66 Dart GT HT Whatsitgonnabe?
I installed my drive shaft yesterday. Great feeling. Brake lines and putting the engine back together and I can go for a spin! Now that I've gotten a set of LCA pins with the sleeves still on them, I can theoretically put my front end back together. I won't be doing that just now, though, since my ball joints are full of blasting sand. I'm debating with myself whether to order from the states or buy over here. Big price difference but maybe quicker delivery. Not sure what to do. I do have a package coming over soon but I'm afraid to add more weight to it. It's getting kinda heavy ...
I measured the actual drive line angles after installation and got -2.8/-2.3/-0.6 degrees, engine/shaft/pinion. If I shim the rear axle up 3.5 degrees, that will - after a little trigonometry - become -2.8/-1.5/+2.9 which is close to perfect, if I'm not mistaken.
This is with a set of winter wheels in the trunk and the chassis level. If the actual ride height of the car is a little lower, the shaft will become more horizontal, increasing the ball joint angles slightly, which is ok.
If the actual load is lighter, however, the shaft angle will become larger and the ball joint angles will decrease. If they become too small, I will have to take action, further increasing the slope of the engine (and shim the rear up even more) or raise the rear somehow. Not sure how to accomplish that. I'll solve that when that day comes, I guess.
I'm staring at shims at Summit, trying to decide which ones to order. The cheapest ones are not in stock and the 3.5 degree ones they do have in stock are double the money. Also, I'm pondering whether to get several shims so I can fine-tune. I think my calculations are correct, though, so I'll probably go with the 3.5 degree ones.
Here's a tip I got from HotRod Garage. The app I used is from Tremec. Look for 'Tremec Toolbox' on App store. It can do a few other things also but I've only used this feature.
I installed my drive shaft yesterday. Great feeling. Brake lines and putting the engine back together and I can go for a spin! Now that I've gotten a set of LCA pins with the sleeves still on them, I can theoretically put my front end back together. I won't be doing that just now, though, since my ball joints are full of blasting sand. I'm debating with myself whether to order from the states or buy over here. Big price difference but maybe quicker delivery. Not sure what to do. I do have a package coming over soon but I'm afraid to add more weight to it. It's getting kinda heavy ...
I measured the actual drive line angles after installation and got -2.8/-2.3/-0.6 degrees, engine/shaft/pinion. If I shim the rear axle up 3.5 degrees, that will - after a little trigonometry - become -2.8/-1.5/+2.9 which is close to perfect, if I'm not mistaken.
This is with a set of winter wheels in the trunk and the chassis level. If the actual ride height of the car is a little lower, the shaft will become more horizontal, increasing the ball joint angles slightly, which is ok.
If the actual load is lighter, however, the shaft angle will become larger and the ball joint angles will decrease. If they become too small, I will have to take action, further increasing the slope of the engine (and shim the rear up even more) or raise the rear somehow. Not sure how to accomplish that. I'll solve that when that day comes, I guess.
I'm staring at shims at Summit, trying to decide which ones to order. The cheapest ones are not in stock and the 3.5 degree ones they do have in stock are double the money. Also, I'm pondering whether to get several shims so I can fine-tune. I think my calculations are correct, though, so I'll probably go with the 3.5 degree ones.
Here's a tip I got from HotRod Garage. The app I used is from Tremec. Look for 'Tremec Toolbox' on App store. It can do a few other things also but I've only used this feature.