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alignment specs

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RamblinMan View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RamblinMan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: alignment specs
    Posted: May/21/2014 at 10:20pm
1965 Classic with PS.

TSM says camber: 1/4° negative to 1/4° positive

TSM says caster: 3/4°to 1-1/2° positive

TSM says toe-in: 1/16"-3/16"

So I know what the TSM says. But there were no radials in 1965 and the specs should be adjusted for radials. Anyone here know what those adjustments need to be?

Also, my crossmember is from a 72 Ambo so it now has the lower camber eccentrics as well as the factory upper eccentrics, so I have a lot of adjustability in camber.

Ed
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote FuzzFace2 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/22/2014 at 7:34am
I dont think the specs changed that much between the 2 different tires to worry about it and I dont think you would feel the diffrence driving.
 
Only I do remember from my school days (mid 70's) was was the toe of 1/8 - 1/16 in for rear wheel drive. Front wheel IIRC was toed out that same amount.
 
See if you can find say an 80's rear wheel drive spec on line to compare.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote uncljohn Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/22/2014 at 8:41am
The change from bias ply tires to Radials did not significantly affect front suspension alignment specifications.
The only one of any concern is Radials work better with a positive or a more positive Caster.
On the Ball Joint equipped Rambler and AMC cars the factory spec is around zero (0) with a Plus or Minus.
You can adjust the strut rod for a little more + setting and how well that will work is an indicator of age affecting the control arm bushings and the strut rod bushing.  Also depending on the size of the front tire as it swings in an Arc and whether you have something like a late Spirit AMX type car with the fender flares on it, the front tire might get very close to or hit the flare.
In that case adjust caster so the tire can be turned with out hitting anything.
I like to see on my cars a  degree positive caster. 
Which is adjustable for that.
If your alignment guy sees something with in a Plus to Minus range it is in spec and he will leave it alone.  Generally.
Also (and yes this happened) I had to listen to the service manager tell me how a Caster Adjustment package needed to be installed in order to do this. 
And he got a but miffed when I asked to see the car and the "technician" doing the job and I asked for a 1 inch wrench and pointed at the strut adjustment 1 inch nuts and walked away.  He got a bit testy about that to and when I asked him to look up the number of cars I have on record of being serviced there and the number of tires purchased he sorta backed off when I suggested i could take them elsewhere.



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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RamblinMan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/22/2014 at 4:14pm
I've done some reading today and a couple of muscle car sites just recommend ZERO to-in for radials and more caster as uncljohn noted.

I am finding that a lot of alignment guys won't (can't) do alignments that aren't spec'd in their high-tech digital alignment machines. In other words, they don't REALLY know how to do alignments, they do what the machine tells them to do. (my apologies to any alignment techs who DO know what they're doing.) I even give them specs and they STILL say they can't do it.




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