I've been having trouble aligning my car since i've had it, i cant remember the right terminoligy, but the tires are like this... \ / I got new uprights, that helped it a bit but its still off, i keep wearing out the out edge of my tires. All i can think now is the control arms are bent or the frame itself is bent. Well I took it to the frame shop and they tell me that the frame is good as new, and the reason my front tires are wearing like that is because its lowered in the back..... WHAT?!? The guy procedes to tell me that in order to get proper alignment with a lowered car as old as mine i need to get a mustang 2 front and with a 4 link in the back.. im having serious trouble believing this. I'm not looking for an amazing ride, i just want my front end aligned. btw I lowered my car by cutting out a coil and a half in the front and 4 inch blocks with two removed leafs in the back. I'd really appreciate any suggestions you guys have to align my front end.. these tires are really getting expensive. Sorry if my ramblings dont make much sense, I've just been fighting this since ive had the car.
I've heard of that.. i just cant understand whats throwing it out of line Maybe the control arms are bent.. is there any way of checking that?
Cutting the coils will throw the alignment off but in the other direction from what you describe. It makes the tires in at the top slightly. Regardless, a good front end man should be able to align your car or know why he can't. First they inspect the front end, if not worn or damaged they can align it. Sometimes they have to bend the uprights a little. Of course if the car was in a wreck at some time in the past, any damage will have to be repaired before it can be aligned. Ask around if you know any old car guys or racers. Back in the day the best front end man and frame man around here worked out of a little shop made of galvanized tin and had a rack and pulling equipment that looked like it came out of Henry Ford's first garage. But body shops brought him work from 50 miles away. There was another shop in town with a brand new $300,000 laser rack that couldn't get them as straight as he did. You need an old timer who knows what he is doing.
It sounds like you went to the wrong alignment guy. If the tires are leaning out at the top you have too much positive camber and you need to get it back to something more drivable. I believe that the bolts that hold the upright to the upper control arm are eccentric and change the camber but that may not be enough adjustment for what you need. I agree with Rusty in the post above in both that you need to find an old time front end shop and that it will take someone who really knows what he is doing to get it right. It's going to take a front end mechanic rather than a front end tech. And I have heard of bending the uprights to set camber but haven't done it myself.
What is this \ / ... camber looking from the front, or toe looking from above? Here are the specs on this page... http://www.secondchancegarage.com/public/618.cfm
Front end shop guy has no idea what he's even looking at. If it's a camber issue, seems to me you can shim the upper control arm shaft at the bolts to bring it back in and get the tires in line. I'll admit it's been a while since I looked at my similar '57's front end, though. That said, a Motor's Auto Repair Manual will have the correct specs and tell you how to adjust it, for around $20, and any one up to about '58 will have the info in it.
Did they even try adjusting the upper control arms? The caster/camber is adjusted by turning the upper control arm pivot pin (at the upright) as mentioned. Some of the older ones required to remove the grease zirks and using an allen wrench to rotate the shaft(pin).
Thanks for all the input guys. It is camber thats off. I have tried adjusting the bolt that goes through the upright on the upper control arm but it doesnt move it enough to fix it. It is the worst on the drivers side, and the passenger side is off but not as bad.
Is there any chance the car has the wrong control arms on it? They used the same design for 49-57, but there were some changes along the way, maybe someone put on it what they could find instead of what's correct -
Master parts catalog shows the 49-52 arms interchange. Maybe try to find some known correct ones for referance.
Everything you need should be in this manual section http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/shop/1949_53/03front/3_01.HTM Here's another front end service manual http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/booklets/4909mts00.htm
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