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Technical Side to Side alignment issues

Discussion in 'Traditional Hot Rods' started by DannyBrent28Sedan, Jan 1, 2019.

  1. DannyBrent28Sedan
    Joined: Jan 15, 2017
    Posts: 50

    DannyBrent28Sedan
    Member

    In late November I bought the Danny Brent 1928 Model A Sedan which some were searching for as it was wanted for the Grand National Roadster Show. About a week ago I go the car back down on the road and found that the wheel/tire on the left protrudes past the fender, but on the right the tire/wheel is tucked under. My guess is wen the car was impounded last year, the tow company pulled it at an angle by the front axle, or the car was in an accident. I am guess the connection points for the wishbones may be damaged or bent, or that the front spring is not attached or the spring perch is bent. What can I do to get the left/right balance back in line?
     

    Attached Files:

  2. squirrel
    Joined: Sep 23, 2004
    Posts: 55,934

    squirrel
    Member

    put the camera on the ground in front of the car, and take a picture...
     
  3. F&J
    Joined: Apr 5, 2007
    Posts: 13,222

    F&J
    Member

    yep, we need to see the ends of the front spring, and shackles, etc
     
  4. razoo lew
    Joined: Apr 11, 2017
    Posts: 536

    razoo lew
    Member
    from Calgary

    And a tape measure is your friend. Is the axle in the wrong place or are the fenders in the wrong place?
     
    bowlingball, Elcohaulic, Tim and 2 others like this.

  5. Blake 27
    Joined: Apr 10, 2016
    Posts: 1,504

    Blake 27

    I can't see from the pics which front end your running but if it's an I beam with spring over,
    look at the shackles to see if they lean at the same angles. If you have a panhard bar you might be able to adjust the axle side to side to correct your issue.
     
    OrangeT, nugget32 and sunbeam like this.
  6. BamaMav
    Joined: Jun 19, 2011
    Posts: 6,709

    BamaMav
    Member
    from Berry, AL

    My car was like that when I changed wheels and tires. After I drove it, it centered back up. Only thing I could figure on mine was that it was because it was still on the trailer and I had just taken the straps off and it needed to be driven for everything to realign itself.
     
    OrangeT likes this.
  7. i remember drooling over that car when i first saw it in the magazine

    yes , many more pictures of the front suspension
     
  8. alchemy
    Joined: Sep 27, 2002
    Posts: 20,405

    alchemy
    Member

    If the front spring clamp was loose, maybe the spring's center bolt was yanked from it's spot in the middle of the crossmember. Check that too.
     
    Jybella, OrangeT and Hnstray like this.
  9. woodiewagon46
    Joined: Mar 14, 2013
    Posts: 2,269

    woodiewagon46
    Member
    from New York

    My guess is that if the car was pulled sideways it might have sheared off the square top of the spring center bolt that fits into a square hole in the crossmember. Try and see if the top of the bolt comes out of the crossmember by prying it out or with a magnet. If the center bolt is broken it's a fairly easy fix.
     
    Atwater Mike likes this.
  10. oj
    Joined: Jul 27, 2008
    Posts: 6,454

    oj
    Member

    Swap front wheels and tires side to side to see if the problem goes with them or stays on the car.
     
    belyea_david and bchctybob like this.
  11. BJR
    Joined: Mar 11, 2005
    Posts: 9,814

    BJR
    Member

    Maybe the front wheels have different offsets. Take them off and measure from the mounting surface to the outside of the rim and see if they are the same.
     
    OrangeT likes this.
  12. oj
    Joined: Jul 27, 2008
    Posts: 6,454

    oj
    Member

    I wouldn't rule out 2 different hubs either.
     
  13. The car originally had steel wheels, bet the offset on the wires is the problem. HRP
     
  14. catdad49
    Joined: Sep 25, 2005
    Posts: 6,399

    catdad49
    Member

    Looks like the fender is damaged to me.
     
  15. alchemy
    Joined: Sep 27, 2002
    Posts: 20,405

    alchemy
    Member

    Yes, I can see it now. The left fender has a good portion of the lip missing above the tire. What is going on there? Is the whole fender bent inward?
     
    olscrounger likes this.
  16. squirrel
    Joined: Sep 23, 2004
    Posts: 55,934

    squirrel
    Member

    yet the wheel sticks out past the running board on one side, and does not on the other side. As usual, there's more than one problem here.

    And we have yet to see pics of what might be going on under the front sheet metal.
     
    X38 and olscrounger like this.
  17. okiedokie
    Joined: Jul 5, 2005
    Posts: 4,778

    okiedokie
    Member
    from Ok

    I also remember that A, one of my favorites, looked best with painted wheels IMO. Glad to see you sorting it out, good luck.
     
  18. Fireball Five
    Joined: Oct 5, 2018
    Posts: 58

    Fireball Five
    Member

    A longshot, but, you don't have an axle working out of its' pressed on bearing?
    Fireball 5
     
    OrangeT likes this.
  19. Hnstray
    Joined: Aug 23, 2009
    Posts: 12,355

    Hnstray
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Quincy, IL


    It is the front wheels at issue......wouldn’t be affected by that.....
     
  20. catdad49
    Joined: Sep 25, 2005
    Posts: 6,399

    catdad49
    Member

    Alchemy, looks like the lip is rolled under.
     
  21. lostone
    Joined: Oct 13, 2013
    Posts: 2,820

    lostone
    Member
    from kansas

    Just measure from the backing plate to the frame rail on each side, takes the tires, wheels etc out of the equation....
     
    nugget32 and olscrounger like this.
  22. it now looks like there may be a lot going on. we have shown a willingness to help......but we need pictures
     
  23. Blue One
    Joined: Feb 6, 2010
    Posts: 11,459

    Blue One
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Alberta

    An update with the pictures the guys have asked for along with details on the body damage is what’s needed in order to figure out what’s going on.
     
  24. DannyBrent28Sedan
    Joined: Jan 15, 2017
    Posts: 50

    DannyBrent28Sedan
    Member

    I took the car to Jimmy SHine's shop in Orange, CA when we had the exhaust work done last week, he commented about the offsets being wrong, and that the 15x7 wheels looked to be too wide. I know the car had Truspokes 40 years ago, but I am wondering if these are the originals or if someone bought replacements and did not check the offset. Maybe they only made sure the bolt pattern was correct.

    Originally the car had steel wheels. When Danny sold it in 1980 it had the spokes. He sold the steel wheels to a local friend. We will get new red steel wheels after the Roadster Show this month. Karpo at GNRS said everyone wants to see it with the spokes. The spokes are a pain, so we will drive it mainly on the steelies and have the spoke wheels and tires available for those who request it that way.

    I will stop by the shop the car is at and will take more pics of it today.
     
  25. DannyBrent28Sedan
    Joined: Jan 15, 2017
    Posts: 50

    DannyBrent28Sedan
    Member

    It is at a shop in Orange County to get the Jag rear end overhauled and the rear calipers rebuilt. I will stop by there today and take measurements from spring perch to frame rail, pics of spring perch angle and wheel offset.

    I like the comment where someone said once they drove the car, it straightened out. We have yet to drive the car, so that is an option once we have brakes.
     
  26. DannyBrent28Sedan
    Joined: Jan 15, 2017
    Posts: 50

    DannyBrent28Sedan
    Member

    I agree, I prefer the look of the car with the red wheels. They are easier to mount and care for versus the spokes. I am glad you liked the car. Maybe we will meet at an event one day.
     
  27. DannyBrent28Sedan
    Joined: Jan 15, 2017
    Posts: 50

    DannyBrent28Sedan
    Member

    Danny sold the car to a gent in Bakersfield, CA who owned the car about 35 year. It then went to a guy who took out a title loan on it. He did not pay and it July 2017 it was impounded. One of the owners prior to me cut the two fender lips to keep the tires from rubbing. They must have bought tires from mainstream tire shop and installed 195/60/15's up front. The front apron is also tweaked and will be repair later. As of now this is a 15 or 20 foot car, It looks great at a distance, but close you see the scratches and stains. I am fine with that as I wanted a car with history plus I wanted to save it, preserve it. A couple of the prior owners wanted to paint it black and put flames on it.
     
  28. lostone
    Joined: Oct 13, 2013
    Posts: 2,820

    lostone
    Member
    from kansas

    You guys are over complicating things, measure from frame to backing plate on both sides, if they're the same it's NOT in the suspension, then measure from frame to fender lip, if that's the same then it's wheels.

    If the frame to backing plates measure different from side to side then it's in the suspension,

    If it's the fenders that measure different from side to side then magic !! That's where it's at.

    So take and set the car on Jack stands under front suspension, pull front tires, pull three measurements and 10 minutes later you will know where it's at.......
     
    papadaddio, lurker mick, BJR and 2 others like this.
  29. Tim
    Joined: Mar 2, 2001
    Posts: 17,091

    Tim
    Member
    from KCMO

    Going to go out on a limb and say if it’s on jimmy shines lift that he can take a look and figure it out in about as long as it took for me to type this on my phone.
     
  30. DannyBrent28Sedan
    Joined: Jan 15, 2017
    Posts: 50

    DannyBrent28Sedan
    Member

    Okay I probably took way too many pictures but here is a group showing different portion to the front suspension. It does look to me like the shackles are at a different angle. I measure the offset on the wheels and they are the same. I do notice that my wishbone brackets, one of them tends to go more straight down then the other. The one on the right tents to flare out from the frame possibly to clear the exhaust where I was the one on the left seems more straight down. IMG_20190104_153400379.jpeg IMG_20190104_154451284.jpeg IMG_20190104_154447932.jpeg IMG_20190104_154445290.jpeg IMG_20190104_153724040.jpeg IMG_20190104_153417704.jpeg IMG_20190104_153827516.jpeg IMG_20190104_153809814.jpeg

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