> I had my midget in the alignment/tire balance shop a few weeks ago
> and the technician pointed out that the camber figures were out of spec.
> From driving on roads in this area and hitting some huge pot holes, I
> wasn't surprised. As we all know (well most of us anyway), it's not
> real easy to adjust camber on midgets, on B's too I suppose.
Exactly so. There's basically no adjustability built into the cars,
other than to put shims under the outboard shock bolts. There are a
couple of B tricks that address this issue.
Wait a minute, though. You say the tech pointed out that the camber is
out of spec. Which direction? And what do you want to accomplish with
your car?
You can do anything to any car if you throw enough money at it -- and I
know at least three or four list members who have seen a Midget with the
drivetrain and suspension of a Suzuki Samurai welded under it, making it
a nine-foot-tall Midget suitable for crushing Goggomobiles. The hard part
about making a modification to your car is deciding what you *want* to do,
then following a path that will get you there with the fewest blind alleys.
If I recall, Dean, you've got a post-'75 Midget, which makes matters
a little trickier as I don't know what the extra ride height does to
the stock camber curve. But basically, if your car's camber is out
of spec in the *negative* direction -- that is, if the top of the
wheel is farther inboard than the technician thinks it should be --
leave it alone, as this is a GOOD thing. If your car's camber is out
of spec in the *positive* direction -- with the top of the wheel
farther outboard than spec -- then it might be worth thinking about
if the amount is greater than a degree and a half or so.
So how much, and which direction?
> I started
> looking around and found some adjustable shock arms to correct camber.
> One place I saw wanted ~$100 a piece for uprated shocks with the
> adjustable end link. I also saw a place advertised in Hemmings that was
> selling the arms for ~$35 a piece.
> My camber isn't real far out of spec., but far enough that I know in
> a few years (months) it will probably be way out from the roads.
If all you want to do is bring the car up to stock camber spec, it's
a waste of money. If however you want to dial in negative camber to make
the front end stick better, it might be worth doing, especially if you
want the adjustability to be able to change the camber for different
tire types and spring rates that you plan to consider while developing
a racing car.
--Scott
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