I'm pretty desperate; I can't drive it, don't want to sell it, but can't afford the fix that everyone recommends. Got any ideas?Chet BakerVia the Internet
A.We can certainly appreciate your dilemma, and we really do understand not wanting to part with a car you love. Most of all, we applaud your unwillingness to pass your problem onto some unsuspecting buyer. And we know there's nothing worse than paying for the same job twice.
Although most front suspension manufacturers understand the variables involved when building a street rod chassis and allow enough adjustment so proper alignment can be achieved, we always recommend mocking up the car at ride height when starting construction. That means knowing the diameter, or having the wheels and tires on hand that will be used, taking the rake the car will have into consideration, and roughing in the frontend alignment, engine placement, and pinion angle before anything is welded solid. Of course, veteran chassis builders take all these things into consideration during construction, and most have built the same combination often enough to know where everything goes.
Unfortunately, it sounds as though you were the victim of inexperience; but for every problem there's a solution, so here are some thoughts on how to cure yours. First, make sure the bolt-on components are installed on the chassis correctly; more specifically, take a close look at the control arms. Are the ball joints offset in the control arms so swapping them side for side would increase caster? If assembly of all parts appears to be correct, call the manufacturer and explain the problem-they may have a solution. It's remotely possible you have the wrong combination of components.
Finally, there is the old "if you can't raise the bridge, lower the river approach." Caster is the inclination of the ball joints, and in your case you can't move the uppers to the rear far enough to get the proper adjustment, so why not move the bottoms forward?
Most aftermarket independent front suspensions have tubes through the crossmember for the bolts that hold the lower control arms. By trimming the backside of the tubes and adding shims between the front side of the crossmember and the lower control arms, the bottom control arms/ball joint will move forward and increase caster. Don't cut and shim any more than necessary; try 1/8-inch at a time.
Let us know how it works out.
R.I took a chance and cut the lower tubes as you suggested and put hardened, Grade 8 washers between the front of the crossmember and the lower control arms. The washers were about 3/16-inch thick. I took the car back to the alignment shop and they were able to adjust it properly. The good news is the car now drives like I always thought it should, and I love it more than ever.Thanks,Chet