37 ford front end alignment.

Front tires scrubbing on outside edge. Measured center of front & back of tires, found 9/16" of toe in. How does this relate to degrees? I've read conflicting suggestions about whether toe in or toe out gives better handling on straight axle Fords, always discussed in degrees. I don't know of a shop that still does front end work on"old" straight axle Fords, so I'm trying to adjust it myself. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks, Rod

 

Although this question is posted in the introduction section I believe I can help...BTW,Welcome to the Hamb. HRP

Hot Rod Don posted this a while back and is basically the same way I align my front suspension on my deuces.

No method we use at home will get as accurate of a setting as if we had gone to an alignment shop, but I would bet most of our cars have never been professionally done and still function ok.

I use the tape measure method and after setting the tires dead ahead I take a reading off of the very front edge of one of the treads on one tire to the same tread on the other tire. Then I do the same exact thing at the very back of the two tires. I keep adjusting the tie rod in or out until I get 1/6 to 1/8, or whatever number I want to hit.

The problem with that is sometimes while you can get a tape measure across the front of the tires you can't get the tape measure pulled straight on the back of the tires because of the grille and other things in the way. A HAMBer posted a jig he built one time and I saved pictures of it. The thing is pretty neat and would take all of a few hours to fab up. It solves the clearance issues by going below the suspension, where there are no obstructions. Here are a couple of pictures of it:





Using the steel wheel inner surface to take your measurements might be more accurate than using the rubber tires, but you would have to compensate by making the toe in at that spot slightly less than 1/6-1/8 because the further you move out the more that number will change. If you set the difference at 1/8 at the inner parts of the wheel it would end up being more than that if you took the same reading way out on the tires.

Bottom line, all you can do is get it close and watch your tire wear pattern and how the car tracks going down the road. Strange as it seems, some hot rods actually like some toe OUT as opposed to toe IN. Every car is different.


Don

 

Thanks HRP, I used a plumb bob, draping the cord over the center of the tread from the top of the tread & marked the floor where it rested both front & back of tires, then measured the distance with a steel tape.

 

I would go 1/8 or less toe in and if you take it to an alignment shop, have it set at .2 degrees positive. Usually a $49.00 job and you can see how the caster and camber measures as well. Camber should be tilted back (positive) more on the passenger side than the driver side.

 

Thanks for your input, very helpful. Do you have pics of your machines? I love gassers & watched the gasser wars mostly at York US30 Dragway & Capital Raceway Park, here in the east.