[marsmann]

I know it’s probably not the case, but are you sure you didn’t mix up the upper control arms when you installed them after the re-bush?

I had both of mine laying on the bench at the same time. I thought to myself, I better mark these things or a week from now sure enough I’ll be scratching my head which side was which. Just a thought

Yes! Good point. I do the same thing as you. I make sure I have a way to track these things. I have a tendency to mark items or lay them in the way I remove them. Sometimes I take pictures. With the control arms, I always have a mnemonic in my head I use. I always think "bumps to the front". The upper control arms have a raised bump on one side and a recess in the other. The recess area points to the back. The other raised part, the "bump" faces front. That is how I keep it sorted in my head.

Good thinking though. Ironically, I wonder what it would be like if I swapped them.....

 

[3504speed]

This is so bizarre, there has to be something we’re missing here. For that tire to Rub the strut rod while turning and going forward like it does is baffling. Wish I was there with you to help brainstorm this.

 

[marsmann]

This is so bizarre, there has to be something we’re missing here. For that tire to Rub the strut rod while turning and going forward like it does is baffling. Wish I was there with you to help brainstorm this.

Yeah. tell me about it. I'm scratchin' my head over it. Ain't never seen anything like it before. All I can do is what to get it aligned with positive caster at this point but given that this is pretty much how they rolled off the factory it shouldnt do this. I'd gladly welcome another set of eyes on it. if you live near south east PA, plenty of music, food and brew is available to he who figures it out!

It may be a few weeks or more before I can try to change the alignment specs again. Things are closed around here just like it is everywhere else. I'll update the post when I can but welcome any epiphanies that anyone may experience!

Thanks everyone so far. I truly appreciate all the input!

 

[Deadwolf]

I highly doubt it because it looks like you are using stock steel tires, but could the back spacing on the rims be wrong? From a quick search it does look like GM has wheels with different back spacing in the 60's and of course the aftermarket will make whatever back space you want.

 

[BA.]

Take this with a big grain of salt but I was reading something on a FB Impala group that I personally wasn't aware of, but, it was worth mentioning to you for checking.

It was mentioned matter-of-factly, that the Caster setting can affect the Camber when in turns. I was oblivious to this - but if it is true, it sounds a bit like what you are experiencing and therefore was worth checking.

 

[Big Dave]

It was mentioned matter-of-factly, that the Caster setting can affect the Camber when in turns. I was oblivious to this - but if it is true, it sounds a bit like what you are experiencing and therefore was worth checking.

It's True! Yes it is called Steering Geometry; but like with a geometric progression it doesn't (or in other words) is not limited to a linear relationship. Caster not only affects camber but it does so progressively so as the steering angle changes the camber changes even more to keep the tire from being peeled off the wheel.

It is why on so many sixties car chase movies the full wheel cover pops off the wheel on sharp turns (only to reappear on the next close up).

Big Dave

 

[67 Sedan]

I’ve been pondering this for a few days now. I’m currently restoring a 1967 Bel air and am ready to do the control arms. The old parts are out and new bushings in. As I look at my new Moog ball joints, part numbers K6034/upper and K6035/lower, I can’t imagine the castle nut could bottom out with more shaft showing. I’m doing a disc brake conversion using the drum steering knuckle/spindle with a Speedway kit (no dust shields). Anyway, I have done this exact conversion on a previous 67 Bel air and it worked very well. I’ve read through this thread several times now, and all I can think of is wrong ball joint parts, or wrong knuckle/spindle. If I mash the boot as far as I can, it only shows about an inch, maybe 5/4 of shaft, which will be swallowed up by the knuckle. Perhaps Big Dave is on to something with the incorrect knuckle that can’t handle the massive ball joint, or you got some kind of gnarly Cadillac ball joint that is bigger than the knuckle can hold. I should have mine back together in a week or so. Let me know if you want any measurements before I reassemble.

 

[marsmann]

Take this with a big grain of salt but I was reading something on a FB Impala group that I personally wasn't aware of, but, it was worth mentioning to you for checking.

It was mentioned matter-of-factly, that the Caster setting can affect the Camber when in turns. I was oblivious to this - but if it is true, it sounds a bit like what you are experiencing and therefore was worth checking.

Yes. This is what I am left with at this point. I referenced the caster angles in post #19. Everyone has come up with great suggestions and reasons so far. Even though I know the spindles are the right ones, and the ball joints are correct I went ahead last weekend and removed the spindle assembly and replaced it with a verified one for 66 impala/caprice.

Still the same.

So I am still hoping that when I realign the car I can get the caster angles I need.

 

[justjohn]

Who is doing the alignment and do they know how to work on it correctly? I had to have one mechanic actually remove caster shims, left a shop with a kid who couldn't find computer data, and walk under the car with another to explain that they're not needed. These cars have a ton of caster adjustment but most people overlook that it happens at the reaction rod.

 

[marsmann]

Who is doing the alignment and do they know how to work on it correctly? I had to have one mechanic actually remove caster shims, left a shop with a kid who couldn't find computer data, and walk under the car with another to explain that they're not needed. These cars have a ton of caster adjustment but most people overlook that it happens at the reaction rod.

I agree. Many of my friends would shim their control arms on the Chevelles and other cars back in the day. I don't. I never saw a need to do so and I typically like things to be the way they were designed. The shop I am using is a place I trust and have used in the past. They've been around since the late 60s and the two brothers that work there have been working for 40-50 years on cars (shop belong to pops but he has passed away now). They grew up with these cars and they own their own classic/muscle cars and I have the ability to work with them on these projects.



I did briefly shim one of my arms during all of my own troubleshooting just to see what it would do but it did not matter. I was not able to get enough or the right caster. The shop has not recommended any shimming, and I would prefer to keep away from it. I'm still waiting for them to open back up to try again with a custom prescription. I have technically only had the one alignment on the car. When I realized the car was doing what it is doing now I drove it back, we talked about it, got under it and contemplated (at the time) if it could be something with the ball joints since the ones at the time did not have the steering stops. We thought the turning rotation was extreme (2.5 turns of the wheel on a full turn) so that is where I came away with it and started doing most of the troubleshooting covered in this thread. But corona happened in between and I have not been able to get another alignment. It could just be that it has too much negative caster at 3-5 degrees. Sometimes I wonder if the lower control arm didnt settle in further back then it should when I installed the springs/shocks.


I havent worked on the car for over a month at this point but maybe I will get under there and try some new adjustments again this weekend.

 

[62BillT]

Well, I may have missed it as I didn't read every word of every post, but are you 100% sure you have the original wheels that came on the car?