I am in the process of restoring my 69 mustang and need some help. I don't want to pay for a shop front end allignment since I plan on getting new springs on the car and replacing some of the bushings, etc. pretty soon. In the meantime, car is pulling right so is there something I can do to improve things on my own? I've never messed with allignment before so nothing to advanced, just looking for something simple I can do as an interim step till I get it alligned at the shop. Oh also I plan on getting one of those bushing kits and see alot of different ones. Which one is a good choice for restorations on a budget. Not interested in a race car or show car, just power cruiser.

Thanks in advance!

 

the cost of a alignment is cheaper than tires.
If you drive a few miles out of speck you trash a tire.
There are specks and how to's out there I just find it simpler to pay 50$

 

Before you do, lower the upper control arms 1". It'll dramatically improve handling, much more than fancy bushings, and all it'll cost is an afternoon and drilling 4 holes.

http://site.cobranda.com/tech/aarms.pdf

 

get a November copy of MustangMonthly, or http://www.mustangmonthly.com/index.html

 

I have a subscription to mustang monthly but don't think I have the nov yet. Course my boys read the mags too so maybe they nabbed it before i saw it. I will track it down and take a look. Thanks for the tips but is there not a quick adjustment I could make just to take some of the pull right out till I get my suspension parts installed? Like I said, I hate to get an allignment when I am ordering new suspension parts either this week or next. HOpefully that mustang monthly article will give me some good ideas.

 

you gotta know why its pulling. Summit and Jegs sell an alignment tool for less than $200, and you could get it close with that, if you know how to do them. Knowing which way to turn the bolt or adjuster, where to add shims, it can get interesting and you can make things worse if you dont pay attention. But you can do it yourself with a bit of education and patience.

You will need both of these, because its probably a problem with toe.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SPS-91000/
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SPS-91100/

 

We did our own alignment with the Summit tool listed by THUMPIN455. It takes awhile on a 65 or 66 because of shims but it eventually comes in to specs.
The tool is pretty easy to use and set up especially on a car without shims.
The alignment tool directions:
http://static.summitracing.com/globa.../sps-91000.pdf
Setting up the tool:
http://www.expertvillage.com/video/5...tup-caster.htm

Here are some good vids explaining camber caster and toe

Camber:
http://www.expertvillage.com/video/5...ent-camber.htm
http://www.expertvillage.com/video/5...mber-wrong.htm
http://www.expertvillage.com/video/5...ust-camber.htm

Castor:
http://www.expertvillage.com/video/5...easurement.htm
http://www.expertvillage.com/video/5...djustments.htm
http://www.expertvillage.com/video/5...irm-caster.htm

Toe in:
http://www.expertvillage.com/video/5...usting-toe.htm
Good Luck and BE Safe

 

thanks to that article, i got out and adjusted my toe to feel this morning and the car is driving way better now. not as much slop in the wheel and it returns to center a lot more than it did.

 

great vids, really makes alot more sense now. I think I found myself a good Christmas present for my Santa list

 

One thing to avoid is aligning one on the ground as they did in the vids. If the tires aren't allowed to slip you'll get bad readings on caster and camber - even toe without taking proper steps to insure the wheels are relaxed. Here's an example: put a framing square against your front tire after parking the car. With the framing square flat on the ground slide it to the tire centered on the spindle. Measure the gap at the top of the tire-to-square if you have negative camber, or the bottom of the tire-to-square if positive camber. Eyeballing will do. Now, raise the car with a jack in the center. Lower it back to the ground and do the framing square thing again. THAT'S why alignment shops use turn tables and slip plates. You can't do it on flat ground accurately.

Another thing: Unless their gauge uses a different scale for measuring caster, the normal turning point for caster checking is 10 degrees off center. Using standard tools will give a caster reading 1.5 times higher than the expected readings at 15 degrees. The tools shown has potential for a DIYer, but the technique needs a bit of help.