interesting about the strut rod bushings, as I replaced mine when I did my suspension rebuild w/energy suspension ones. I noticed once I got it back together I have significantly more clearance to the front lower edge of my front fender that I did before the rebuild, to the point where the original suspension, 195/70R14's were about the biggest I could get on the front without fear of catching the fender, and afterwards, I had 225/70R14 rollers with about the same clearance....Closing thoughts on this:
My main issue of massive caster variance i believe to have been cause by poly bush in the lca
And blown out strutrod bush. Forcing lower arm back and erasing my caster on one side. As andysauto1 pointed out.. my ball joint was 1/2” more rearward on the side with negative caster ..upon further research,
I pulled this info off b body forum:
“ A thicker rear strut rod bushing or thinner front strut rod bushing will move the inner strut rod washer rearward along with the strut rod. This moves everything rearward. Any rearward movement results in a loss of Positive caster. The upper control arm adjustment for camber and caster does not have a huge range. Most cars can get no more than 2 degrees using stiock bush
When viewed from the side, an imaginary line is seen through the top and bottom ball joints. The upper ball joint must always be further to the rear than the lower.”
Than i found this:
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Im using 72 strut rods
With moog k7040 rubber strutrod bushings. I plan to mock it all up before i cut any bushing to keep the lower control arm where the factory intended it.
Thanks to everyone for the replies. Im just posting my conclusions for future knowledge seekers. God bless the search function..
Is that the offset moog bushings? Or just the standard ones? +3.5 would be awesome for me. After looking at this whole setup for so long, it looks there is room to bring the lca forward im shocked nobody has invented a swivel pin that draws the lower arm 1/4” frontward for increased caster.when I got my car aligned, even w/the moog problem solver UCA bushings installed for max caster, they were only able to get about 3.5 degrees.
I like how you think, but that would be a less desirable solution than using the UCAs with adjustable and/or built in additional caster which already exist in many forms. The load would be moved further out on the pin, increasing the force required by the pin to carry. It's been over 40 years since I took statics and dynamics, so I don't remember how to calculate the additional force, but I'm sure one of our engineers on the forum could. Maybe not a problem, maybe not. I think it might also require adjustable strut rods, or at least a custom bushing. It would also likely cause an issue with the torsion bar seating properly.Is that the offset moog bushings? Or just the standard ones? +3.5 would be awesome for me. After looking at this whole setup for so long, it looks there is room to bring the lca forward im shocked nobody has invented a swivel pin that draws the lower arm 1/4” frontward for increased caster.
offset moog bushingsIs that the offset moog bushings? Or just the standard ones? +3.5 would be awesome for me. After looking at this whole setup for so long, it looks there is room to bring the lca forward im shocked nobody has invented a swivel pin that draws the lower arm 1/4” frontward for increased caster.
force would be the same, but increasing the cantilever increases the moment in the out of axis direction. 1/4" probably isn't that big of a deal, and there's enough play fore-aft in the t-bar socket for it to be OK. bigger issue is there is only so much room for it to go foreward, and it's not ideal if you're pulling the outboard side of the LCA so far forward that it is no longer naturally perpendicular to the pivot pin.I like how you think, but that would be a less desirable solution than using the UCAs with adjustable and/or built in additional caster which already exist in many forms. The load would be moved further out on the pin, increasing the force required by the pin to carry. It's been over 40 years since I took statics and dynamics, so I don't remember how to calculate the additional force, but I'm sure one of our engineers on the forum could. Maybe not a problem, maybe not. I think it might also require adjustable strut rods, or at least a custom bushing. It would also likely cause an issue with the torsion bar seating properly.
How about this adapter?One thing that helps with consistency is to make a 3/4"-16 adapter for the gauge. I prefer this to the magnet for both repeatability and consistency measuring side to side.
Strut rod tuning is needed at times to dial in the caster sweep.
my '76 manual is 70 ft. lbs. YMMVWhats the torque on the rod at the bushing side. Like hand tight and one turn?
View attachment 1716259719
Super sexy!!! Oh im making one of those tomorrow..fn genius
Great read over there at FBBO!!I have a thread going at FBBO and another member posted up something like this....so I made my own.
Alignment at home and aftermarket UCAS too.
Page 6.
one thing I noticed with my car when I rebuilt the suspension over the winter and replaced the 48 year old strut rod bushings with energy suspension poly strut rod bushings is that it pushed my front wheels back a good 1/2" or so. before rebuild, the biggest tire I could fit was a 195/70R14 front, and there was only about 1/2" clearance to the leading edge of the bottom of the wheelwell when turning the wheel. after, the BBP rallyes I picked up with 225/70R14's fit with similar clearance. if the strut rod is pushing the LCA rearward that will reduce the amount of +caster possible.Done!
- 3/4 camber and +3.25 caster both sides with moog offset bush
I had to cheat the pass side by using 1/8 washers to kick the knuckle out at the bottom . for more negative camber. I wouldve liked camber closer to zerzo but the more + camber u give it, the more caster goes negatove. U can rip me if u want for the washers but i see no issues.. drives nice.. have to tweak the toe a bit to get wheel exactly straight but i do that as i drive it. I had pictures but i deleted them accidentally.. oh well. Problem solved..
And i think thats a huge thing with these cars. Oft overlooked r the strutrod bush r smoked or wrong thickness. Pushing and pulling the LCA all over the place. Componded with poly LCA bushings.one thing I noticed with my car when I rebuilt the suspension over the winter and replaced the 48 year old strut rod bushings with energy suspension poly strut rod bushings is that it pushed my front wheels back a good 1/2" or so. before rebuild, the biggest tire I could fit was a 195/70R14 front, and there was only about 1/2" clearance to the leading edge of the bottom of the wheelwell when turning the wheel. after, the BBP rallyes I picked up with 225/70R14's fit with similar clearance. if the strut rod is pushing the LCA rearward that will reduce the amount of +caster possible.
The washers were between the LBJ and the spindle to affect camber?Done!
- 3/4 camber and +3.25 caster both sides with moog offset bush
I had to cheat the pass side by using 1/8 washers to kick the knuckle out at the bottom . for more negative camber. I wouldve liked camber closer to zerzo but the more + camber u give it, the more caster goes negatove. U can rip me if u want for the washers but i see no issues.. drives nice.. have to tweak the toe a bit to get wheel exactly straight but i do that as i drive it. I had pictures but i deleted them accidentally.. oh well. Problem solved..
Yes to give more - camber. without using the eccentrics, so..set for max caster with back cam all the way in and front cam all way out..The washers were between the LBJ and the spindle to affect camber?
how thick of washers do you need to get a degree of camber? just curious....Yes to give more - camber. without using the eccentrics, so..set for max caster with back cam all the way in and front cam all way out..
Then.. check camber.. if its + you can shim it rather than adjust the cams whereby losing caster.