Larry B.

For about the last couple of weeks I have noticed that my 69 has been pulling a little to the left and when I measured the tread on the front tires they are wearing just a little more on the inside edges (both tires.) I went to the local Firestone shop where I bought my tires and the manager said they didn't know how to align my car. Then he said he didn't have the specs. I said that I know how to do the job and had the specs. AND would be glad to bring a service manual. He told me that his technicians weren't capable of doing the job. I told him that it didn't make sense that you can't do a simple alignment. Lots of cars are set up like that. what's up?. He said he didn't even want to check it out? You can bet that the next set of tires won't come from his store! So much for total car care or Master care or whatever they call it. :cuss :seeya :mad

Eddie 70

He was honest enough to let you know that he didn`t knowJACK At least he just didn`t take your money and send you on your way.

Ask around and find someone in your area that has a good reputation and you will be happy.

flood

Can't align an old chevy? I would hate to see them with a new one.

"Um, no...sorry sir .. I know this is a tire shop but we don't know how to use the alignment machine.... HEY JUAN! Have you figured out that POS in the back yet?!" ........... No sir our top mechanic hasn't figured it out yet. :jester

Smokehouse69

Larry,
Find a place that specializes in Corvette alignments. Any place else won't have a clue. The other guys that live in your area should be able to point you in the right direction. When you get your car aligned get a four wheel alignment, it will make a world of difference in your handling.
I gave up on the chain places for any kind of work on my cars. I've looked around long and hard to find someone that I can trust. There is a locally owned shop that I let work on my truck, it is the kind of place that you get to know the owner when you take the car in. Don't get me wrong this place has a high quality place not a Bubba hangout. After a couple of years of dealing with them, and being very satisfied with his work, I'm just about ready to let him do some work on my 'vette.

C3 Shark Tank

Larry,

Sounds like :bs to me. I had mine done by Don Olson down here, someone at another shop didn't want to touch the Vette so they told me about this guy, at least they were honest about it. Most shops don't want to do it because of the rear trailing arms and shims. The actual tech who did mine was a Ford guy but said he loved to have Vettes come in because he enjoyed the challenge. Also, they should have the specs in the alignment machine, this shop had them.

If you can't find anyone let me know, you can buzz down here for a weekend and I'll make you an appointment to get it done. When I put my suspension back together I did the poor man alignment on it and got it really close.

Scott

Larry B.

Thanks Scott... I'm sure I can find a place that will do it. It just Pi--es me off because the firestone store is just a block away and are open on weekends. Oh well.. I did e-mail Firestone customer service though. :jester

CWUin82

You're probably better off not letting them touch yor car. Maybe they had a bad experience with a Vette previous to yours, or they simply didn't have a clue.

C3 shark tank,
Whats a poor mans alignment?

C3 Shark Tank

CWUin82,

Hope I can explain this in a way it makes sense, I just used all the tips from the Van Steel suspension video.

With the car on jackstands and the tires off you jack up the trailing arms so that they are at ride height, take a level and put it against the rotors in an up & down position to adjust the camber, if the bubble is level then you have it close. For the toe adjustment put the level back on the rotor so that it is in a front to back position, measure 2 places along the frame and adjust until they are the same. Sorry if that's not the greatest explanation as I'm just going from memory and I'm by no means an alignment specialist. But when I got mine to the shop they needed to do very little adjusting...not bad for an amateur in the garage. :jester

CWUin82

Thanks for explaining, I understood it all. :cheers:

Larry B.

I have done front ends by using two sets of two squares of plastic with a wad of grease between them under the front tires. Then you can adjust everything easy as the plastic slides on the grease. Use trammel points to set toe and a bubble level for camber. Castor is the one you can't read easily but if the bubble moves the same amount at the extreme turn on both side it is least is equal on both sides. :crazy:


[Modified by silvervetteman, 6:55 PM 2/15/2002]

Paul L

The front is simple. The back is not. Most shops know the rear shim dilemma. Give them credit for not even trying.

A78Corvette

I bought four new tires for my 78 before it was wrecked at a local tire store. I asked that the front and rear be lined up. A few months later I noticed the inside edge of both rear tires were going bald. I took it back to the shop and the guy who did the alinment had the shop owner and almost had me convinced my rear wheel bearings were bad. I am not a mechanic. They lifted the car and jerked around on the rear tires ect... To make a long story short I took the car to a reputable frame shop in Chattanooga, and the rear end was simply aligned wrong. The shop owner did give me a pretty good deal on a new set of rear tires after I showed him proof that the rear tires were aligned wrong. :conehead

Paul L

I will tackle that rear trailing arm job in the spring. I had those T/As off last last summer to do the rear bearings and they are OK. So Sawzalls, bi-metallic blades and the like are next. Terrible job from what I have read here. Except for the fellow who did it in 10 minutes with a torch??? He may not have paint on his car. Shop estimates are 5-6 hours per side. That is serious money. The fact of the matter is that I have driven my 1979 for 15 years without touching those shims. And no problem with tire wear. But I am going to give it a try. Wish me luck! Just to be controversial, does the torch in skilled hands work?

Paul L

Repeat of above.


[Modified by paul79, 2:11 PM 2/16/2002]

Larry B.

Another problem on the rear is the differential side yokes.. The end inside wears down and then there is too much play. This will cause alignment difficulties. When you see corvettes with a lot of negative camber in the rear that is most likely what's wrong. :cheers:

C3 Shark Tank

Paul,

Spray the shims and T-arm bolts every day with WD40 for about a week or so before you do the job. Mine came off without any trouble, no sawzall, no torch, no pulling my hair out, minimal swearing. Even the shock mounts came out with a tap from the hammer. But, I'm sure glad I won't have to do that job for another 20+ years.

Paul L

I had the rear end apart last summer to do the bearings and some connectors such as the spring bolts and nut were eternally mated. The strut rod adjusters and bolts also. (That is interesting; I paid for a four-wheel alignment three years ago....?) They had to be cut off. I think this car saw salt before I purchased it in 1986. Doesn't take much calcium chloride to start that corrosion process. I will certainly try the WD40 treatment but....