Having the -66 aligned
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 140
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From: Bergen, Norway
Having the -66 aligned
I have read just about all the threads on this forum (and elsewhere) on this subject and I feel I have it pretty well down by now. My car is primarily driven on the street and has power steering. For the front I would like camber just around 0 deg. and caster around 2.5-3.00( maybe a little more on the right side to compensate for the road crown) and 1/8 toe. For the rear same camber and toe. Yesterday I took it to the alignment shop just to find out right lower A-arm was bent about 1/2 inch rearward! Luckily frame is straight. My consern is this; I have installed offset upper A-arm shafts to facility a higher caster setting but I have a feeling I may have installed them the wrong way. I have the offset pointing in to the engine compartment. On my left side(no damage to any parts here) I can get 2,24 deg. pos. caster with two shims on the aft position and nothing in the front. This gives me a camber of minus 0,30 deg. Should I turn the shafts to get the offset towards the wheels instead? How are the bolts for the shafts mounted in the frame? I know this setting is pretty close to what I need but I like perfect, not almost if I can. Maybe I should just keep this setting....
Last edited by Joys; Mar 20, 2007 at 09:51 AM.
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 38,897
Likes: 1,926
From: Washington Michigan
To get more positive caster, you want to move the upper ball joint rearward (by moving the rear of the upper control arm shaft inboard); this will tend to create negative camber, as the ball joint will also move inboard as it goes rearward, so you need to move the front of the shaft outboard somewhat to restore zero camber. Set the offset on your upper control arm shaft so you can do that.
If you have radial tires, you'll want zero-to-1/16" TOTAL toe-in at the front, and the same at the rear (1/32" per side, split evenly across the thrust centerline).
If you have radial tires, you'll want zero-to-1/16" TOTAL toe-in at the front, and the same at the rear (1/32" per side, split evenly across the thrust centerline).
