Newby with a question - Castor angle

[Dazza]

Hey all.
Thanks for all the info.
Tinbasher, thats what i expected that it should be.

Heres a few things Ive found.
1. I need to check in more often! Sorry.
2. Ive done some calcs. Id have to drop the gearbox end by 5 inches to get even close to 6 degrees +. So its something large or a number of little ones!

The front spring is, well, sad.
I think its the biggest culprit. possibly 4 degrees or more there. Thanks Kurt in NJ.

The car is running big n littles (tires). theres 1.5 degrees of rake on the chassis.

The rest, I think might be in the ball joint.

It does have a floater motor kit in it but that shouldnt have raised the motor/trans.

Now Ive also noticed that i have a small amount of movement in the perch bolts, so time to look there Tacomabob.

KR500, I thought it might be symmetrical. Mine looks straight from across the shed so checking in detail will be a task when it comes out.
Thanks Joe K for the pointer on how to check it.

Ive added a few pics for your enjoyment. check out the album and thanks to 1crosscut for alerting me to my tardyness.

Shiney side up! A

[johnny]

My experience with the V8s are the front axles are installed from factory with forging information and part # facing the front on the right side in the boss. So if someone had the axle out to restore and installed backward because through it"s years the axle had been bent to correct caster {increase}and now putting it backward one would have big time neg. caster Sounds like this example.

[Joe K]

Originally Posted by johnny

My experience with the V8s are the front axles are installed from factory with forging information and part # facing the front on the right side in the boss. So if someone had the axle out to restore and installed backward because through it"s years the axle had been bent to correct caster {increase}and now putting it backward one would have big time neg. caster Sounds like this example.

The Model A front axle beam is omni-directional. I.e. it can be assembled with either side to the front. This is even reflected in the king-pin retainer bolts which after the first few axles, were design based on a "cylinder" with the retainer wedge only that part which contacts and locks the king-pin.

Caster is actually set by the "Y-end" of the wishbone (radius rods in Ford parlance) so to have negative caster one would actually have to have the wishbone installed upside down - if that were even possible as I believe the casting around the flywheel housing prevents it.

That said, Ford put the axles together with any part nomenclature and a Ford Script to the front. Judges do look for this - one of the reasons why non-rusted original axles are in some demand. Restorers of more moderate means look for axles which have been "painted" more often in their life - a thick coat of fire engine red or utility yellow paint can help preserve those all important part numbers.

Joe K

[Mike V. Florida]

Look here for info on straightening and aligning an axle;


http://www.cabriolet.piklefactory.co...aightening.htm

[kimlinh]

I agree with the bent wishbone However, you are way out. Check everything. you will probably find several things that are worn/bent and need help. Also, you may want to try a rear panhard rod. I put one on my car and it really improved the handling.