Just rebuilt the front end of Mama's 59 and now find myself wondering about alignment. I've measured across as best I can and think the tires are parallel. I've triangulated as best I can and they seem to be pointing straight so I'm sure it will get me to some place for an alignment. But I'd like to hear how I can adjust toe in/out more accurately, and maybe do the whole thing myself. I'm built that way.
You can buy a caster/camber gauge like the stock car racers use (Longacre, etc)for around $120. I've seen generic kits including a toe gauge for a hundred bucks on Ebay too. Seems there was a cheap tech piece here not long ago on making a home made toe gauge too.
I've done string alignments on my racecars for years with no problem. Here's a good write-up: http://www.circletrack.com/techarticles/rear_end_measurement_alignment/index.html Shawn
I do this for a living with the whole computer/camera set up. I'd bet it'd be easier the way I do it, but yes, it can be done at home. A guy came in once to show an old school way with a tape measure and string. He did the whole alignment this way, and when we checked it with our computer it was spot on.
You don't need to make any sort of toe in gauge. Jack each front tire up and using something to steady your hand scribe a line around the center of the tread with a pencil on each tire. If you hold your hand steady enough the line should come back around on it's self. Then let the car down, bounce it a few times by pushing down on the bumper on each corner and measure from line to line on the back side up as far as you can keep the tape straight and then from line to line on the front side at the same height. I've done a few hundred of them that way over the years. Camber you can get close to straight up with a level or angle finder but outside of having a gauge it's damned complicated to set the caster on an A frame car at home. I know someone will come up with some wild assed solution but get things close enough so that it won't eat the tires on the way to the alignment shop and then drive it in.
I've use a combination square (the thing with the steel ruler and the gizmo that slides on it, and has a bubble level) to check camber, you probably want the top of the rim sticking out about 1/8" more than the bottom. And the toe in you can do how others have mentioned. another way is to eyeball it on the side of the tire. if the front and rear have the same width at the outside of the tires, just make sure when you look at each front tire, the "line" is a little ways out fromthe rear tire, just under an inch. Of course this will only get it good enough to get you to the alignment shop...
I still can't find the one I was talking about - I found 'Goztriders' redneck tech $1.50 thread but that's not it either. In this one the guy had taken some 1" square tubing and made a sliding attachment with a pointer that you set at the center of the tire, then measured the difference at the front and rear of the tire for your toe. I'm interested as well - I've set toe before with string, etc just to get TO the alignment shop without shredding the tires, but being able to do your own complete alignment at home and tweak it for your own driving style would be pretty sweet. Around here the only 'old school' alignment guy is Alex Hendry in downtown Nashville. There's always a couple of hot rods and lifted 4x4's at his shop. What's funny is a lot of his business now is 'Donks'. Sounds pretty stupid but think what kind of know-how it takes to align those monstrositys up. Scotty, thanks for the tech, gonna read and re-read it right now.
Cheap, but I use the laser level from Harbor Freight. It has a line one the laser that you point to the rear tires.
You can make a toe guage out of one piece of square tube, 1/2 inch or 3/4 thats fairly heavy wall and thats 3 or so inches wider then track width. To this piece weld an upright on each end roughly 15 inches tall and then weld on some round pads on the inside of each upright at their ends. To use all you do is slide the fixture under the car, behind the front wheels, and then position to where the long tube is on the floor and the uprights are standing up and then with the wheels straight ahead, pull either side up snug against the sidewall of the tire and measure the distance from the sidewall to the round pad. Then remove the fixture and reposition to the front of the front tires and repeat measurement. The difference in distance is either toe in or out.
I have a early 70`s chrysler torsion bar suspension that has been on my 48 F1 SINCE 85 and I have never adjusted it.The truck drives great and does not wear out tires,Just lucky I guess.
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