Jerry Bowen

I'm sure this question has been asked and answered many times, but I can't find it in the tech facts or recent threads. Would appreciate any help or referral to the answers.

1. Had a local shop install a new front/rear suspension on my late-'65 roadster. Decided to clean/paint/re-line & re-use the original 9-leaf rear spring after I was told the after market replacements can cause an incorrect stance.

2. I now have a slight negative camber (probably 1-2°) on both rear wheels, but no other problems as far as I can tell. Could or should this have been adjusted or aligned differently, is it normal, is it a symptom of a tired old spring, etc?

3. I've seen some C2s with washers on the spring bolts under the spring. I know this is an incorrect fix, but would it raise the rear and straighten up the rear wheels? Would it cause other problems? Is there any other option to straighten the rear wheels?

Yes, I'm ignorant, but anxious to learn. Thanks.

VetteJohn

Jerry,

You didn't indicate what you had changed on you car but if it was standard bushing replacement then there should have been an alignment done afterwards. If this was done correctly the camber should have set the camber very near zero. Adding washer will increase the ride height but a proper alignment is the right answer.

Pick an alignment shop that knows how to do Vettes! Ask other Vette owners who they use, check with the local Corvette club they probably have one guy they all go to. Hope this helps.

Jerry Bowen

Thanks, VetteJohn;

I replaced just about everything that could be replaced. Does the spring appear too flat for a car sitting on the ground? If the spring looks okay, I'll take it back to the alignment shop and find out what went wrong.

CWPASADENA

I definately would look for a GOOD SHOP that can do a complete FOUR WHEEL ALIGNMENT. A shop that lets a street car go with 1-2 deg Negative camber in the rear does not know what they are doing. This much negative camber is very hard on rear wheel bearings and will also ware out the rear tires.

Rear camber is one of the easiest adjustments to make on a C-2 suspension. A lot of cars today have independent suspension both front and rear which need to be aligned. A good shop has the proper equipment and knowledge to do this. Take the shop manual with you just in case they do not have the specs. You will be surprised how well your car will drive with all new bushings AND PROPER ALIGNMENT.



Chris, CWPASADENA

66since71

Before we jump on the alignment shop, the stock spec for rear wheel alignment is for negative 1/2* +/- 1/2*, so minus 1* camber is within spec. You can see 1* easily and can misjudge it as being more. The common sport set up is up to negative 1.5* camber. Camber can be adjusted with an eccentric on the inner strut rod bolt. You don't need to shim the ride hieght. Bottom line, your shop may have done a perfectly good job.

Harry

Jerry Bowen

Thanks for the help everyone.

I took it back to the shop. They have a premium 4-wheel alignment machine. I realized that I had changed the rear shocks since the alignment (found one leaking fluid) and this potentially could explain the 2-3° negative camber. However, we also found the right front wheel toe'd out about 2.3°.

While I was there, went ahead and changed out the front KYB Gas-A-Just shocks, which looked new but sat idle for too long.

Bottom line: It drives almost like a new '65 Sting Ray should drive, much better than before. Still doesn't handle bumps too well with the Silvertown tires, but much better than before.

Thanks again.

Pilot Dan

I have seen many otherwise good wheel alignment shops fall short on the Corvette rear Camber adjustment. They may set it on the machine correctly, but fail to roll the car on the ground afterwards and re check the specs which can change dramatically once the axles spin and everything settles.

I went through this and decided to buy my own camber tool and do it myself. Took me 3 drives around the block of marking and re-adjusting
till I got it hold at the desired negative .25*. Now that was with old strut bushings and some other parts that had minimal wear. I will be installing a newly rebuilt differential and all new bushings in the rear shortly. It should be interesting to see where the old camber marks lign up and if they change much after driving. Pilot Dan

1snake

I got tired of these alignment guys that can only do what the book says but have no idea of what any of it means. I bought a Fastrax alignment gauge and do all my own stuff, front and rear.

Jim

DansYellow66

Rear spring arch looks good.

CWPASADENA

In my 65 Shop Manual, the spec for Rear Wheel Camber is Negative 0 deg, 20 min. + or - 30 min., which allows a range of +10 min. (Pos) to -50 min. (Neg). Setting Rear Camber at 1 deg neg is actually just out of spec and as the car is driven, if anything, the Rear Camber will go more negative.

In my shop, we set Mid Year Street Cars initally at 0 to 1/4 Neg. Camber after replacing the strut rod bushings (as it sounds like was done in this case). After driven a little, we found the bushings will take a "set" and Camber will become a little more Negative. Once you get to 1 deg or more, this is a lot (for a Street Car).

If you are setting a car up for Road Racing or Autocross, you are going to use a completely different set of specs. For example, for Road Racing, we will even set the Front Wheels to TOE OUT insted of TOE IN to get the car to "Turn In" better. We will also use different front and rear settings for different tracks.

Chris, CWPASADENA

Dream*66*

Glad to hear you got it back in-line! Nothing like being out in the classic for an evening drive. Thats why the factory built them! TC