Hot Rods Alignment

Best way to set toe in on a straight axle .

 

There been some good info notes done in the passed;
Here one I found EZ !; There a few ways that take less work n time.
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/how-i-set-toe-in.1299848/

 

I do exactly like Andy in that link, except I don’t use tape, I draw directly on the tire. And my measuring guide is an old professional made tool, not home made by Andy. But it works the same.

 

Get the tires as close to straight ahead with wheel centered as you can.
Raise each tire just off the garage floor and take a #2 pencil and while spinning the tire slowly scribe a line around the center of the tread on each tire. Set it down on the floor, bounce the chassis a couple of time to settle it out have your helper hold the end of the tape at the center of the tire on their side you measure to he line on your side, go to the front and repeat and figure out the difference and decide if it is toed in or out and then what you need to do to correct it and repeat.

No expense involved unless you don't have a pencil or tape measure. Very accurate because scribing the line compensates for any wheel or tire runout. I've done a bunch of them that way over the years when I was doing front end work and the old school front end guy here in town who was one of the best in the business when he was doing it did every one he ever did that way.

 

Only things I would add is to roll the car forward one to two tire revolutions to take out any slack in the tie-rod and draglink ends, this puts the car in ( as driven ) positions. Scribe the lines then roll forward and measure, if adjustments are needed, back-up, adjust, and roll forward to remeasure. Measure the back of the tire first then the front for easier math, both measurements need to be at the same hight off the ground and as high as possible off the ground. Tires straight ahead no matter where the steering wheel is pointed, if the steering wheel is center all the better.

 

How do you measure the tires with frames and engines in between? That’s why you need a tool like Andy and I have. Any guy could weld one up in a couple hours from scraps laying under the workbench.

 

Measure just below the frame and transmission, but YES, your tool would be best.

 

2 Jack stands
2 strings
A tape measure

 

Unless you are building 4x4’s, that’s about 6” off the ground, or less. Won’t give you even half way correct reading on a 25” tall tire. Do you extrapolate to get the correct toe measurement? Even being a 1/16” off can make a noticeable difference.

 

I do like Andy, but I tape all the way around the tire. I also have a tool similar to Andy. In school 50 some years ago they taught us to spin the tire and shoot a line of rattle can paint on there, and scribe your line on that. I like masking tape better. You can not just use the tread on the tire, its not accurate

 

I was trained to measure toe at spindle height, with tires pushed forward to compress any small clearances in steering linkage. That’s where the tram bar is handy with its Adjustable height.
Beeline used a blade edged metal wheel to scribe and measure. VERY accurate.

 

Besides all of the methods mentioned, it's important to make sure that the steering box is centered. Start by turning it lock to lock in each direction, counting the turns. Turn it to the stop in One direction, then turn it halfway back so it is centered. If there is anything at all that prevents turning it full lock to the stops in the steering box, you have to disconnect the drag link from the pitman arm before you center the steering box. Of course, once you have done this once it is no longer necessary on future fine tuning adjustments. But if it is a new build or if the car is new to me, I always make sure that this is part of my procedure.

 

Me ,
String off rear , Tape measure & Floor
Close to center of spindle
Or
Framing square off rim /wheel
Spindle height & Floor

 

I've been looking into this the past day or so. My '32 has a visual toe out situation and I'm looking to correct it. I've read 1/16"-1/8" toe in is the target. But I question every method I see because they measure of the tire and if the tire is taller or shorter the measurement will result in different results. An 1/8" toe in on a 28" tire is a different than an 1/8" toe in on a 25" tire. The toe in angle is different between those tire heights.

It's very confusing.

 

@tjm73 that's why the preferred method is to set toe at spindle center. Then it doesn't matter what tire height is, 20" or 28".

I use rail road chalk (google) to mark a wide line on a tire tread all the way around the tire, use a tire scribe like Moriarty has for sale, and mark a line that's super easy to see around the tire thru the rail road chalk.

You can have a rim or wheel that's bent over an inch in runout and it doesn't matter because your drawing a straight line on the tire. If the line your scribing matches up start to finish you have a perfect circle and a perfect line to set toe off of....

Again been doing alignments for over 40 yrs and still doing it for a living....

...

 

Every car will feel different, so the 1/16 to 1/8 is a starting point. Then drive it to see how it feels. Adjust from there.

 

I use a framing square to get from front of tire at spindle height to floor to make a mark. Then do the same on rear.
Are you getting the picture?
Doing both sides, you now have front marks and rear marks on the floor.
Measure front width.
Measure rear width.
Adjust so you have 1/16" to 1/8" toe IN.
Keep measuring front and rear until you have satisfied.

By the way, I put a long strip of masking tape on floor at the tire center line. I can roll the car ahead after each measure to get a fresh place to remeasure.

Send me a conversation, if instructions need clarification.

 

There are several ways to establish front initial toe, but IMO it's best to have a good alignment shop ASAP chart toe, camber, caster, along with rear axle placement (yaw/toe) and any side to side offsets, especially if you have built the chassis, then adjust where necessary.

 

^^ Only trick is finding that shop near where you live.

 

I use Longacre toe plates, and two tape measures.

A couple of lead shot bags help me do it solo.

I customarily did only do this to get a car to the alignment shop. On solid axle cars, so long as they don't show signs of a bent beam (checked with other Longacre equipment), just do this.

My local alignment shop said that 10 of 10 times my work was dead on.

 

More true than you may know.

I live in a city of over 800,000 people, with probably ~200 alignment racks, in 46.2 square miles.

We're down to just a handful of shops that will touch stuff that is not OEM.

None of the conventional car/light truck shops near me have the equipment to bend a beam axle to align it.

 

You know @gimpyshotrods I was surprised to learn how many shops either didn't have the equipment or the know how on doing it.

When I started doing alignments back in 1980, the shop I worked at (39 yrs!) Did it all.

We did every type of car, truck, semi, trailer alignment and I thought just about all shops did. Then I started finding out they didn't and we were considered "a specialty" shop.

Camber is camber, toe is toe no matter what it's connected to.

It was a fun time though, dune buggies, sand rails, dirt track cars, exotics, drag cars, ssca rally cars, thank God I got to play with them all ! And drive quite a few of them !!

..

 

The aforementioned toe plates, this, along with jack stands and string.


This particular car came back from the alignment shop with only a slight adjustment to compensate for road crown.

 

Since I do this a lot I made up a device to do the job using angle iron that I cut and bent 90 degrees at each end. The bends are about 12" long which allows me to have the long side to side pieces below the frame, or obstructions to measure. I drilled a hole on each end and welded a 3/8NF nut to each hole with a bolt in each hole to adjust. I have this made in two halves with a pair of small clamps to hold them where they overlap.
I get the two halves overlapped and clamp them close. Then adjust the bolts out until they touch each side. Remove it and measure OAL, then compare it to the opposite side measurement at 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock. Usually start on the front side as it's almost always the shorter measurement if it was right to begin with.

 

Hello,

Having watched several older hot rod folks draw lines on concrete floors of their garages to get a straight alignment, it is not as simple as that. Marks are good and measuring from place to place markings should get things in order. But, it is the human eye and what you see may not always be the most accurate of measurements. Especially, if you are laying down or sitting in front with the tape measure on the tires, that are supposed to be straight.

Where is that starting point in the middle of the tire location, is it the same on the other side? Who is holding that other end and is he/she seeing the same location as your position across the whole width of the car? And who made the car sit straight with the tires in a perfectly straight line? It is the “eye of the beholder” in its best description.

Having tried to do what the magazines describe and adjusting what we drew on the concrete floor, was not the best application of alignment and adjustments. It was our teenage/20 something eyes and we all have different visions and tape measurements. Shakes at speed are not fun and cause different problems than just winning the eliminations.
1958-59 season

Jnaki

So, the shops with the larger concrete floors the alignment racks and tools to get a straight in line direction of each tire falls into place with a few movements of the rotating wheel plates. Much better than eye ball hopefully getting the tires measured the same. Now, the magic happens and your hot rod or daily driver gets the treatment it necessarily needs for straight down the line driving.

Sure, there are the ways old hot rod folks do things, but spending time and money makes things easier and with the better tools and equipment, makes the driving so much better. Along with the machine alignment techniques, tire balancing is also much better than a static old style bubble balancer that was the rage when we were teens. YRMV

 

I also use the Longacre toe plates and love them, one more detail is I put the front tires on these dollies with casters so the wheels can move more freely when adjusting the toe. Game changer!

 

I am 100% certain that I get a far better alignment doing the job at home with my rudimentary tools then I get when I bring it to a shop. One of the reasons is that I can take my time and get everything perfect, exactly where I want it. Not just within spec. For what they charge at an alignment shop, their quoted price is just to get you in the door so they can sell you a bunch of parts. If they can't sell you a bunch of parts, they've got to get your car in and out in a hurry to not lose money on it. With a professional alignment you could have one wheel at one end of the tolerances and the other wheel at the opposite end of the tolerances and it is considered a good alignment. I adjust, check, readjust, check as needed to get both sides exactly the same. I use my jack stands and strings, along with a toe gauge that hooks on the tire to get the toe dialed in and a Howe magnetic caster camber gauge with a pair of old alignment turntables to get the caster and camber set. My cars go straight as an arrow down the road or the drag strip. I've driven out of an alignment shop before and had to turn around and go back to get the wheel centered or get it to not pull this way or that.

 

Thank you !