Technical Can I drive with new suspension on one side 63 Impala

Hey guys I just rebuilt the front suspension on my 63 Impala and it was a pain and took longer than expected. I have one side completely done but the other side still has the old suspension. I need to drive it this weekend. Do you y’all think I can drive it safely for a week? Then I’ll go back to completing the other side.
Thanks

 

As long as other side is not @ point of breaking , I would , might feel funny in handling.

More then one occasion ball joints only been replaced in single instead of the whole complete set ,
Same with tie rods ,Tire's and more likely shocks also

 

Yeah I did new shocks,ball joints,bushings, coil spring , tie rods on the driver side.

 

Better run her around the block a couple times before making plans.

 

Use to do it all the time building wrecks.
Only replaced the damaged stuff.
Never an issue

 

I assume you check toe , camber caster ext ?
I use string , Square, tape M, level & marks on floor .

 

Yep. 2 strings, 2 jack stands and a tape measure.

a square helps

 

I’d put a new shock on the other side also if it was mine then string alignment as suggested above. Also make sure that the ball joints ,tie rod etc isn’t loose on other side.
Dan

 

How many miles is a week?
Car may sit a little high on the side with the new spring.
If you put the shim packs back in the same as they came out, caster and camber "should" be fairly close.
Wouldn't sweat caster. It isn't a tire wear angle. If there is too much difference side to side it will cause a pull to the side least positive.
You can rough check camber with and an angle finder against a paint stick (or what ever) placed vertically against the rim.
For toe, center the steering wheel, measure with a tape and make the adjustment on the side you replaced.
It all goes back to the first question. If a week is a few hundred miles, roughing it out like this will get you by. If it is substantially more you need more precision.

 

I only need to drive it to get to work this w/e.
12mi each way, mostly freeway. I’ll start working on the other side Monday. After it’s all done I’ll take it to alignment shop.

 

While not recommended, now that you’ve posted these facts on a public forum you better hope nothing happens

 

@Eth727
If not close , you can burn / ruin
Tries just in few miles , Just saying
if tires Good or New !

 

From an old front end man, check the toe in with a tape measure and as long as the left wheel isn't off camber a ton you should be ok.
Jack each front wheel up and take a pencil and slow spin the tire and scribe a line on the center of the tread with the other hand. works best if you have something to steady your hand that is holding the pencil. Do that on each tire, set it down and bounce the suspension a few times by pushing down on the front bumper to settle things out and have a helper hold the end of the tape to the line on the back side of one tire while you measure at the line on the other. Go to the front and repeat and figure the difference. You are looking for 1/8 inch toed in at the front. That method is far more accurate than any bullshit string and stick nonsense anyone in the spit and whittle club puts out.

 

I had a customer come in with a '66 Nova for an alignment and I shook down the front end. The car needed a tie rod and something else. The car had new tires on it. He says he would change the parts and come back for the alignment.

He comes back after driving it for 2 weeks. The front tires were wiped out, badly feather-edged down to the cords. New tie rods, etc. But he knew nothing regarding at least a rough adjustment to get it close.

Definitely check the toe. I used to measure the old ones, grease fitting to grease fitting and make sure the new ones were close.

I've also seen very loose tie rod sleeves rotate and change the toe.

 

Go for it. It'd have to be visually totally out of whack to do severe damage in 24mi. IMO. But yeah, finish it and get it lined up.

 

`If you should be concerned for tire wear,
Make time to save the heat of f-way ride, and slow as you go on the street.

 

I took photos of the old tie rod and close ups to duplicate it with the new one. I didn’t measure it unfortunately and the parts had longer threads. The drums look roughly symmetrical positions. Like i said I was going to get an alignment but this would suffice to get me to the alignment shop . This was before my other ride broke down.

 

The tires are old and ugly. I don’t mind a little wear.

 

Tires out of alignment are more like skis than they are tires.

Old trick.
Spread some newspapers out on the cement. Drive over them with your front tires. If the newspapers stay flat and don't get wrinkled or bunched up, the alignment is probably pretty close.

 

My next issue is getting the sway bar on . How do I get the nut on? I tried jacking this side up but it started lifting the whole car.

 

I switched the bolt and put it from the top going down. Is that okay? Originally the nut was at the top .

 

^^^
Does not matter on Up or down .
Putting bolts / nuts in / on ,

Play with all the attaching points , install loose to get all started .
Some times C clamp , prybare , up & down on jack ,ext, needed to help make it easier. .

 

Okay got it back together and took it for a test drive down the street. The steering wheel isn’t centered but it does drive pretty straight. It does sit higher with the new side. Can I do a quick adjustment to the tie rod to make the steering wheel straight? I know I can remove the steering wheel and adjust it there?
I think it’ll get me by for 4 drives.

 

If the steering wheel was straight before I wouldn’t move it
Put the steering wheel straight then look at the tires. Adjust from there
This is where 2 strings and 2 jack stands come in handy

 

Yeah the wheel was straight before I started the work. I was going to leave it where it was but had to turn it a few times and lost track where the original spot was.

 

Fryburger would

 

From your description you didn't disturb anything from the steering wheel to the steering box to the right side. For purposes of this exercise we can call all that good.
I would turn the steering wheel to center, hold it there while rolling or driving the car forward a couple of feet to load the steering components. If you have a piece of heavy duty trash bag, a couple of layers of that under the drivers side front wheel will act as a turn plate to allow the tire to move with reduced friction as you make your adjustment. From the position of the steering wheel my gut feeling is you are toed in too far.
When you go back to finish the other side you might want to check your left side tie rod for the position of the grease fittings. If the ends are like the old ones, right now you have the inner grease fitting pointing at the frame and the outer pointing at the tire.