Alignment specs needed

[kens65fb]

I'm going to have the front end aligned tomorrow as the Ranchero is finally ready to road test.
The front end consists of Dropem & Stopem 2 1/2 inch drop spindle brake kit.
ST Fabrications R&P unit
225-50-17 tires.

What would be the best specs to use for front end alignment.

[lalessi1]

Factory specs are;
      Caster     1/2 - 1 degrees (positive)
      Camber   1/2 - 1 degrees (positive)
      Toe In     1/16-1/8 inches

In my opinion the car will corner and handle better with 1/2 - 1 degrees negative camber and as much positive caster as you can get 3-4 degrees (if possible). 1/16" toe in. Just my thoughts, that is what I am going to try when I get there.

[hiball3985]

Factory specs are;
      Caster     1/2 - 1 degrees (positive)
      Camber   1/2 - 1 degrees (positive)
      Toe In     1/16-1/8 inches

In my opinion the car will corner and handle better with 1/2 - 1 degrees negative camber and as much positive caster as you can get 3-4 degrees (if possible). 1/16" toe in. Just my thoughts, that is what I am going to try when I get there.

"Camber   1/2 - 1 degrees (positive)"? Is that from the factory manual?

[SkylinerRon]

The factory settings decrease the effort required by manual steering.
Modern settings will increase handling quite a bit.

Ron.

[kens65fb]

Thanks, it's good to have the factory settings.
With the power rack & pinion setup, should the specs be tweaked, for better handling, or stick to the factory settings ??
For the guys out there who have installed the S&T Fabrications, what specs worked best for you.?
Thanks

[lalessi1]

The specs I gave you were from the factory manual. The camber was not actually specified as positive or negative, but I believe that positive camber was the common setting in older cars to even out tire wear for a loaded vehicles with bias ply tires.  With power R&P steering you want a lot of positive caster. The 57 Ford stock suspension won't let you adjust caster very much so get as much as you can. Positive caster increases steering effort AND straight line stability.