<VV> steering wheel play

[Bill Elliott]

 From Brian's excellent autocross page:
http://autoxer.skiblack.com/setup.html

You also didn't say if you replaced the pitman arm bushing with a nylon
one... even a new rubber one is still pretty mushy compared to modern
cars...

Bill

Alignment

Once you've got all these cool parts in place, you'll need to align the
car to use the tires to their maximum. Alignment plays a very important
role in how well the car handles, and if you really want to understand
how the alignment specs can influence the handling, I suggest you read a
book devoted to the subject, since I've only included a brief
description of what effects what. There are three values for each
setting: Factory is from the '65 shop manual ('66 up is a even more
conservative). Street is a bit radical, but the car won't be too twitchy
and you won't kill your street tires. Autocross is what I found worked
pretty well for me, you shouldn't consider it gospel, tho, just a good
starting point. Also, remember that I am using *radial* tires, these
values will not work very well on bias-ply tires (such as Hoosier
Autocrossers). For you early owners, the factory specs are a bit
different, but these values should apply as a starting point for a more
performance minded car.


        Camber.

This is the key one. In essence, the tire tries to roll under and corner
on the sidewall so we crank in some negative camber to conteract this.
However, negative camber will wear out the inside shoulder of the tire
more quickly, so think carefully. For both earlies and lates, the front
is adjustable, but the early rear camber can only be set by changing the
ride height. You can either cut the springs or use clamps.

Factory. Front: Positive 1 degree +/- 0.5. Rear: Negative 1 to zero degrees.
Street. Front: Negative 0.5 degree. Rear: Negative 1.0 degree.
Autocross. Front: Negative 1.0 degree. Rear: Negative 1.5 degrees.


        Caster.

Caster affects both self centering, and also helps crank in more camber.
It's only adjustable on the front suspension.

Factory. Front: Positive 2 +/- 0.5 degrees.
Street. Front: Positive 4 degrees.
Autocross. Front: Positive 4 degrees.


        Toe.

This has a lot to do with how the car turns in, but better turn in comes
at the expense of stability. The factory setting is really too much for
any radials. The value is the *total*. Be *very* careful if you try
using toe out and drive the car on the street.

Factory. Front: 1/4" to 3/8" toe in. Rear: 1/8" to 3/8" toe in.
Street: Front: 1/8" toe in. Rear: 1/8" toe in.
Autocross: Front: 1/8" toe out. Rear: 1/8" toe in.




>I just had an alignment done and thought I was really on top  of things by 
>first copying the specs out of an old Cliltons manual to give the  tech  - 
>figuring he wouldn't have a reference for a 40+ year old car handy.  Steers 
>straight but still with a 60's sloppiness and vagueness.
>Alignment was thing last done, after checking all linkages and  ball joints, 
>replacing pitman arm bushing, and adjusting steering box  lash.
>In what way would alignment for radials differ, and with what  affect on 
>steering?
>  Thanks, 
>Matt from L.I. ('66 Monza coupe  110/PG)
>
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