Alignment Question

[rovohn]

Hi Folks
I just did the 77 Tbird disc brake conversion but still have too much +camber, does anyone know if there is an offset upper control arm cross shaft available or what my options might be?
Thanks,John

[gasman826]

The link is to an older discussion starting at REPLY #2.  One solution but not the only one.

http://57fordsforever.com/smf/index.php?topic=7579.msg64932#msg64932

[hiball3985]

Is that +3 with all shims removed?
And another dumb question, Did you put many miles on it after the change to let things settle in?

[gasman826]

That was 2-1/2+ on one side and 2-3/8+ on the other side.  There was a little shim left for camber adjustment.  The rest of the front suspension was OE except for the sway bar and sway bar bushings.  I drove it several years without wearing out 10.5" tires.  The car is still cruising New Zealand with that setup.

[rovohn]

"I also installed Granada style spindles on the Raunch Wagon.  I didn't want to make the complicated (expensive and time consuming) frame modifications.  So this got down and dirty.  I cut a tapered slice out of the upper control arms.  I took about 3/16" out of the front and 5/16" out of the rear.  I welded them back together and added a little reinforcement.  I was able to achieve the alignment specs that I wanted.  The Raunch Wagon is lowered, has large front and rear sway bars, four wheel disc, large 17" tires, and is driven everyday (usually hard).  You just got to know when and where to cobble."

Hey gasman826,
Any chance you took pictures of the above control arm mods?
Thanks,John

[gasman826]

I looked but no pictures.  Isn't that the way of it.  I get so focused on what I doing that I completely forget to take pictures.  Once completed, metal finished and painted, pictures would just show an upper control arm.  On my '41 project, the custom frame has a Mustang II style front suspension with tube control arms.  If not model specific, universal control arms are widely available and affordable.  If I were doing it again, I would find or make adjustable, tube control arms.  Tubular control arms are lighter and stronger with better and cheaper bushings and stronger, cheaper and more available ball joints.  Even though the Custom frame was modified to add header clearance, add dive, and add caster adjustment, one of the future modifications will likely be an upgrade to tubular upper control arms.  The rubber control arm bushings are too close to one of the header tubes and has signs of heat damage.  Adjustable tube control arms with heims joint ends with a heat shield will solve the problem.

[rovohn]

I looked but no pictures.  Isn't that the way of it.  I get so focused on what I doing that I completely forget to take pictures.  Once completed, metal finished and painted, pictures would just show an upper control arm.  On my '41 project, the custom frame has a Mustang II style front suspension with tube control arms.  If not model specific, universal control arms are widely available and affordable.  If I were doing it again, I would find or make adjustable, tube control arms.  Tubular control arms are lighter and stronger with better and cheaper bushings and stronger, cheaper and more available ball joints.  Even though the Custom frame was modified to add header clearance, add dive, and add caster adjustment, one of the future modifications will likely be an upgrade to tubular upper control arms.  The rubber control arm bushings are too close to one of the header tubes and has signs of head damage.  Adjustable tube control arms with heims joint ends with a heat shield will solve the problem.

Thanks for looking,I might go the Fatman tubular arm route,I just have to see who sell their products in Canada as the shipping from the US can be quite expensive
Cheers,John

[rovohn]

Hey Folks
I recall reading in another post there being 2 different size control arms 9" and 9 1/2"
I just got a pair of 59 arms and they are 9" measured from the grease nipple to the centre of the cross shaft
If someone has a loose 57 arm could you measure  one for me as Its pretty much impossible to measure accurately on the car
Thanks in advance
John,

[SkylinerRon]

All 57 thru 64 big car upper arms are the same.  Only difference is left and right sides.

Ron.

[59meteor]

All 57 thru 64 big car upper arms are the same.  Only difference is left and right sides.

Ron.

Considering 57 upper control arms use rubber sleeved bushings, and 58-9s(possibly later as well), use steel threaded bushings and shafts, wouldn`t the upper arms have different sized and finished holes for the bushings?

[lalessi1]

I changed my '57 upper control arms to '59 arms and they were different stampings all together. They used the early Mustang style "threaded" bushings. I was able to move the control arm rearward by adjusting the number of turns. I wound up with about 3 degrees of caster.

Here is a link to an older thread about the topic

http://57fordsforever.com/smf/index.php?topic=6165.msg49693#msg49693

[Frankenstein57]

 My 58 has torino spindles, I had my machine shop buddy mill about a 1/4 to 3/8s off the face of the cross shaft.  We have some bumpy ass  roads up here, no problems.  Mark