Hey guys, just wondering before I get my 67 front end alignment done. Will I need to redo this alignment once I switch over to disc brakes in the near future?
wheel alignment/disc brake conversion 67' camaro
johnny67
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Be sure to use modern alignment specs on my page, especially if you will be using wider than stock radial tires.
If you won't be cornering aggressively on a regular basis, use .25 deg neg camber, and tell the alignment guy to set as much positive caster as he can achieve, - usually it's around +3 to +3.5 degrees. Set toe in to 1/16" to 1/8"
If you won't be cornering aggressively on a regular basis, use .25 deg neg camber, and tell the alignment guy to set as much positive caster as he can achieve, - usually it's around +3 to +3.5 degrees. Set toe in to 1/16" to 1/8"
I wrote down your specs David and I will give them to the alignment guy. I have the Hotchkis coils and leafs and 235/60/15 tires 7" rims in front 255/60/15 on 8" rims in back. If I was to corner hard would I go with .5 neg camber?
If you're going to be swapping out spindles and you don't have any issues with tire wear or the car pulling one way or the other, or issues with it being "twichy" at speed, then I agree you're probably better off waiting until after the disc install. Note that if you wanted to (and had wheels large enough to fit them) you could use your existing drum spindles and install an LS1 or corvette disc brake setup up front for not much more than a "factory" type system. I'm not trying to convince you one way or the other, just thought I'd mention it since these systems re-use the stock spindles and would be less needy of a re-alignment.
Also -- make sure (before you drop the car off) that the alignment shop you take it to has shims and is able to align a car with shims. I took my Camaro to a local Firestone joint and (after waiting like 2 hours) they told me they couldn't align it since they didn't have any shims
I guess they get spoiled with all the newer cars with adjustable cam bolts and threaded tierods.As far as cost goes, something in the $40-$60 for a front-only alignment is in the ballpark around here.
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4 wheel alignments are free if you do them yourself. all it takes is a couple of wrenches, a pry bar, 2 jackstands, some string, a carpenter's square, a tape measure, a level floor, and TIME.
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As a fromer professional alignment maechanic that has lost his tools I'm curious how to set caster with the above mentioned tools.
Jeff
The alignment guy comes highly recommended and knows his muscle cars. I will definitely get new spindles though since mine are original when I do the disc brake conversion.
Can you guys tell me more about getting the rear wheels aligned? I just had new hotchkis leafs installed by my mechanic, do I need to get them checked out as well.
Can you guys tell me more about getting the rear wheels aligned? I just had new hotchkis leafs installed by my mechanic, do I need to get them checked out as well.
I got the alignment done for the first time ever. Of course it never is a straight forward job when it comes to a 41 year old camaro. He had to replace the pitman arm tie rod sleeves and one tie rod. He also adjusted the steering box (said it's a little tired) and aligned the steering column. The rear end needed to be adjusted since it was not in the right spot. And lastly aligned the front wheels to the specs that David supplied. He said the drivers front wheel is slightly back a little due to a hit (which elongated the A arm holes that were since repaired) but he could not see why it was back a little since there were no visible signs.
The end result is an awesome driving 67', I could not believe the difference. It feels like a real corner carver now and gives me alot more confidence with this powerful machine.
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The end result is an awesome driving 67', I could not believe the difference. It feels like a real corner carver now and gives me alot more confidence with this powerful machine.
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oh, yeah- i forgot the angle gauge that you use on the balljoint studs...
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Keep talkin, as I would love to be able to align my car in the drive without turn plates and a caster/camber gage.
Jeff
I replaced all of the front suspension parts during my restoration and converted to 4-wheel disk.
When I put it together for paint and final assembly, I only put one shim into each position. Needless to say there was no alignment.
Last week I finally got the car done and would be doing some road testing.
I needed to get the alignment close and decided to "ballpark" it on my own with a plan to take it right away to get it aligned.
I used a Craftsman digital protractor (accurate to 1/10 degree) and some steel square tubing that I cut to fit the edge of the rims. I held it in place with bungees and set camber first. Then using my HF car dollies, I rotated the wheel one turn in each direction and recorded the angles. Adjusted the shims until I got 3 degrees caster. Next using a steel straight edge on the lower sidewall of each tire I adjusted toe in.
I was amazed at how well it turned out.
My nephew works at a tire store and put on their laser alignment rack.
I gave him Dave Pozzi’s specs.
With my ******* alignment I only needed to removed one thin shim from the right rear and tweak the toe in a little.
The car drives and handles great!
Not to mention that she is finally back on the road after 4 years!
Don
When I put it together for paint and final assembly, I only put one shim into each position. Needless to say there was no alignment.
Last week I finally got the car done and would be doing some road testing.
I needed to get the alignment close and decided to "ballpark" it on my own with a plan to take it right away to get it aligned.
I used a Craftsman digital protractor (accurate to 1/10 degree) and some steel square tubing that I cut to fit the edge of the rims. I held it in place with bungees and set camber first. Then using my HF car dollies, I rotated the wheel one turn in each direction and recorded the angles. Adjusted the shims until I got 3 degrees caster. Next using a steel straight edge on the lower sidewall of each tire I adjusted toe in.
I was amazed at how well it turned out.
My nephew works at a tire store and put on their laser alignment rack.
I gave him Dave Pozzi’s specs.
With my ******* alignment I only needed to removed one thin shim from the right rear and tweak the toe in a little.
The car drives and handles great!
Not to mention that she is finally back on the road after 4 years!
Don
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just do what i did, and make it up as you go. keep in mind that i did this back in the spring of 2003, so my memory may be a bit fuzzy. i think i got it all documented on this site, so feel free to search away.
when i did my Nova, i started with a bare subframe that i did the G mod to- except instead of using the template from David Pozzi's site "as is", i moved the holes back something like 1/4" farther than what the template was set up for to give me a little more caster before doing anything else. i was right at the edge of the upper control arm mount, so i couldn't go any further.
once the car was back together and at full weight, i just started by adding a couple of extra shims to the rear stud. i then added a couple of more shims to give me something like 4 degrees on my cheap magnetic mount angle finder. then i used the carpenter's square to set the camber by putting the top of the tire a little bit in from the bottom- like 1/8" or so, i can't remember. then i used the string strung between the jackstands- using the rear tire as a reference point- to set a little bit of toe-in while keeping the steering wheel centered.
oh, yeah- when i was putting the bare subframe under the car, i used the "jackstand and string" method- along with a bunch of X measurements- to get the frame in within 1/16" of perfectly square. i tried for perfection, but that was the limit to how good i could get it without knocking things all wonky by trying to make it better.
the car drove perfectly straight with a perfectly centered steering wheel, and had absolutely no bumpsteer or any sort of quirkiness when taking corners or hitting bumps. it just drove awesome and smooth- even with the 550 lb front springs.
anyways, about a month after getting it on the road, i took it to the repair shop that my cousin worked at (which was owned by a Nova freak) to help him get used to the new alignment machine they had just gotten installed about a week before. all of my settings were almost dead on to David Pozzi's recommended settings, so we didn't change a thing and i drove it like that for two more summers before trading the car for my Monte Carlo, and after almost 20,000 miles, i had no signs of uneven tire wear and it drove perfect in all weather conditions- dry and wet pavement, mildly flooded pavement, thru a hail storm, in a freak blizzard, down wet and dry gravel roads..
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Kool! Thanks I hope others find this info as helpful as I.
Jeff
Jeff
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