camber angel on ford model a axle

I wonder what ford model a front axle camber angel is?

What is the ultimate camber angel on a i-beam axle?

 

????

 

7-8 degrees, more if you go fast.

 

i have dropped an a ford axle and i went with 2 degrees negativ camber. is that to mutch or will that give the car better handling?

With a modern front end and negativ camber angel the car handle better but how is it with old i-beam axles?

 

your gonna need more than that. 6-7 is usually the correct number.

 

I have 2 degrees negativ camber angel when i have put together the axle whit spindle and drums.

 

No offence, but when you say camber angle, I ***ume you mean the kingpin angle side to side and not front to back. If that's the case I can't help, but it might clear up some confusion.

 

Do you mean camber or caster?

 

This is camber angels

 

-2 to 0 on camber. Tinman is talking caster. That would usually be 6-8 degrees.

 

Yea it sounds like he is talking about Camber and everyone else is talking Caster, but I'm not real sure because I don't know what Camber should be. I have a stock and dropped axle I could measure tomorrow if you haven't gotten an answer by then.

 

i have 2 degrees negativ camber angel on my wheels.

on a modern car is 2 degree good but how is it on a i-beam?

 

Stock they have positive camber

 

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=162096&highlight=camber+degrees+beam

 

so negative angel is no good on i-beam axels?

 

Not that it's no good. It's not appropriate for poor conditions and bias ply tires. Negative camber, tire leaning in at top, helps with higher speed handling where cenrifugal force causes body roll, putting more weight on the outside front wheel which stands it up straight. Positive camber, tire leaning out at top, would result in reduced road contact in the same conditions, but works fine on rough roads at lower speeds. Unless you have a very specific need, strange road manners or signifigant tire wear, there is little need to worry with camber.
New beam axles are usually built with 0 - +1.5*, Used axles can be found near zero, building one for higher speeds would warrant 0 to -1.5* or so. A friend ust measured his '34 Ford 1.5 ton truck at 0* and found reference somewhere saying that was correct.

Just check to see if it is within these minimal ranges and then factor in your intended usage.

 

Thanks for the answer

 

That's useful information, scottybaccus, thanks.

A lot of early manufacturers used a fair amount of positive camber in an effort to reduce scrub radius and thereby ensure that steering wasn't too heavy at low speeds. It wasn't understood until later why that arrangement often produced stable handling characteristics in cars with parallel leaf spring front and rear, as the theory was only developed later. It was because a bit of outward camber thrust tended to compensate for the lack of front roll stiffness brought about by the front spring base being considerably narrower than the rear. There must have been some understanding of that in practice, though, since buggy-sprung Fords worked fine with around zero camber.

 

My bad, it was late, err early.

 

"The purpose of the camber angle is to put the load on the large inner wheel bearing."

"Toe-in requirements are lessened as camber is decreased."

"The average car will handle satisfactorily without camber; however, under such a condition the load on the outer wheel bearing is increased and premature failure may occur. Generally speaking, a camber of less than 1/4 degree is not advisable."

Source: Ford Service School: Wheel Alignment, copyright 1936, The Ford Motor COmpany.

 

I also think its important to understand that there is also a positive camber built into the spindles. So what ever caster you want to end up with you can't put it all into the axle. You have to subtract the amount that is in the spindles or you will have too much.

 

I always hope I can get a camber angel to watch over me when i drive....

 

what?

 

Look at a round back spindle. The king pin angle is not the same as the camber on the wheel. You need to be sure to factor both when working with a bare axle. You measure on the spindle face when ***embled.

 

I think that the spindles have 8 degrees of camber ant the axles have 9 degrees giving a 1 degree after ***embly.

 

I think you guys might be talking about king pin inclination, which doesn't effect camber unless you've got some seriously worn king pins! Camber is measured at the wheel, not the king pins. Oh, bent spindles too!

 

I believe king-pin inclination on early Ford axles is 8°. If the angle between the king-pin and spindle axes is 81°, the result would be 1° positive camber.

90°-81°=9° (i.e. between the king-pin and the mounting flange); 9°-8°=1°.

But is the king-pin-axis-to-spindle-axis angle indeed 81°?

 

it is what it is shim the hubcaps to fix it

 

Camber on a solid axle doesn't change with body roll like it does with an a-arm setup (where the upper a-frame mount moves slightly outward with body roll) so set your camber as close to zero as you can, maybe 1/2 degree (max) negative camber to account for tire flex/rollover in a corner and you should be happy.

Caster will depend on how much weight you have on the front end and if you've eaten your spinach, but OEM +/- a degree should do fine in most cases unless you have a race car. You might want an extra half degree more/positive on the right side to compensate for road crown (though I personally don't).

King Pin Inclination isn't adjustable and can't be changed unless you have a custom made spindle. Depending on what you do with your wheel widths and offsets this may or may not become an issue. Generally don't worry about it unless you have a problem.

Al in CT

 

Exactally.