As long as you double checked the torque on everything I wouldn’t be too concerned about 8 miles.  If your toe is way out of whack you can have some pretty odd / dangerous steering,  so I would take it slow and keep off the freeway.


You are right about the rear not being aligned, but rear ride height will affect your front caster angle.  If you drop the rear 1” you gain about .5 degree positive caster.  So, if you want to get the most accurate setup I’d go to the shop after you lower the back.

Adding the math....
So let’s say your mustang is 106” wheelbase.

When you lift or lower one end of your car you are basically working with a giant circle that has the radius of your car wheelbase.
So...
106”x2=212” (the diameter of this imaginary circle)
212”X3.14(pi)= about 665” (the circumference of this imaginary circle)
665”/360 degrees = 1.85” per degree of caster change.
So if you were to lower the back of your car 1” and leave the front alone you gain about .54 degrees positive caster.   Hope that helps someone in future land.

Last edited by Bentworker (6/01/2018 12:26 PM)

Bentworker wrote:

As long as you double checked the torque on everything I wouldn’t be too concerned about 8 miles. If your toe is way out of whack you can have some pretty odd / dangerous steering, so I would take it slow and keep off the freeway.


You are right about the rear not being aligned, but rear ride height will affect your front caster angle. If you drop the rear 1” you gain about .5 degree positive caster. So, if you want to get the most accurate setup I’d go to the shop after you lower the back.

All you need is a tape measure to adjust you toe, It would be worth checking be before taking car out. Unless you messed around with tie rods you should be ok

I agree with TKO. I have been using a Fastrax gauge for years and it does a great alignment. Nothing difficult, just takes some patience.  I made my turntables, but a couple of doubled up trash bags under the front tires works too. 
Good luck with your project

I drove the Heap from near Jacksonville, MS to Fort Walton Beach, FL with no...that means ZERO...shims under the left UCA.  Wanna talk about the alignment being off?  The car was fine at speed but it did mill a little rubber off of the inside of the left tire. 

I think you'll be fine for a few miles of easy driving if you make sure the toe is close.  Also, I agree with TKO about DIY alignment.  I use a Longacre gauge with homebrew turn plates.  Did the car myself after the "Pro Induced" fiasco on the Bash trip last year and the car has never felt better.

BB

One trick worth noting is that if you have multiple shims its a good idea to tack weld them together to prevent movement between them.  In effect you've created a tiny shear moment of inertia between each shim when there are multiple shims.  This can lead to loosening.  Some shims have a tab with a hole in it as well, and Ive seen guys safety wire the shims together through that hole.

Alessandro wrote:

Hi , i done less than 20 miles before i get my alignement done and i cant belive how was worn out the inside of the tires in the front . 
Dont drive until you go there , and yes put the leaf springs before you go.
change height , change aligement...
Please when you have finished the alignement can you tell me how many spacers have used and which measure ?  
i ask you this because when i got mine aligned was needed a good quantity of spacers on  passenger side. 
The alignement shop do not suggest me to do the arning drop just because should be needed more spacers . But too many spacers and put long bolts is not a good solution ( what he sayd)
i would like to collate the differences between shops .
thanks! 

You'll notice a huge difference in negative camber with the drop, which is why the inside edges of the tires can wear fairly quickly.  If you use a lowering spring it will be even greater.  The toe will go way far in too, making the front end pigeon toed.  That's why I'd advise at least some initial adjustments.  In all honesty you could just go by eye and get it much closer than doing nothing.  The tires will be obviously tilted in at the top.  2 degrees doesn't seem like a lot, but its quite obvious.  You can leave the caster alone.  You should only pick up positive caster with the drop, as it also relocated the control arms rearward, and if the stagger is off side to side its not a big deal and really won't wear the tires in short order, it just might pull to one side a bit. 

TKOPerformance wrote:

One trick worth noting is that if you have multiple shims its a good idea to tack weld them together to prevent movement between them.  In effect you've created a tiny shear moment of inertia between each shim when there are multiple shims.  This can lead to loosening.  Some shims have a tab with a hole in it as well, and Ive seen guys safety wire the shims together through that hole.

Isn't dangerous  have the car aligned  with a lot of spacers ?   ( more than 1 inch ) .
Make the uca so far from grab the frame isn't  it self-defeating ?
There is a reason because i got so many spacers on passenger and few on driver ?
The spindle can have some guilty ?
thanks !

Definitely too many spacers are not good, even if the bolts are long enough, because you are creating a lever upon which the suspension now acts.  Consider how much force the springs produce to control the front end of the car over rough terrain.  Even at 400 lbs/inch at 3" of travel you are putting 1,200 lbs of force into those two A-arm bolts.  Actually more because it isn't static and the velocity with which the suspension is moving makes it even heavier.  The farther the A-arm is spaced off the shock tower the greater the lever upon which that force is acting.  Even a 1" lever makes the effective force several times greater.

This is one reason why the '67-later suspension is inherently better than the early cars.  Eccentric adjuster for camber instead of shims.  Adjustable strut rods for caster instead of shims. 

I don't think I'd want much more than a thin shim or two to set it up.  If it needed more than that I'd rather shorten the LCA or lengthen the UCA.  You could pie cut the UCA to gain positive caster too.  Now at that point I'd probably just go to building something adjustable with turnbuckles.  It gets out of control quick...

no I didn't touch them...the car had just been aligned before I bought it..i know this don't mean much as I did stuff to it..but that's the closest anything like that was touched

Jim Bowie wrote:

Bentworker wrote:

As long as you double checked the torque on everything I wouldn’t be too concerned about 8 miles. If your toe is way out of whack you can have some pretty odd / dangerous steering, so I would take it slow and keep off the freeway.


You are right about the rear not being aligned, but rear ride height will affect your front caster angle. If you drop the rear 1” you gain about .5 degree positive caster. So, if you want to get the most accurate setup I’d go to the shop after you lower the back.

All you need is a tape measure to adjust you toe, It would be worth checking be before taking car out. Unless you messed around with tie rods you should be ok

lol...I am now tempted  to try this lol

BobC wrote:

I agree with TKO. I have been using a Fastrax gauge for years and it does a great alignment. Nothing difficult, just takes some patience.  I made my turntables, but a couple of doubled up trash bags under the front tires works too. 
Good luck with your project

if I take it in..ill talk to the guy about it..they said he does all the older cars

TKOPerformance wrote:

One trick worth noting is that if you have multiple shims its a good idea to tack weld them together to prevent movement between them.  In effect you've created a tiny shear moment of inertia between each shim when there are multiple shims.  This can lead to loosening.  Some shims have a tab with a hole in it as well, and Ive seen guys safety wire the shims together through that hole.

I could see a small amount of pigeon toe..but almost none..it was a lot more before I moved the car...as far as it leaning to one ide or the other it eyeballs pretty straight as well

TKOPerformance wrote:

Alessandro wrote:

Hi , i done less than 20 miles before i get my alignement done and i cant belive how was worn out the inside of the tires in the front . 
Dont drive until you go there , and yes put the leaf springs before you go.
change height , change aligement...
Please when you have finished the alignement can you tell me how many spacers have used and which measure ?  
i ask you this because when i got mine aligned was needed a good quantity of spacers on  passenger side. 
The alignement shop do not suggest me to do the arning drop just because should be needed more spacers . But too many spacers and put long bolts is not a good solution ( what he sayd)
i would like to collate the differences between shops .
thanks! 

You'll notice a huge difference in negative camber with the drop, which is why the inside edges of the tires can wear fairly quickly.  If you use a lowering spring it will be even greater.  The toe will go way far in too, making the front end pigeon toed.  That's why I'd advise at least some initial adjustments.  In all honesty you could just go by eye and get it much closer than doing nothing.  The tires will be obviously tilted in at the top.  2 degrees doesn't seem like a lot, but its quite obvious.  You can leave the caster alone.  You should only pick up positive caster with the drop, as it also relocated the control arms rearward, and if the stagger is off side to side its not a big deal and really won't wear the tires in short order, it just might pull to one side a bit.