Zero1Niner

Brought the car to my normal alignment shop today, and he said he couldnt do it.

Does anyone have a recommendation for an alignment shop in Orange County that knows/is comfortable with C3's?

chvet73

If you don't mind a little drive Eckles Alignment in Ontario is the real thing. He did mine recently and it has never driven this well before. Older guy who just gets how to deal with all older cars.

dugsgms74

Couldnt or didnt want to? Its a shame how many alignment shops are unwilling to align cars with shim style caster and camber adjustments. Just did mine on the alignment machine at work and other than rear toe these cars are very easy to align. Sorry I cant give you any direct advice other than to go to local shops and see if they are willing to do it. Be prepared to pay more than the advertised price as that usually only includes toe adjustment.

Zero1Niner

Eckles sounds like exactly what I'm looking for, just hoping to find someone local (Santa Ana, garden grove, Westminster or thereabouts ideally).

My guy said he doesn't have the program for anything before 1987. Also seemed nervous about the rear alignment. Not sure why. Seemed strange to me too.

There seems to be a ton of vettes down here in oc. Hoping someone has a rec here locally.

dugsgms74

Ahh, I see. Used a newer hunter eagle eye(great machine BTW) machine at work, database goes all the way back into the 1950s. Rear toe can be a PITA on these, especially on pre-69 cars with out the slotted shims and most shops don't stock the shims for rear toe. On the plus side, rear camber is a breeze to adjust and the front caster, camber and toe are pretty easy too. Good Luck, Im sure you'll find someone. Might want to give Jack at McJacks Corvettes a call to see if he has a particular shop he can recommend.

HwyFever

Giving you a bump. I am interested in finding a OC source as well.

Peterbuilt

The problem with setting the rear toe is that the original shims are no doubt rusted together and will not come out one at a time.
Most of the time the bolt is frozen to the bushing so I has to be cut out.
Shops won't let a mechanic spend hours trying to replace those parts.
Change the bushing yourself, order and install new stainless steel shims and a new bolt and tell the shop everything is new.
Then most any shop will take care of your Corvette.

Sayfoo

Miller's in North Long Beach if it's within your driving range. Old time shop.

HwyFever

Corvette Mike's in Anahiem CA does Corvette alignments. Ask for Carl.

Zero1Niner

Thanks for the recommendations.

I called all 3. Based on the calls, I'd REALLY like to go with Eckles, but he is slammed and can't take me until after the first of the year. His price was $50 for front, $100 if 4 wheel. He was super helpful, clearly knew his stuff.

Corvette Mikes was expensive. They quoted $200 for 4 wheel. They don't have the greatest yelp reputation, which is a drag (the others both have good ratings).

Millers will be likely where I end up. They quoted $50 for front, and can do it while I wait today.

Has anyone used vodies in garden grove?

Zero1Niner

One thing Eckles mentioned that was interesting that I wanted to ask for opinions on.

I mentioned the Borgeson box, and that Borgeson recommends the 3-4 degree castor, and he said he doesn't agree with that. He said it makes the steering too sensitive and darty, which is exactly why I decided to upgrade to the Borg box in the first place. I want the bump steer and dartiness gone.

What say ye?

68/70Vette

J&D Corvettes in Bellflower, Ca...that's pretty close to Orange County. J&D is a CF sponsor. I'd recommend them because they are close to Orange County. Acquaintances of mine have had their alignment done there and were happy. I had my 68 alighnment done by Guildstrand Motorsports in Burbank Ca. Had to flatbed the 68 to there and back.

cardo0

Holleys tire in San Clemente is great shop for suspension and tires. Sorry but they never did my corvette alignment (all my other vehicles though) so u need to give them a call first.

949-492-4733, http://www.holleystireservice.com/au...alignment.aspx

Zero1Niner

I have been to J&D before to buy parts. I didnt realize they did alignments. Great suggestion. I will give them a call on Friday.

Might not be the best of ideas, but I took the car out for a 100 mile run today pre-alignment (I was testing out the electric fans I just installed, and today was a little warmer day). The bump steer is really noticeable. I am really hopeful the alignment will remedy that issue. That was the main reason I installed the Borgeson box and rebuilt the front end.

I also came across another thread on this forum recommending a shop in Orange. I called today but they were closed (closed until monday for the holiday). Accurate Alignment on N. Batavia St in Orange. They have great Yelp reviews, and a bunch of photos of older cars on their Yelp profile. That seems promising too. Ill be calling them also on Monday.

dugsgms74

It will, I did my initial alignment via the string box method and was very darty over uneven road surfaces. Now that i finally did it on the machine it tracks very well and thats even with the bias ply tires!

Rgalbraith

My trailing arms were rusted in bad. I had to torch everything out including the bushings and shims. I finally succeeded with lots of smoke and fire. Now to put it all back together. How many and where should I place the new shims to get it to the alignment shop. I have all new parts to install including shims

Reg

Zero1Niner

Ended up getting the alignment done at Accurate Alignment in Orange CA. Sharon (wife of the owner) is incredible. Very helpful, knowledgeable, and all around quite personable....and its a good thing she is there. It helped counter balance a little funkiness with Chris, the owner. I must have caught him on a bad day. He got easily frustrated, which he directed at me in the form of funky remarks and attitude, felt the need to throw in a few unnecessary small jabs and digs on a couple of things, but that aside, he does know what he is doing.

He struggled with my spreader bar for some reason. First he asked me what it was and what it did (I was surprised by the questions), then struggled removing it for more than 30 minutes (Its just a simple nut and bolt that hold the hemispherical ball joint to the bracket...pretty simple stuff).

However, all that being said, he really did take the time necessary to get the alignment right, and for that, I appreciate his effort. He charged me $25 more than he quoted me, but I didnt say a word. Just paid the $125 for the front end only. I knew he put some time into it..I was there for 2 hours.

All and all, a significantly improved alignment. Just wish his rack-side-manner was a little more even-tempered and customer friendly. I dont want to be too hard on him, just reporting my experience as it happened. Overall, Im sure hes a good guy, and I assume I just caught him on a bad day. He did accommodate my request to wait for it instead of dropping it off, got me in the same day I called, and he was thorough once he got past removing the spreader bar, and did get me really close to the Borgeson 3 degree castor they recommended. I really can feel the difference in how the car drives.

Id give them a solid 3.5 star rating. If it wasnt for the funky vibes from the comments and the attitude, it would give him a 5 star rating. Im not entirely sure Id go back to him again, but I am happy with the result.

Kim72

Zero 1 Niner
How is the dartiness (tramlining) on the rough roads now? Did the extra castor make it any better in your view? What size front tires are you running?
I ask as I'm fighting the same tramlining problem, with the Borgeson system installed, and hope a new alignment will make it better.

Zero1Niner

HUGE difference. Huge. I havent had any of the dartiness I was having before. Significant improvement in how the car handles. Im not sure on the tires. Ill check and report back. The tires are not in the greatest condition in the world, but the positive castor (and just getting the wheels aligned) has made a huge difference. I am really happy with the result.

Zero1Niner

Tires are 255 60 15