68noob

Too many years ago i let this car sit in my garage doing nothing but collect dust. A couple years ago i started working on it but let it sit for another year. I am back at it again
I have removed everything from the tranny back. I had originally meant to keep the trailing arm shims in position as they were but alas they were mostly destroyed and got shuffled around a bit anyway. I had the trailing arms rebuilt and will be shimming them soon. I have a question about the "intent" of the shims. Could be wrong, but my assumption is that they are intended to center the the entire rear end between the frame rails before any other alignment is done. There is probably a ton of info out there on this subject. Suggestions as to where to start would be greatly appreciated.
Jesse

Alan 71

Hi J,
A 68 coming out of hibernation….. GOOD!
Yes, the shims are used to set the "toe in/out' of the rear tires.
You can put an equal amount of shims on each side of the trailing arm to drive the car to the alignment shop. They'll reposition the shims as needed to set the 'toe'.
Regards,
Alan

Mike Ward

It doesn't actually centre the differential assembly (rear end), only allows the rear wheel toe-in to be adjusted as Alan mentioned.

The centering is a function of the diff housing being attached to the crossmember, which in turn is located by a bushing at each end.

Mick71

I used string and a level to get it in the ballpark before I had it aligned and it was pretty close when he put it on the machine.

These things can be scary to drive if out of alignment.