If ever there is a reason to do things yourself it is to ensure that they are done right and the way you want it. All too often in hobby we are at the mercy of others and their time/interest; usually getting their attention requires money.
I prefer to do things myself whenever possible because I don't trust many people with my engaging my interests or my money. A fool and his money are quickly separated.
This brings me to the magic of alignments. In the past most of us would have been lead to believe that you need a high dollar machine with flashing lights and needles to do a decent alignment. Not so much anymore...
Here's how I do it:
You'll have to buy a Longacre (or reasonable facsimile) camber/caster bubble gauge and a 3/4"-20 spindle adapter:
and four wheel dollies: Vehicle Dollies - 2 Piece, 1000 Lb. Capacity
1) Make sure everything is mechanically sound and serviceable in the suspension;
2) Full tank of gas;
3) Set up your rearend (control arm length, pinion angle, etc); and
4) Set your front and rear tire pressures to spec.
Next find a smooth, clean and level surface. I happen to be lucky enough that my garage floor is damn near perfectly flat. I found this out by following this procedure:
[YOUTUBE]
I didn't subscribe to the "tile" method of making turn tables/plates... partially due to the mess; but mostly because it does nothing to square the wheels under the car when using staggered wheels/track widths. Plus if you know anything about these cars you'll know nothing is ever square out of the box after a couple of decades. Instead I use wheel dollies:
In my process you have to ensure that the outside of the tire is TIGHT against the horizontal support bar on the dolly. There is a reason for this when setting the toe.
CAMBER
Pretty straight forward... add shims for more negative camber. Duh. Measure with tool. Repeat until satisfied. It helps to have the driver's seat weighted. I used my (future) wife, Natasha, as ballast (although a fair bit lighter); although she got the wrong impression when I said I wanted to use her ass.
But, every little bit helps.
CASTER
Same deal as the camber setting (unless you have adjustable uppers). Add shims as required. Adding shims to the rear most section of the cross shaft will increase your positive caster. You will be pretty limited in how far you can take this without an slotted/offset cross shaft or really long bolts and a lot of shims (not safe IMO). Pulling/sliding the arm to the rear also helps increase caster.
You will want to verify your camber setting throughout the caster setting process as it will likely change as you add/subtract shims. In most cases you'll have to make a compromise at some point in the whole process.
A good write up can be found here (thanks to charlief1): How to: Measuring Caster and Camber - How To - Circle Track Magazine
Other good info here:
http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/threads/g-body-drag-car-alignment-settings.290592/
I prefer to do things myself whenever possible because I don't trust many people with my engaging my interests or my money. A fool and his money are quickly separated.
This brings me to the magic of alignments. In the past most of us would have been lead to believe that you need a high dollar machine with flashing lights and needles to do a decent alignment. Not so much anymore...
Here's how I do it:
You'll have to buy a Longacre (or reasonable facsimile) camber/caster bubble gauge and a 3/4"-20 spindle adapter:
and four wheel dollies: Vehicle Dollies - 2 Piece, 1000 Lb. Capacity
1) Make sure everything is mechanically sound and serviceable in the suspension;
2) Full tank of gas;
3) Set up your rearend (control arm length, pinion angle, etc); and
4) Set your front and rear tire pressures to spec.
Next find a smooth, clean and level surface. I happen to be lucky enough that my garage floor is damn near perfectly flat. I found this out by following this procedure:
[YOUTUBE]
I didn't subscribe to the "tile" method of making turn tables/plates... partially due to the mess; but mostly because it does nothing to square the wheels under the car when using staggered wheels/track widths. Plus if you know anything about these cars you'll know nothing is ever square out of the box after a couple of decades. Instead I use wheel dollies:
In my process you have to ensure that the outside of the tire is TIGHT against the horizontal support bar on the dolly. There is a reason for this when setting the toe.
CAMBER
Pretty straight forward... add shims for more negative camber. Duh. Measure with tool. Repeat until satisfied. It helps to have the driver's seat weighted. I used my (future) wife, Natasha, as ballast (although a fair bit lighter); although she got the wrong impression when I said I wanted to use her ass.
But, every little bit helps.
CASTER
Same deal as the camber setting (unless you have adjustable uppers). Add shims as required. Adding shims to the rear most section of the cross shaft will increase your positive caster. You will be pretty limited in how far you can take this without an slotted/offset cross shaft or really long bolts and a lot of shims (not safe IMO). Pulling/sliding the arm to the rear also helps increase caster.
You will want to verify your camber setting throughout the caster setting process as it will likely change as you add/subtract shims. In most cases you'll have to make a compromise at some point in the whole process.
A good write up can be found here (thanks to charlief1): How to: Measuring Caster and Camber - How To - Circle Track Magazine
Other good info here:
http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/threads/g-body-drag-car-alignment-settings.290592/
