'63 Front end alignment

[Tom Bahner]

Well I just had my front end aligned yesterday. Had the tires rotated and balanced also.

l'll give the youngster doing the alignment credit for the effort he put into it. He spent most of the day, off and on, on it. But just wanted to check with you all on the results. 

First, I will say it no longer pulls to one side like it did so thats a plus. But, the steering wheel is about 1/8th turn off from center which I believe will drive me nuts after a while.

In talking to him, he said he had to set the camber all the way in, no more adjustment. Said there was little or no adjustment for the caster?? Dose this sound right. Said there was a little play in the steering wheel,which I've never  noticed, which might cause the steering wheel to be off. .

Anyway, I'd like to give the kid a chance but don't want to ruin a set of tires doing it. Oh, the tires are almost new radials, not bias. Didn't they used to take the steering wheel off and reset it after adjusting the alignment?

I know nothing about caster/camber, etc. I read a write up somewhere, which I can't find, about setting the alignment for radial tires. I guess it is different than factory specs.

Any comments appreciated.

Thanks. Tom B

[David Thomas]

The upper ball joint does not include the camber eccentric; the eccentric is a separate part. You can find the ball joints at RockAuto, the eccentric at Rare Parts. You may be able to get the ball joints and eccentric at one of the box auto supply stores. Advance, Auto Zone, Napa etc.

[Jason Edge]

I put a link to this thread under on our Help Topics page under Alignment, Front-End.

[Tom Bahner]

I forgot to  update this post with the results. I gave up on these clowns. They never did get the steering wheel straightened out.

I ended up taking it to another shop. He found some parts that needed to be replaced which the other shop didn't notice. He aligned it and straightened out the steering wheel. I think he used factory specs. It was much improved.

After 1200 mi or so, it has a slight pull to the right. Will have to take it back for another shot, using the above specs.

[David Thomas]

Your welcome, Tom. I hope it helps and your car drives well.

[David Thomas]

Thanks Jason. Looks like you've got it. 

[Tom Bahner]

Thanks very much Dave.

I took the info down to the shop, trying to do it without offending them. One was pretty receptive, one not so much. Have another appointment Monday, will give another update as to how it comes out.

Thanks again for the great info. Tom B

[Jason Edge]

David,

This is excellent information and glad you posted info about the radials. I know we had posted this somewhere in the past but good to see it here and explained as you have so well.

Looking at your radial tire specs I will try to summarized:

Camber for both bias ply and radials: left 0° and right =1/4°

Caster:  bias ply -1°; radials: +2°

toe in: bias ply 3/16" to 1/4" ; radials no more than 1/8"

Let me know if I have the stats correct and I will add a link to this message thread on our Help page under Front End Alignment.

Jason.

[David Thomas]

Tom, there is a lot of adjustment for caster and camber, unless you have some bent parts. The camber is the tilt of the wheel at the top with the wheels straight, negative camber leans the top of the wheel in, positive camber leans the top of the wheel out. Camber is adjusted by rotating an eccentric cam on the top ball joint stud. Caster is the angle from the top and bottom ball joint. Positive caster puts the bottom ball joint ahead of the top ball joint, negative caster puts the bottom ball joint behind the top ball joint.

With radials, the toe in should be no more than 1/8", caster should be positive at about 2° or so, camber should be 0° left, and negative 1/4° right. Right should always be 1/4° more negative than left.

If you have a shop manual, read the steering suspension section to see how an alignment is done. Take the manual with you to the front end shop and show it to the mechanic. If he is young and hasn't been doing alignments very long, he may not have a clue how to adjust the front end on our cars.

The steering wheel should be centered by turning the adjusters on both tie rods. If it is cocked slightly to the right lengthen the left tie rod and shorten the right tie rod a quarter turn and test drive. Repeat if necessary with slight adjustments until it is straight. Be sure to turn the adjusters on both tie rods equally. If the steering wheel is cocked to the left do the opposite. Once the wheel is centered, check the toe in. If it needs to be adjusted turn both adjusters equally to get it right, then test drive to be sure the wheel is centered. The reason the steering wheel gets cocked is the mechanic turned one adjuster more than the other to set the toe in or he didn't have the steering wheel centered to start.