Shelby Drop done, but there's problems

Sorry Larry my post was about as clear as mud... I was referring to the members cars in this thread, thinking most are approx centered...

 

I had the alignment done yesterday to the Shelby specs. New tie rod ends too. The car handles great now, then I put on the new kyb rear shocks, and that helped also. The wheel does still rub on the valance if turned sharp and Rollin over a bump, but otherwise it doesn't. I think I'll move the valance ahead a bit and at a later time trim a little slice out of the valance and we'll it up again. The wheel trim will still go on too. All that's left is to address the steering. It was power and I removed the ram and pump, but I have have manual setup. Unisteer won't ship racks up here, but there's always gm racks.

 

There are a couple of vendors on Ebay who sell Unisteer R&P's. Have you contacted them?

 

I originally chopped my springs, too, maybe that is why my wheels got so close to the front valence.

 

Your wheels should not be rubbing the valance, even with the 4 inch backspace. Those tires are only 25-1/2 inches tall and not extremely wide. I could see them rubbing the fender lip on turns, but not the valance. I suspect the caster is mis-adjusted. In any case, before I'd go trimming a valance, I'd get the correct tire/wheel size, back-spacing, and caster adjustment.

 

Larry, the print out said it was well within the Shelby spec. They told me they could go with factory spec and it wouldn't touch, but I wanted the performance alignment. I just got the wheels too and they only come in one backspace that size, for now. But, dynacorn may offer other backspacing in the future. Its not a big deal. Its a big improvement over what it was when I got it, little 14 inch cookie cutters, wondering on the road. It's all good. Thanks for all the comments/tips.

 

Who did your alignment chain franchise or specialty/custom shop?

 

For you guys that dont know, you can buy a lifetime alignment at the firestone stores for 200 and they will align your car for free for as often as you want after the initial 200.

 

What kind of center caps are those?

 

I had it aligned at a nearby garage, older guys that work on old and new cars.

The center caps come with these magnums, there is a black sticker to go over top, but I might get blue mercury man center caps, or who knows, something different.

 

This is a situation where everything is close enough that the tire brand is coming into play. BFGs tend to run fat for a given nominal size. If someone advised you that size is a good fit, I would bet they have another brand of tire. Ultimately, when really filling a car full of tire, it pays to look at the actual manufacturers sizing, which is typically available online and in reference materials at the tire dealer.

A friend and I were comparing Cooper 265/50/15 tires and BFG 245/60/15s and they were only about 1/4 inch apart in section width ... it should be more like 3/4 inch (20mm) if the sizing was more accurate.

 

I bought the templatefor 67-73 mustang is this the wrong plate to use??

 

same style plate if I'm not mistaken. Just be sure to learn something from this thread. because the maverick/comets bolt holes are at an angle.. you need to be down AND back to end up with the same castor geometry. if you have the type of plate that bolts to the existing holes while allowing you to mark the new ones.. you should be ok. I myself like at least an 1/8" rear setback and evn went as high as 3/16" towards the rear on my old Fairlane wagon. Pretty tough to get too much castor on these old cars.

On the other hand.. more castor = more wear and tear on racks and bushings and whatnot.

 

I read this thread because I am interested in dropping my control arm when I install disc brake spindles. I downloaded a paper template from http://www.themustangshop.com (click rescources, then "how to"). It seems to me that if I followed the template, the control arm would be shifted forward by almost 1/4 inch, and if I hang a plumb line, I would also need to factor in the angle of the car (since it will be raised up in the front) and I am not on level ground to begin with. So, if anyone had a good experience with this, did you use the plumb bob?

 

You will want to use the early (65-66) template.
The clearance between the control arm shaft and the back of the shock tower will be tight, but you won't loose the ability to put castor in it.