John here in the UK.I have a 1968 cougar XR7,the wheel base side to side differs by half an inch.Is there a way to adjust this? Thanks,John
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First off, how / where / what points exactly are you measuring between?
It may be a matter of loosening the rear axle and shifting it a smidge vs time on a body rack to straighten tweaked frame rails.
The problem is that one front tyre hits the front arch when the wheels are turned on lock.One front tyre is nearer to the inside of the front guard and catches.I was wondering if putting it on a 4 wheel alignment rig and seeing if a juggle of the front tie rod and reset of camber/caster may work.I am measuring between wheel centres
You have way more caster than recommended for the original biased tires because the caster adjustment pulls the tire forward to add caster of about 3 degrees recommended for radials. You need an upgraded upper control arm with 3 degrees of caster built in. Or back the caster off to around 1-1.5 degrees. The reason the rf hits is because you have more caster in rf to help with road crown
Have you checked the strut rods to see if one may be bent? Alignment comes in to play here.
Hi,Thanks for the reply.I think that the first thing I will do is get the alignment checked.Where would modified upper arms come from?
Thanks,John
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Yes I have checked.I will get the alignment checked and hopefully it will be an adjustment issue.
Thanks,John
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I just bought a second set for my current project. Other brands also build 3 degrees of caster into the control arm like Hotchkis and Global West
I’d suggest you contact Shaun Burgess owner of Street or Track. They’re based in MI but Shaun is from the UK. His entire business is focused on vintage Ford suspension, brake, steering, and performance bits. He’s a great guy to work with and his parts are top shelf. Prodrive is using his stuff now as well. I’m a customer-front suspension, steering, brakes, rear shocks-on my 1969.
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I think that half inch could get adjusted with just the strut rods, unless one of them is bent. No need to go all crazy on adjustable control arms and all that unless you really want to.
If your front tires are hitting the bodywork your caster is most likely out of spec. Also I’ll second those SPC front control arms, I’ve had them on my car for awhile and very happy with them.
Thanks to everyone for the replies.I will take it to get aligned and hopefully adjust out the problem.I will post when the job is done
Just “aligned” would be a mistake. Provide the shop with specs as it relates to the caster. I don’t know your tires size and how oversized from original they are, but probably not over 1.5 degrees before you’ll end up with fender contact.