Bugeye Alignment

[SNClocks]

With the engine started up last Friday, and the Weber DCOE's preliminary tuned, timing set (32 degrees at 3000 rpm), SPAL PWM fan controller calibrated, M/E Wagner PCV calibrated, and no leaks, it was time to check the alignment. Previous restorer dropped the suspension with 1/2 inch spacers on the spring caps, so knew the toe in would be off a bit after I removed them.

This shot shows the set-up I use for doing my own alignment work.

The light-blue straight thingy in front of the tires is an 8 foot level that I use to make sure the lift is flat. It was. Amazing. As you can see, both front tires are on rotating tables. Before being able to afford rotating tables I would roll the car back and then forward after making each change to the toe-in settings. I then taped the ends of a pair of tape measures to the edge of one of the treads on the left-hand tires - one to the front, one to the rear, roughly the same height - which happened to be the height of the two wooden blocks on the right-hand side of the car. With the tapes running under the car, but not touching the underside, I was able to drape the tapes over the wooden blocks - making it pretty easy to check the distance from a given tread on the front and back of the tires. The difference is the toe-in - as the name suggests - its the amount that the front of the tires are closer to each-other than the back of the tires. I set the toe-in at 1/16 inch.

I also have an old Snap-on alignment tool that lets me check the camber and, if I want, the caster. These little buggers are not set up to adjust camber, though you can apparently buy offset lower a-arm bushings that shift it by a degree or so. NTL, checked the camber. Left was +0.7 degrees, right was + 0.6 degrees. Granted, it would be nice if it was 0 to a little negative, but I am pretty pleased they match so well.

I have fitted a new aluminum radiator. Thinking about it, realizing the concerns with galvanic attack, I inserted a zinc anode in the bottom drain hole. But, even with that, one needs to make sure there are no grounding issues on the car. Which is when I realized there was no ground strap on the engine when I bought the car. So, adding a ground strap today as well as an overflow tank for the radiator.

One of these first days I'll run out of things to fix!

 

[mezy]

Nice set up SN.
The only issue i can see is the point where the measuurement is taken, it should be measured at the centre line of the hub.
from wheel rim to wheel rim, you can't expect the trye tread to be acurate enough,
by measuring below centre line in the lower 2/3rds of the wheel the actual toe in will be greater than measured.

 

[SNClocks]

Mezy - thank you for the kind words. The set-up is what happens when you get old and just keep buying tools. Oh, and have a very understanding wife.

Alignment is interesting. So many folks have no way of grasping the impact of a car being out of alignment. I suppose what they would say is "something doesn't feel right". Back in college I drove a Fiat 850, back and forth from Golden to Grand Junction, Colorado. Over a couple of mountain passes. For me, alignment was what kept my little car from dodging to one side or the other as I went from glare ice to bare pavement. The thing was, the alignment had to be changed if I had a lady friend in the car with me. I became quite proficient at laying under the front of the car and changing the toe-in. And putting on tire chains.

How I survived all those drives remains a mystery. Especially given the early drives were before the tunnel was finished. Danged.

Your comment on the location for measuring toe in is spot on. It is an approximation where I measure it. Flip side, let's use 0.7 degree camber. And assume I am 3 inches off of centerline. Hmmm. Using tangents and the like, I would be off by .036" on each tire. Or, 1/16" total. More significant than I figured off the top of my head, but within the + or - 1/16" usually quoted.

If camber is more than 0.7, either way, this becomes more significant. Thank you for pointing this out.

Then there are the tread blocks. Honestly, the bigger issue is are the rims straight. I didn't mention but before dropping the tires on the swivel plates I spin the tires and make sure there is no wobble. Whilst I have not set up a dial indicator on one of the circumferential ridges in the tread, they look pretty darned in line. In my defense, having used the tread blocks for the last 50 years, well, seems to work. Granted, there are tires with tread blocks that are designed to not be in alignment. One has to be more careful choosing his/her blocks at that point.

Reminds me of my first couple of alignment jobs, way back, when I had no money but did have a tape measure and a carpenters square - or at least my dad did. I had befriended an old coot (which I suppose would now describe yours truly) who ran the alignment shop at a local tire dealer. He had an old Bear alignment rig - which included a pair of plates that you drove the car across. As the tires traversed the plate the attached mechanism showed the toe-in. Back in those days I didn't even try to adjust caster angles, but he told me my toe and camber were perfect on the two cars I got him to check for me.

Bottom line - thank you Mezy for your kind comments and guidance.

 

[mezy]

A Guy i worked with had a MK1 cortina many moons ago, before i was actually old enought to drive,
if you put a front wheel between a pair of white lines on the road you could let go of the steering wheel and the car would follow the white line.
A bit like a Scalextric car. I was gob smacked.
He also had that many spot lights accross the front, all with twin fillament bulbs wired together, I swear the car would slow down if he turned them all on at the same time, and at lower revs would cause a misfire.

 

[Trevor Jessie]

It looks as if you are running a relatively wide tire. I can honestly say that I noticed a difference when I went from positive 1.1 degrees to negative 1.5 degrees. Obviously, there are many variables, but I noticed less understeer at autocross speeds. I did not notice much difference in street driving, but I suspect it may be better in hard corners that I'm not interested in finding the limits at that speed.