Two questions regarding camber on a '69...

[UH60L]

So, I had posted on here a few weeks ago about my '69 squealing when I turned even a gentle corner at low speeds.  The car went into the body shop in February 2008, then sat in my garage from December 2008 until April of 2016 when I finally got the engine started.  Then the rear end ate itself in 2017 and the car sat until 2 months ago when I got the rear end rebuilt.  I did replace the rear leaf springs about 5 months ago (I had a set that bought back in 2010 and never got around to putting on...)

Well, in looking at the car from the front, it appears that my wheels/tires are tilted inward at the top and outward at the bottom... a lot.  Right side looks to be between 5 and 10 degrees and left side as almost as bad. 

So, first question.  Could this be due to bad or failing ball joints, and if so, what's the best way to check them?

Second, if I just need an alignment really bad, how do you actually adjust the camber?  I don't mean the specs, I found those in my service manual.  I mean I don't actually know how to adjust it.  I think I found the bolts others have mentioned.  What do I do?  Like break it down to a 3rd grade level for me, hehe.

I've done a lot of stuff on cars, but this is one thing I've never done before.

[b5blue]

  There are bolts with offset big washers on them if you look where the upper control arms mount to the body. I installed offset bushings in my uppers to more outward adjustment.

[70 sublime]

Did you ever change the bushings on the lower control arms ?
Pretty sure if they die it lets the arms pull out away from the K frame which will tilt your tires

I have had to change them before

[UH60L]

Did you ever change the bushings on the lower control arms ?
Pretty sure if they die it lets the arms pull out away from the K frame which will tilt your tires

I have had to change them before

I never did.  I probably need to.  They appear to be moving randomly.  In the garage, both tires were tilted badly, after I backed it out into the driveway, they were both straight up and down.  After pulling back into the garage, one is straight and the other tilted...

[70 sublime]

That is going to be your problem that needs fixed first

[375instroke]

Get the car high enough in the air to get the jack handle under the tire, and lift it up.  That's one way to see if something's loose.  Also, grab the wheel and try to rock it back and forth in the direction it would move if you turned the steering wheel left and right, then grab the top, and try to move the wheel in and out.  Grab the wheel and make it turn so both wheels and linkage are moving, have it gather some momentum, and hit the stop.  Try that both directions.  Also try to do that, but reverse direction before the stop.  Note any movement and try to locate.  Visual inspection of the lower and upper control bushings can also show evidence of the rubber getting pushed out.  Hard to see the uppers, but lowers should be easy.  I think just from your description, it's safe to say everything's shot.

[Kern Dog]

Get the car high enough in the air to get the jack handle under the tire, and lift it up.  That's one way to see if something's loose.  Also, grab the wheel and try to rock it back and forth in the direction it would move if you turned the steering wheel left and right, then grab the top, and try to move the wheel in and out.  Grab the wheel and make it turn so both wheels and linkage are moving, have it gather some momentum, and hit the stop.  Try that both directions.  Also try to do that, but reverse direction before the stop.  Note any movement and try to locate.  Visual inspection of the lower and upper control bushings can also show evidence of the rubber getting pushed out.  Hard to see the uppers, but lowers should be easy.  I think just from your description, it's safe to say everything's shot.

Christ...someone finally gets it. Sadly it took numerous views by others before you stepped in to help.
How can a car forum dedicated to classic cars have so few skilled members willing to help. Thank you. I saw the thread and figured it was so simple, anyone could help the OP.
Camber and toe that change around is always a symptom of worn or broken parts. Camber and toe change the most when the upper and lower control arm bushings are loose or worn out.
If a car sits for an extended time but after a rebirth develops alignment issues, it means that the rubber bushings rotted out. Ball joints and tie rods don't die from age like rubber does.
I had a serious alignment issue happen like this on a 73 Duster. Going straight down the road, it had too much positive camber. Hitting a bump would rattle things around and settle the camber to zero, slightly negative as it was supposed to be. Moments later it would be out of alignment again.
 It turned out to have a damaged K member where the LCA pin went through. It was egged out and the bushing was junk too.
You can diagnose this, even if you're unable to do the repair. At the least, you'll satisfy your curiosity.
Good luck. Be sure to report back.

[UH60L]

Thanks for the info guys.

There is definitely some movement going on.  After prying upward and also wiggling/turning etc the tires while lifted just off the ground, I'm thinking all of the control arm bushings are bad and maybe one or both ball joints on the right side.  (I forgot, the left side ball joints got replaced in 2006 and they seem tight still...)

I'm gonna take the car to a local Les Schwab shop that I've been going to since 1999 and have them take a look, make sure there isn't something else worn out as well.  I'm hoping that replacing the worn out parts will get it close to where it should be, then I'll see how far off the alignment really is.

[UH60L]

Well, I had them replaced all the ball joints and all the upper control arm bushings, plus an alignment.  The inside row of tread was completely worn off of both front tires.  I had them temporarily rotate the fronts to the back.  The right front wheel bearings were worn and grinding, so replaced those as well and greased everything real good. The car is so much easier to drive now, and it doesn't shake, rattle and jump every time I hit a bump.

I still need to replace the front sway bar links and upper control arm bumpers, but it's a huge improvement.

[70 sublime]

Lower control arm bushings ??

[UH60L]

Lower control arm bushings ??

Strangely enough, those had little or no play and seemed to be good.  So for now, I'm just gonna drive it and see how it does.

[UH60L]

Well crap!  So when I drove it home from the shop on Monday, it did really well until just before we got home, then we heard a couple of chirps/squeals while driving straight.

I had noticed, while it was on the rack, that I needed to replace the upper control arm bumpers and the front sway bar links.  (one bumper was completely gone and the links looked original, very worn out...)

So I replaced those yesterday morning and my son and I drove it to grab lunch.  Now, anything above 20mph and both front tires squeal. Got home and now both front tires appear to have positive camber...

Would the new sway bar links really effect that or is there something else going on? (did it take longer for the suspension to settle or something...)

It's bad enough that I don't want to drive the car back to the shop 20 miles away.  I could probably make some miner tweaks to the adjustment bolts, just worried about opening a can of worms that will end with my car on a flatbed headed back to the shop...  (plus I can't afford new tires right now...)

[70 sublime]

Maybe jack the front end off the ground again and see if anything has come loose

[b5blue]

Check UCA adjusting bolts. They could be loose allowing them to force inward.   

[Kern Dog]

I've seen alignment cams rotate on their own when I (stupidly) forgot to tighten them down after an adjustment.
Maybe that is the problem.
However.....
Lets HOPE that the lower control arm bushings are fine and that the LCA shaft hasn't wallowed out the mounting hole in the K member. That does happen and it does affect camber and toe tremendously.

[70 sublime]

I've seen alignment cams rotate on their own when I (stupidly) forgot to tighten them down after an adjustment.
Maybe that is the problem.
However.....
Lets HOPE that the lower control arm bushings are fine and that the LCA shaft hasn't wallowed out the mounting hole in the K member. That does happen and it does affect camber and toe tremendously.

I had to swap out the K frame on my 69 because the mount hole for the LCA on one side had riped apart

[UH60L]

Well, I backed it out of the garage to jack it up... and suddenly it's got negative camber...  I jacked it up, and tried to wiggle the wheels and tires but got almost nothing, barely a tiny bit of bearing wiggle with just the wheel and tire moving.

So I lowered it and had my wife and son watch, and I backed up about 6 feet then rolled forward about 6 feet.  Forward it goes positive camber, backward it goes negative camber. (like 5 degrees or more on the right and a little on the left...)

Literally the only thing with bushings that we didn't touch was lower control arms.  They weren't able to get the torsion bar bolts to move, so they didn't adjust those...

So when you say k frame, are you talking about the entire front support that the engine mounts to?  I don't suppose anyone sells new ones?...

[Kern Dog]

You describe what does sound like lower bushings or a damaged K member.
Both situations are fixable. I've repaired damaged K members many times. If you have a welder, almost anything is possible. In fact, when I hear of a car guy that does not have a MIG or torch or know how to weld, it amazes me. These old cars often come to us rusty and broken. You absolutely need to know how to repair them yourself if you don't have a huge bank account. I'm not a professional welder but my stuff doesn't break apart.
The holes in the K member where the LCA pin/bolt pass through do get stressed and sometimes fail. I've adopted the habit of welding a 1/8" thick washer around the rear side of that hole to reinforce the area so that it will not come apart.

[UH60L]

So, once they got the torsion bars unloaded, the lower control arms had all kinds of play, especially the left one.  Replaced lower control arm bushings and the strut rod bushings, and straightened the left strut rod slightly.  They had trouble getting the alignment adjusted to where we wanted it, but overall, it's waaaay better now.  I'm gonna drive it to a few shows and here and there through the summer then take it back and re-check the alignment in a couple months.

[b5blue]

 

[70 sublime]