Just Set Toe ...WOW It Helped

Yup. Good recommendation. I've been using my Snap-On alignment tool since the late 1980's and it looks just like your AutoZone gauge. It's almost bulletproof when setting the toe-in on Model A's. The only glitch is the label on the gauge face. It has "Toe-Out" printed on both extremes! Shouldn't one read "Toe-In??? How can both ends be "Toe-Out"??? At least the picture on the User's Instructions page shows the gauge face with both Toe-In and Toe-Out in their proper places. How did the misprint on the gauge itself get by QC inspection??? Shame on you, Snap-On! :) :) :)
Marshall
 
When I bought my gauge 55 years ago it was called "a Duby Gauge".

It looks similar to the gauge pictured in the Service Bulletins.
 
I have been using the same Amazon tool that Jim uses for about 8 years, and it works well.
 
Reduced to bare basics, all these tools are just big spring-loaded rulers, aren't they? 'Can't get much simpler than that. Any of the designs shown so far should do the job handily. 'Don't need Bear Alignment high tech equipment to set a Model A's toe-in!
M.
 
It matters how high from the ground you measure the toe , how did/do you measure off the ground with the yard stick trick , spring loaded shower rods ? With the tool from post #1 (which I have ) I measured the chains and found them longer than the 6 inch , Ford service manual says to measure the toe at 6 inches from the ground . If you measure too far up from the ground doesn’t this decrease the toe in ? I’ve read that radial tires need less toe in than bias supply tires ?! Is this true ?
 
The homemade tool I use has a fixed height of about 12-14", been using it for about 40 or 50 years on various vehicles and never had a problem w/tire wear. Usually set toe-in at 1/16".
 
Bruce of MN said:
How much less than the recommended 1/16" - 1/8" can you measure?
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The Service Bulletins initially said to set the toe-in at 3/16" to 1/4" (page 239). That proved to be too much and resulted in excess tire wear.

They later corrected it to be 1/16", plus or minus 1/32" (page 282).

The spring loaded "shower curtain rod tool" has a scale marked in 1/16" increments. So I aim for the 1/16" line, but if the pointer falls in the gap before or after that 1/16" line, it's close enough.
 
Big hammer said:
It matters how high from the ground you measure the toe , how did/do you measure off the ground with the yard stick trick , spring loaded shower rods ? With the tool from post #1 (which I have ) I measured the chains and found them longer than the 6 inch , Ford service manual says to measure the toe at 6 inches from the ground . If you measure too far up from the ground doesn’t this decrease the toe in ? I’ve read that radial tires need less toe in than bias supply tires ?! Is this true ?
Click to expand...

I can't find where in the Service Bulletins it says to measure toe-in 6 inches above the ground. Please point us to that page number.

When I use the "spring loaded shower curtain rod tool" (also in Post #1, but I got mine from Amazon) it has chains that hang down that you start and finish the measurements at. It looks just like the tool in the Service Bulletins. So that controls where the measurements are taken on the sides of the tires.

When I used the 2 yardsticks, I just eyeballed it to be about the same height above the ground, around 8 to 10 inches, when measuring in front and back. It was less precise, but good enough.

Toe-in is a front end wheel geometry thing and has little to do with the tire construction. The main alignment changes that I have seen on cars from the 60's that went from bias-ply to radial-ply tires is that the radials like a bit more caster. We can't really adjust that on the Model A, so that's it. Keep the toe-in the same.
.
 
For what it's worth...I used the tool and for fun rolled the car slightly back or slightly forward to see if the exact measurement of the chain "just touching" the floor was critical. In my opinion it was not. I am working on a wooden shed floor...both chains started at the same distance...one ended up a little tiny bit higher than the other. I set the toe at 1/16 in but if as I research it...up to 1/4 would be acceptable...maybe not preferable....HEY I started at 1/2 inch OUT! It changed the handling dramatically!
 
Was it the 1936 manual or later ? Found on line and didn’t save my findings , my question is does it matter how high off of the ground you measure toe ? 6 inches or a foot or at the hub height ( which I no isn’t possible ) I wouldn’t have made my chain length 6 inches from the 8 inches on the tool
 
On another related note....AHHH at 68 and laying the floor, the radio playing and getting dirty and slowly making the right adjustment, testing, readjusting, rolling the old gal around...It keeps you young. Old cars are pretty cool but a pain in just the right amount.
 
Here is what I use. Simple, quick, accurate as any, no need to roll car forward or back, best of all cheap - made with scrap wood.
It makes virtually no difference how high you measure. Picture two flat vertical wooden boards pointed slightly in. Measure between them front and back. Up or down, its the same difference. Horizontal distance between the measurement points makes little difference. Simple geometry. Camber also makes no difference. The common 6" height mentioned is probably just convenient to clear obstructions.
 

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Big hammer said:
Was it the 1936 manual or later ? Found on line and didn’t save my findings , my question is does it matter how high off of the ground you measure toe ? 6 inches or a foot or at the hub height ( which I no isn’t possible ) I wouldn’t have made my chain length 6 inches from the 8 inches on the tool
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I have the attached specs from 1936. Maybe this is what you are remembering. They pretty much say 3/32" (at the upper end of the range in the Model A Service Bulletins). They don't say how to measure it.
 

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Found it ! Sorta , not ford service manual ,Marco’s old site in the way back machine , if you measure at the hub cap height or near the thread instead of at the sidewall the difference is minimal, 1/50 th or 1/27 th greater than on the sidewall . MARC has Marco’s abarnyard.com saved !
 
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