Caster/Camber Tool

[Shoebox]

I'm thinking of doing my own caster/camber (as well as toe) adjusting on my '51 Tudor. Just wondering if anyone has a particular brand or type of tool they have used and liked? I have seen a bunch offered, kinda like one Speedway has, "Deco Magnetic Caster/Camber gauge". I'm replacing most everything that moves in the stearing, plus lower springs and Shoebox Centrals camber improvement kit, and just want to try this. Comments most welcome. Thanks.

[cadillac512]

"kinda like one Speedway has, "Deco Magnetic Caster/Camber gauge"


I have that one and like it. Works well and is simple. BTW, if you don't have any better way, a couple slick paper magazines under the front wheels makes 'em turn easy when aligning.

[petehoovie]

Originally Posted by cadillac512

"kinda like one Speedway has, "Deco Magnetic Caster/Camber gauge"

I have that one and like it. Works well and is simple. BTW, if you don't have any better way, a couple slick paper magazines under the front wheels makes 'em turn easy when aligning.

[Shoebox]

Cadillac & Pete,
Thanks SO MUCH for the quick response to my question on this great 4th of July. My wife and I spent time with my 97 year old 82nd Airborne father today. At some point he said, "This has been fun, now go home and work on that old Ford of yours! Think I'll order up that part from Speedway, Thanks guys!

[Gene1949]

that particular camber caster gauge was sold under a bunch of different names. I have used one for years. In fact I checked it against a setup that was done years ago by an alignment shop. To the best of my ability it was damn near spot-on to what the alignment shop did.
Always knew you came from good stock. Please give the old brother my best. I'm only 80 and got my wings at Ft. Benning in 1962. Spent most of my time in the 82nd at Benning with sometime in Europe

[Gene1949]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

When you do yours put about 2 and 1/2 to 3 and 1/2° caster in that front end. You'll be glad you did. It will drive almost like a modern car especially if you have radials on it. I think I've got about a quarter of a degree of Camber in it also. It'll be a little harder to drive in the parking lot with manual steering but on the road it makes a world of difference. Especially down here in these long straight stretches in Nevada

[Shoebox]

Thanks Gene for the kind words,...and alignment tips. I do have radials and will go with your caster recommendation.

[Flathead Fever]

I have Blue Point or a Snap-on with the turn tables, ilke these in the photos I stole off the internet They came out of my friends' family-owned Cadillac repair shop they had for 60-years. I bought most of the tools they had in there. I bought another almost new blue point camber gauge for $40.00 on the internet. Keep an eye out for them at swap meets, these were the ones a lot of the professionals used. It was too cheap to pass up. Same same caster/camber gauge we had at the phone company. Where I worked, the garage was bulit in 1950 and there were super nice, prediction degreed rotation plates cast flush into the concrete, I have never seen another set of those. From 60-years of washing the stalls they were frozen solid. There was nothing sticking up to get a hold of to free them up. You have to have those plates to check caster. You put the tires straight ahead set on zero degrees on the rotation plates. Leval the camber gauge bubble. Pull the pins on the plates and turn the wheels either 15 or 20 degrees (I forget) in both directions and then read the caster bubble on the gauge. Without the plates you do not know how many degrees to turn the wheels to get the correct caster reading.

[Flathead Fever]

You need a level floor. When I built the addition to my garage for a hoist, I made that slab perfectly level with a laser transit on the finest setting, set to beep at 1/16", that slab is flat as I could make it in case I ever do anymore alignments., Most garage floors slope towards the door. Here is the addition for the hoist with the flat slab for alignments. I dug the footings by hand, formed it up, tied the rebar for the 10,000 lb. hoist, instructions called for a 6-nch slab, 4000 psi concrete with rebar one foot on center. Then it was time for the friends and neighbors to help me frame and lift those 16' walls. One neighbor had a backhoe, or we would have never lifted that wet 2"X6" lumber. I try not pay for any labor on anything, that's why I have had five surgeries and hab ve worn myself out. That's me standing a wall with the dog at my feet. At that point I had zero-dollars in labor in the project except for the concrete finishers and concrete pumper. I tore the roof, stucco, doors... everything off the original garage down to the studs so everything matched when it was done. Every night I went and handpicked a load of lumber for the next day. This project just about did me in. It still needs stuff finished; t did get the hot rod curtains hung.

[wga]

Setting the camber and castor with stock components. Found these crow foot wrenches on Amazon. Other crow foot wrenches are thicker, these are 5/16" thick.


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Shoebox]

wga,
Thanks for the info, however the links don't seem to work, probably something I'm doing. Maybe some part #s? I'll try to copy & paste into my browser.

[wga]

Shoebox - try this link, shows a plethora of wrenches:
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=bzbmgmo+c...s_ts-doa-p_3_7

Ford part number 3046N upper trunnion is BZBMGMO 1 3/8"
Ford part number 3089N lower trunnion is BZBMGMO 1 3/16"