If you recall my previous posting, I have a 76 Spitfire with a positive
camber problem in the front end. I can only guess at the degrees (10?)
but the top of the tire is out 3/4 inch from the bottom. It has the two
standard shims on the lower A arm mounts.
Bob Wanta responded woth good directions and we have been coresponding
offline. Many thanks to Bob. I can learn a lot from this guy.
Anyways, here is the progress report.
There is two areas to check. Shims on the inner mount of the tower (the
front end assembly mount on the tower which mounts to the frame) and
springs too long or too stiff.
I started on the front left and found that there is no shim on the inner
tower mount. If there was, I could have removed it to decrease the
camber. I added 1/4 inch shim to the lower A-arm mounts and
re-assembled. Wow! Look at that toe-in. I wasn't expecting this new
problem but the camber is reduced to probably 1/4 inch (top of tire out
from bottom). Maybe another 1/8 would do the trick. I'm not sure that
this is the right way to proceed. The added 1/4 inch is way more than
normal and 3/8 inch would be even further out in left field and even
more toe-in. Ideas anyone?
I removed the shock during this process and it seems to be original with
this lettering on it: Made in England 217589 F08524X 18E28. The shock is
blue and the spring is black. The collar that forms the bottom mount for
the spring has "Goodhead Mfg Co" on it. When the wheel is on the ground,
there is travel both upward and downward (the shock is not at the end of
travel). The lower A-arm rests at a slighly downward angle (about 15
degrees?). The car seems slightly front end high but I've been told this
is normal for Spits.
|