33 Hot Rod & Truck Front End Alignment

[GoDadGo]

Hey Gang,

Yesterday I brought my pal's 33 Hot Rod to a shop, since I've got a car trailer, to be aligned...It's a well-known shop that's been in business for years that does a lot of customized cars and street rods...Knowing the shop's reputation we both felt confident that the 33-HR would be in good hands but they didn't have a clue as to how to align the thing.

They called us after about two hours apologizing profusely that, "They Weren't Able To Align The Car!"..When we picked it up and brought it home to see that we had negative caster on the right with positive caster on the left so we took action immediately to get the alignment back to where we had previously set it.

NOTE:..With two sheetrock squares, a tape measure, four 6" blocks and piece of square tubing we were able to set the tow and camber.
............We eyeballed the caster using a small piece of square tubing with our magnetic angle gauge attached to it and got it done.
............With that said, don't under-estimate your mechanical abilities, similarly don't over-estimate shops in your area.

The reason why I'm posting this is to make HR-33 and HR-Truck builders aware that the super cool front ends on these cars may be over the heads of most alignment shops so don't assume that they can align your ride.


Steve

[NAZ]

I find it easy to stump the average mechanic or counter guy nowadays. If they can't look it up on the computer they're lost. The cantilevered style front suspension is a bit harder to adjust than a garden variety A-Arm type.

But for less than the cost of a "real" alignment you can purchase the tools and do it yourself. I've been using an old Rebco gauge forever but here's a similar one: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/lng-78272 This, some vinyl floor tiles and some ingenuity and you can align your own front end, even at the track.

Learning new things is part of the hot rodding journey and alignment is one of the easier skills to master.

[GoDadGo]

Thanks Naz,

This tool will end up in my Massive Shop very soon!

Massive Shop Video:
https://youtu.be/IGYtX-3p7xk

Never thought a Banker and a Maintenance Manager could out align professional certified techs.
I guess their multiple-choice, fill in the blank, true/false upbringing has caused them to pass over the land of Critical Thinking!

Steve

NOTE:..Does the tool come in with in structions?
...........If not, be prepared to give me your phone number so you can walk me through the process.

[tony]

I used the fastrax gauge. Very good tool, and it was fun to actually align the car.

[NAZ]

Steve, you'll be amazed at how easy it is after the first one (learning curve). If you decide to go the DIY route, I can give you some tips if you get stuck.

For all those thinking about this, you don't need thousands of dollars worth of special alignment equipment to do a quality alignment but you do need good quality tools to make it easier. You don't even need turn plates or the fancy portable leveling racks if you have some mechanical aptitude & creativity.