13 replies to this topic

[slar]

Hi peoples......just wndering if any one could enlighten me on the initial set up of caster and camber shims after rebuilding an LX K frame.

 

Need to know how to measure for caster and camber to achieve roughly the correct shim thicknesses as a starting point so I can put the K frame and motor back in the car and be able to drive it to get a proper wheel alignment without it being dangerous or scrub the guts out of my tyres.

 

The old original shims are long gone so cant put back what was taken out...(didn't think about this when I stripped it years ago) so need a few dimensions to get it all roughly set up.

 

Cheers

Al

[rexy]

Just do it by eye. Grab some shims from the wreckers, local alignment bloke or Masters. You should be able to get it close enough.

[Bigfella237]

Castor and camber even being a long way out may make it steer like crap but shouldn't scrub the tyres in a short drive to get an alignment.

 

What will scrub the tyres is toe, thankfully that's a lot easier to measure at home though.

 

Your starting point will depend on the components used, if you're running UC Torana UCAs and/or HQ stubs then I wouldn't put any shims in as you will likely have a reasonable amount of negative camber and positive castor already. Otherwise, as Jason said above, you can get it close with a spirit level but you must make sure the car is setup level on a level surface before you start, otherwise you have to compensate for the angle of the shed floor or driveway.

 

Once you've finished with the castor & camber and everything has been tightened up, then scribe a mark on the tread of each tyre, measure between these marks at the front then spin the tyres around half a turn and measure between the same marks from the rear and adjust the tie rods to suit, just aim for identical measurements (or zero toe) will be good enough to get you into the wheel alignment.

Edited by Bigfella237, 22 November 2015 - 09:19 PM.

[fuzzypumper]

I did mine withe K frame off car and no springs installed.

I made a makeshift alignment caster / camber tool out of wood , fishing line and a protractor.

I set K frame to level position on bench, set lower arms or steering arms to horizontal position

and clamped tool to disc rotors.

For toe i clamped some long lengths of steel  on the discs and measured front and back.

Attached Files

•  P1120844 Left caster at full lock (Medium).JPG   123.4K   2 downloads

Edited by fuzzypumper, 22 November 2015 - 10:30 PM.

[Peter UC]

Look up 'string line wheel alignment' that should get you pretty close. There is a pretty good guide on Hotrod.com

[slar]

Ok thanks all....some interesting ways of getting it set up....i like the wooden jig...ingenious lol.
Will try some of these ideas and see how i go.

One question though....should the weight of the car be on the front end before setting it up or can it be done unloaded.
Cheers
Al

[ls2lxhatch]

Wheel alignment needs to be done at ride height.

[Bigfella237]

Yep as ls2 says either with the weight of the car on some kind of skid-plate so the front wheels can move around freely, or do the alignment with the springs removed and the suspension fixed at the ride height?

 

I've seen many different ways to make the skid-plates, such as two flat sheets of just about anything rigid with a liberal layer of grease in between them, or two pieces of steel with ball bearings in between.

 

Just remember that if you elevate the front wheels to insert plates you must raise the rear wheels by the same amount to keep the car level.

[rodomo]

Al

I kept the old shims in separate labelled zip bags and put them back after rebuilding the K frame.

Put the car on a trailer and transported it to get the wheels aligned by a professional last week, so I know it's right.

G.

Agree................this would probably be the best way to start.
These tools will be what I will be using to ballpark mine. The rod is a telescopic tent pole.

Attached Files

•  angle finder.jpg   219.51K   1 downloads
•  Toe in.jpg   137.48K   2 downloads

[Bigfella237]

Okay I have to ask Dammit, what are you planning to use the telescopic tent pole for (or maybe I don't wanna know)?

[slar]

Ok thanks again fella's

 

Al

I kept the old shims in separate labelled zip bags and put them back after rebuilding the K frame.

Put the car on a trailer and transported it to get the wheels aligned by a professional last week, so I know it's right.

G.

 

Yeh I put all mine in zippies as well......did that with every part of the car but managed to lose the shims some how.......these are the only parts I cant find.....every other nut and bolt/part that came off the car is accounted for.

I will just follow the above advice and get it close then take it in to get done properly.........I'm just about to get the engine back in.... so need the k frame basically set up so I can move the car around and see how everything looks as I'm going.

Thanks for your advice

Al