Alignment
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 106
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From: Kitchener Ont.
Alignment
I purchased new rubber for the front of my car. Drivers side was real worn. I wanted to get an alignment but found out that I need lower ball joints and upper control arm bushings. I have never had an alignment done on the car yet. I was told I should purchase the shim kits and expect about a 3 to 4 hour job. I will have to get the bushing issues corrected and proceed. My question is how much should an aligment cost and what kind of results should I expect. Thank-you for any comments.
Race Director
Joined: Apr 1999
Posts: 10,866
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From: Beverly Hills/Pine Ridge Florida
Re: Alignment (BLKZZ4)
Tough to answer your question. The front end of a Corvette, WHEN the ball joints and bushings have been replaced, is just a "standard" alignment job.
The rear is different. Most charge time and materials. Why? It can take HOURS to get the T Arm bolts loose and remove/replace rusty shims, especially if the car has never been apart before. Often, the T Arm bolt is rusted to the T Arm pivot bushing, not allowing the T Arm to be moved in or out. SO....sorry to say that I don't think there is one answer to your question.
Be sure to take your car to a Corvette shop, or to an alignment shop that knows old Corvettes. DON'T take your car to Sears/PEP Boys, etc. Chuck
The rear is different. Most charge time and materials. Why? It can take HOURS to get the T Arm bolts loose and remove/replace rusty shims, especially if the car has never been apart before. Often, the T Arm bolt is rusted to the T Arm pivot bushing, not allowing the T Arm to be moved in or out. SO....sorry to say that I don't think there is one answer to your question.
Be sure to take your car to a Corvette shop, or to an alignment shop that knows old Corvettes. DON'T take your car to Sears/PEP Boys, etc. Chuck
Burning Brakes
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 947
Likes: 46
From: Saint Cloud Florida
Re: Alignment (Chuck Gongloff)
I took my 71 in for 4 wheel alignment and ran into the problem of frozen and rusted shims in the rear trailing arms. When the alignment guy explained what the expense could be to deal with this problem, I took it home and removed the bolts my self. Worked with them quite a while and ended up using a sawzall to get them out. In addition to saving the $60 or so per hour, found that the bushings were bad. I ended up spending several hours on this, so it is not unreasonable to figure saving $300 +. It might be wise to check the trailing arm bolts to make sure they are free before taking it in.
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 2,744
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From: Gulf of America
2023 C7 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2018 C3 of Year Finalist
Re: Alignment (BLKZZ4)
Ditto here too. After removing the rusted hulks that used to be the shim packs on my trailing arms, I replaced the shims with the stainless steel versions. I carefully matched the the shim thicknesses to the original pack. This was close enough to get me to the alignment shop where he fine tuned it. Our ole timey alignment shop here works on all the vettes in the area. They are approaching retirement age and when they are gone it will be a sad day. Charles
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 210
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From: parsippany nj
Re: Alignment (BLKZZ4)
I have rebuilt the rear suspensions in both my '72 and '64 vettes and I think you are better off taking the bolts out of the trailing arms yourself , otherwise it will cost you a fortune. With a lot of patience and time you will be able to do it yourself. I wd 40ed the bolts a lot and then used a long punch to get the bolt out. Putting the new bolts in can also be time consuming. Just note where the shims were and what size and put new stainless shims in. My local guy who is older aligned both front and rear and repaired my tire for $169. He kept my car a week, but I trust him immensely.
