73 Charger pre-alignment checklist

[WH23G3G]

I'm about to setup a schedule to get the alignment done on my 73 Charger. When I did the mechanical restoration I swapped out the K-Member for a big block K-member because they were still using the 318 K-member with original mounts. Also this K-member had provisions for the sway bar links so I added a 73 Charger front and rear sway bar with urethane bushings. Also new balljoints, new OEM replacement shocks, all urethane bushings, new idler arm, pitman arm, and tie rod ends. As well as a remanufactured steering gear. The torsion bars are original and look ok. Later upgrade maybe. Hopefully they will be able to get it aligned better than it is now. It's horrible now because everything was just put back. I got new 215/75/14 tires for the original look. Is it necessary to remove the alignment shields under the hood before I go to the alignment shop so they don't mess anything up? I don't see how it will offer any clearance as the water valve and hoses sit on the passenger side and the washer tank on the other side right over the shields. I'm taking it to a National chain repair garage so hopefully they won't mess it up totally. I will stay and watch. I know the ride height needs to be set first. I doubt they will even know how to do that so I'm bringing along my 73 Chrysler dealer service manual instructions. Any other concerns?

[Chryco Psycho]

I assume it has power steering ?
it can be set to handle better by increasing the caster to max around +3* & setting the camber at -1/2* & toe in to 1/16 - 1/8 "

[WH23G3G]

Well I took it to the shop today and they told me it was too bad to even adjust. They couldn't even do anything to it. They suggessted a Firestone shop.

[lisiecki1]

Well I took it to the shop today and they told me it was too bad to even adjust. They couldn't even do anything to it. They suggessted a Firestone shop.

Too bad to adjust?  If it hasn't been in a frame mangling accident then it sounds to me like they just didn't want to work on your car.  I've never heard of too bad to adjust.

[WH23G3G]

Yeah and the service manager is my neighbor. He told me he could tell before even putting it on the rack they couldn't do it. I know the camber is horrible it's off so severe when you turn the wheel a little it looks like the tire is about to pop off the rim.

[twilt]

I doubt they actually can't do it.  However, I don't blame them for not wanting to do it. If everything is totally screwed up...the tech has a hard job ahead. 2 hours, compared to a typical gravy 20 minute late model "set the toe and let it go" job.........at the same pay.   A job that you have made much more difficult by not at least eyeballing in some initial adjustments. There is no reason that you cant make the job a little easier for the next guy by eyeballing the camber and toe adjustment.  The next place you go, it also might be prudent to offer the aligning technician a nice tip ($50 or so) to do it...and do it right. At my last job...they turned most old cars away by saying that the machine specs did not "go back that far"   That practice really did not offend me as doing 2 hour alignments for one hour of pay is not particularly a enriching experience as far as I am concerned. If you do take it to a chain like Pep Boys, Firestone, Tires Plus...etc etc. make sure you get a printout of the completed alignment. You might be surprised how many people these chains allow to do so called alignments that have NO CLUE as to making caster/camber adjustments. One more thing....you might as well set the ride height of the car yourself too (torsion bars)...because most of those chains wont know how to do it either.    

[71charger]

Ive been there... I had my 71 in a while back and they told me they couldnt do it... twice

[flyinlow]

Set the ride height first... factory or what you want.

When I rebuilt the front end on my 73, I put the adjustments in the middle of the slots and did a crude toe in with chalk and a tape measure. good enough to drive to the alignment shop. Left the shields in the trunk. Took my service manual and asked for 3-5* + caster , camber- 0.5 and 1/16 toe in. They aligned to my specs.

Drove well. I did wait until they had a slow day on the alignment rack so they could drive it on before they went to lunch so the headers could cool.

I think they got a kick out of working on a vintage car.

[WH23G3G]

Yeah I did try to get the tie rods back to where the originals were, but couldn't do much for the control arms since I had swap K-frames and my original upper arms were already done. That's what's so far out of whack. I know it's hard because I tried to get it crudely level but I can't even get the arms to move. I can't even adjust the ride height the factory way either because I can't get under there enough at the measuring points to get a tape measure on it because it's so low. That's why I'm going to talk to the shop before I go anywhere else. I need to swap out this carb anyway so it will be another week probably.

[HPP]

Do you have a floor jack, hand tools, tape measure and level? That's all you need.

With the car on a level floor, you can eyeball the ride height. Do you like it or not? Set it to a position you like with the adjusting bolt in the lower control arm. Use the jack to lift the nose to take the load off this adjusting bolt. Turn it a couple revolutions, drop the car, and bounce it several times to set. The factory height spec is with the torsion bar pivot point set around 1.38" higher than the lower ball joint. At this height, the nose may be too high for personal taste. However, you need to have the final wheel/tire combo on for you to dial this in. If you have junkyard/paint shop tires on and you change diameters later, then your ride height will change.

To set the camber/caster, again lift the car to unload the wheel, and adjust the inner mounting bolts on the upper control arm. These are eccentrics that rotate. Using a wrench or socket, turn the rear bolt so it is adjusted to pull the bolt as close to the engine as possible. Set the front one the opposite. This creates maximum caster. Drop the car back on the ground, bounce a few times, then put a level vertically on the outside of the tire. You want this to be close to vertical with maybe a slight angle at the top towards the engine bay. To get this more vertical, start adjusting the upper control arm bolts slightly to change. Repeat this process until you get the tire vertical. This is the camber and you want it close to vertical to slightly tipped in at the top for a slight negative camber reading.

Once that is done, then you can check tie rod length and steering wheel location. You want both tie rods to be equal length with the steering wheel centered and both tires pointing straight ahead. If the tires are straight ahead and your steering wheel is off, one of the tire rods is shorter than the other. Adjust them to both be equal with the steering wheel centered. Then using a tape measure, pick out a rib on the tire tread, use the same rib on both front tires, and check the measurement at the highest spot possible on the front edge of the tire. Write it down. Do the same check on the same rib on the rear part of the tire, again as high as you can, but at an equal height to the front. You may have to adjust the height front to back to get a get measurement Write this down and compare to the front reading. The rear should be slightly bigger, slightly being 1/16 of an inch. If this is off, adjust both tie rods equally to increase or decrease. Turning only one tie rod will put your steering wheel off center again, so change both.

Yes this is a pain, but it will get you close enough to not scare off anyone with an alignment rack. Once you get the car there, tell them to leave your ride heigth alone. Ask for as much positive caster as possible, negative .5* camber, and .0625" of toe in.

[elacruze]

Silly question-

Do you still have the original control arms, upper and lower? Wondering if you got some longer lowers from an A-body or something.

You can learn a lot by straightening out this stuff yourself, and you can get it pretty close by eyeball.

Try to find an old alignment shop in town that has some older guys, and can charge by the hour rather than menu price.
Remember, whatever time you spend getting it close is time you don't have to pay for at the shop. Call around.

[WH23G3G]

I used my original control arms they matched the ones that I got with the big block K-frame. Also this year doesn't have the eccentric cam bolts on the upper this is when they changed to the GM style stud and shaft setup. I've tried loosening up the two stud bolts on the top but can't really get much movement out of the arm once they're loose. I've got just steel wheels with wheel covers on it with brand new P215/75/14 tires which is what I will run until they are no good. I don't if there's a tool they use at the shops to move the arms or another way to get the arm to move easier but I couldn't get it to change at all. I don't know how low the K-frame should be to the ground but it looks awful low and I know the ride height isn't close to what it should be. 

[flyinlow]

Soak every adjustment point/bolt with rustbuster. There are serrations on the pivot shaft eyes to help prevent slipage. These can get rusty and stick. If both bolts are loose, might be hammer time.