Toe in dimension

JtownJoe

JtownJoe

Senior Member
I have read different toe in spec's and I'm under the impression that about 1/8" is correct at about 16" high on a mid May 1930 production model (Tudor). Also some claim 3/16" is correct.
Mine is set at 1/8" now and steering box is very good with much less than 1" play in the wheel but I do get some wondering when cruising and wondered if 3/16" might help but I want to stay in line with suggested spec's.
Anyone know what is the correct measurement?
 
Service bulletin page 282 says that toe in was changed from (3/16ths or 1/4) ...

The new spec is 1/16th plus or minus 1/32nd.

This is to reduce tire wear.
 
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JtownJoe said:
I have read different toe in spec's and I'm under the impression that about 1/8" is correct at about 16" high on a mid May 1930 production model (Tudor). Also some claim 3/16" is correct.
Mine is set at 1/8" now and steering box is very good with much less than 1" play in the wheel but I do get some wondering when cruising and wondered if 3/16" might help but I want to stay in line with suggested spec's.
Anyone know what is the correct measurement?
Click to expand...

The chains on my gauge are set at 8 inches above the floor.
 
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Hi Joe,

Appears the Model A Forums are loaded with toe-in adjustment opinions, (main cause of tire wear), using everything to check same from a 39 cent curtain rod, to wood blocks, to different alignment tools, and/or to driving to a friend's front end wheel alignment apparatus.

On the other hand, few discussions mention the wandering effects that can be caused by differences in right and left camber settings on easily bent, 80 year old Model A axles.

On a vintage Model A, this far more difficult camber adjustment involves re-bending, or straightening a bent Model A front axle to provide equal camber on both sides.

For an inexpensive Shade-Tree-Camber-Check, one can park a Model A on one's garage floor with the two front wheels resting on shimmed, perfectly level wood blocks, where wheels will be resting on a dead level surface from left to right with equally inflated tires.

Next, one can use a carpenter's level held vertically to measure the distance from this vertical carpenter's level to the outer parts of the upper and lower surfaces of the steel rims to verify how the wheels' vertical angles relates to this 90 degrees angle.

Lots of alignment information on same on the internet.

Just another Model A adjustment to think about when you are trying to go to sleep.
 
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That sounds like a great ide! . Easy enough to set up my A on a a set of level suface blocks to check the camber on each wheel but as I discovered while verifying the toe in only one of my 4 wheels appears to be without some wobble. I have my best two up front assuming any run out would be less of a problem on the rear wheels. I'll try to find one more nearly perfect wheel and give that a try.
Thanx for the suggestion. Sounds like I'm OK on the toe in so I'm not going to fool with that.
 
My Model A will wander slightly if the road has low wear troughs from heavy traffic use. It tracks great on roads without the wear lanes. I set my Model A toe-in to factory specs of 1/16".
 
I had horrible tire wear but the car tracked beautifully. A guy at a car show told me that the toe in was set too severe because of the cut of the tread. It was around 1/4"+

I set the toe-in 1/16-1/8" at the (front - rear) center of the wheels using a plywood device I made myself although I have seen better units built by other people.

The tire wear now after five years has been minimal but the car does wander on some roads and not others. I can't say it is the tire wear troughs that you can see on some roads like Tom mentions, but there are other roads that seem fine and the front end jumps around if you are not careful. Bumpy roads and gravel country roads, the car tracks perfectly fine.

That toe in needs to be minimal.

JackD
 
I measure the Toe from the bottom of the radius rod [ about 9" if I remember correctly] fro the rear and that same height at the front. Always roll the vehicle forward when measuring/adjusting this. I set the Toe at 1/32-1/16". 1/8" is quite a bit.
 
When I ever need to check Vermin, I'll do what what's his face said, push 2 straight pins in the tire tread at the rear, 6" off the floor, measure, roll it forward & measure AGAIN. As Chief said, "CLOSE ENOUGH FOR ALL PRACTICAL PURPOSES & FARM EQUIPTMENT"
Hardest part is gettin' the Dog to hold the ruler steady!
Bill Oak
 
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Thanx, all for the replies. It may be a little too strong on the toe in but I'm not having tire wear issues so I won't fix what isn't broke.
I will check the camber as one side of my garage floor is perfectly level from "side to side", I'll just try to keep any run out on the wheels to limited the front or back.
 
Hi Joe,

On the above reply no. 5 Model A camber check using a carpenter's level, many guys in the past used a used horizontal roll of Kodak 35mm film attached to the level ........... Kodak 35 mm film, what is that?

Anyway, an alternative to rolls of film is to use a 1/2" or 3/4" PVC nipple held horizontally at the top and bottom of the carpenter's level with rubber bands so they can protrude outward to touch the outer parts of the top and bottom of the Model A steel wheel rims.

A little too much or a little too little camber is not very bad if the right and left camber measurement is equal ..... however, the wander gets bad when camber measurements vary from left to right ..... and especially is one camber is (+) positive and one camber is (-) negative ....... not uncommon after 80+ years.

Hope this helps.
 
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