 2013

I got it off of ebay......
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1964-1965-1...Racing-Radiator-New-AT-MT-3-ROW-/150991432468

I haven't ran around town with it, only ran it in the garage after I put fluid back in. I like it so far but I had to modify the mounting holes. It matched up with the existing but there was about a 2" gap at the bottom. I didn't originally think it would be a problem but realized that it was once I got my fan on. The fan came in contact with the hard lines at the bottom. Once I lowered it all the way down, all was good.

bizkit1976 · May 16, 2013

Hello All....I have the UCA out of the car. What is the trick to removing the mounting bolts so I can spin the eyes forward? Is just brute force with a mallet? I cannot seem to make them budge. I see from the pics that they obviously come out. Am I missing something?

Please disregard....I put the nuts back on and stopped being shy about it!

bizkit1976 · May 16, 2013

Here is a pic of the UCA with the eyes moved forward. My zirk is all the way to the rear like the driver sid now.

dennis112 · May 16, 2013

bizkit1976 said:
Here is a pic of the UCA with the eyes moved forward. My zirk is all the way to the rear like the driver sid now.

A little rearward movement of the UCA will give a nice change in caster. The LCA would require much more forward movement in order to equal the same amount.

bizkit1976 · May 16, 2013

Well..it's only preliminary but I just got back from a test ride and it seems to be tracking straight! It is no where near like it was before. I can actually take my hands off the wheel.

I am going to take it in this weekend since the first shop I brought it to said I can bring it back for six months to get the alignment dialed in. I'll let you guys know how she looks. I can almost guarantee the caster is a lot closer now. No way there is a +3 and some change difference anymore!

Thanks again all for the help and input....it was invaluable!

Chris

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