Tech: Alignment for modified Mustang II front suspension

@ekimneirbo , the V you refer to, are you suggesting OP get the Ackermann closer to correct?

 

Yes.

I have no idea how to do that right now. But I’ll look at it when the weather makes garage time possible again.

 

Yes.............

 

Depending on whether the steering arms are made onto the spindles or bolt in place, I would guess either a spacer or heat and bend. A string from the spindle to the center of the rear end would probably show you how much movement is needed. The point on the rear end where the lines converge would be the centerline of the rear axles.

 

Kanter and P-S-T offer suspension/steering components. 'Rare parts' I've always thought of as a broker.
Their pricing seems to have an added 1 or 0 compared to others.

I think we box ourselves into thinking such devices are complex unobtanium for the regular joe.

Bumpsteer Gauge

Two Franklins + shipping and assembly you can have your own.

Oooooooo...
The problem with bumpsteer is, you usually don't know you have bumpsteer.

Driving down the road hit a bump you won't notice. It's when things get serious and the car doesnt go where its been directed might indicate a bumpsteer issue. But there are plenty of cars from the factory that have bumpsteer on purpose.

As for ackerman...
No street car(sedan) has, or really should have, 100% Ackerman. On paper it may seem nice, initially, wheels stay on proper congruent arcs of travel. However in the real world, the inside tire will be unloaded at speed, using it to help rotate the car safely is a different matter.

100% ackerman at speed gets sketchy, the car becomes very sensitive, sure the tires are pointing in the same directions for congruent arcs of travel but this does not mean stable, fast or both. Bump(roll) steer can be used to change toe and thus steering angle kinmatically.

Take a look at some fast race cars, they will have visible anti-Ackerman

But most of this conversation is theoretical until the car is weighed(driver + 1/2 tank fuel), bump steer checked, some math is done... after fixing any worn or broken parts of course.

The increased tierod length without increasing control arm lengths(not track width) will cause toe out in roll for both tires in droop and bump.

Does this mean it's a problem?
Unknown at the moment.

What is the suspension motion of the MII?
What is the typical MII front tire wear?
And what were the intentions of the MII suspension engineers at Ford in the 70's?

Your typical mass produced sedan, including muscle and pony, will have various suspension motions that may seem 'wrong' without understanding the motions as a whole for a given vehicle.

I'm still of the opinion that the tires are partailly to blame. Undersized, hard bricks, not David's fault... under inflated... maybe David's fault.

Most weird or undesirable suspension motions are to keep the vehicle stable and keep the average owner/operator from putiing the car into an uncontrolled situation during normal driving.

 

Back in the 1980s, when a Mustang II front end was used in an early Chevy with a stock Mustang II crossmember the springs interfered with the frame. It was typical to widen the crossmember 2" to clear the springs to the frame. To do this we used a Mustang II rack with Fox Mustang tie rod ends. There was no big effect on bump steer.

As far as length and mounting a Mustang II rack and a Fox body Mustang rack are interchangeable if you use offset mounting bushings in the Fox Mustang rack.

You might get in touch with Welders Series welderseries.company.site they make wider kits for the Mustang II front end and might have some suggestions

 

I have done a few of these early Chebbies , installed with OEM Muustang 2 crossmembers . I basically notched the outside of the Chevy top hat frame and raised the crossmember up to where it needed to be and welded it in place adding gussets as needed . One thing that was very important to installing the crossmember was keeping it level with the floor or ground at the ride height you want . I had it down to a science . I did 3 different cars for the same owner . I would take them to be aligned to factory Ford specs , and return the finished product , not one handling or tire wear issue . The strut rods were tough to mount until I determined make a bracket and bolt it , rather than weld to the thin frame material .