Wheel Alignment

tomscott

tomscott

Member
Hello
I have a 1930 rolling chassis. The front wheels are not straight. The right wheel is about 1" out of plumb from top of wheel to bottom. The left wheel is .5" out of plumb. Are there any adjustments to straighten the wheels. Thanks
Tom
 
important to remember the weight of the body,engine ,etc will change your alignment. i usually don't mess with alignment until the car is assembled for that reason. the only adjustment is toe, but guys have bent the axles for camber problems. also note good springs are a must also ...
 
Wonder if this is common?? Before dissasembling my chassis I noticed the right front wheel tipped out at top noticebly...this without dropping string to check...why both right front wheel?? Dick
 
One vintage make-shift alignment test was:

1. To travel on a level, hard surfaced back-roads highway at about 45 mph & turn loose the steering wheel for about one (1) second.

2. If it pulls to one side, it is a problem; if not, it is usually good news.

3. If it dashes to one side & crashes into a utility pole, next time, on subsequent tests, first check your watch & practice to see how long is a second.
 
tomscott said:
Hello
I have a 1930 rolling chassis. The front wheels are not straight. The right wheel is about 1" out of plumb from top of wheel to bottom. The left wheel is .5" out of plumb. Are there any adjustments to straighten the wheels. Thanks
Tom
Click to expand...

Sounds like a bent axle. They can be straightened cold with a big press
 
I had the same problem, and thought I had a bent axel. Another member of my club suggested I just correct the toe in and that would probably take care of the camber problem too. I did the string alignment method and he was right. I had about an inch of toe out, and when I took care of that the camber problem was gone too. It drives well now and you can take your hands off the wheel briefly.
 
Changing the toe-in may alter the visual perception of the camber but will not actually alter it in any way.

Originally the cars had more camber than most Model A's today. The original camber was approximately 7/8" (farther out at the top) or 2 degrees on each side.

As far as the right side more commonly having a problem, that's conceivable. Good original right front fenders are tougher to find than left fronts. The passenger side was more prone to collision damage!
 
My one mentor always told me the passenger front side will have more problems then the driver. Remember 99% of your potholes are on the passenger side.
 
I have a 1930 fordor deluxe and the camber measures about the same as Tomscotts.The Rt front camber is about 1 inch and the Lt front about 1/2 inch. The out side edge on the Rt front is wearing rapidly with about 2500 miles on the tire. The guy at the alignment shop said the rt toe in was off quite abit but could not remember how much. The above camber measurments were taken after the toe was fixed and it is 1/16 now. So now it looks like I have a bent axle problem. Also the left tire shows no abnormal wear.

Peteva
 
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