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camber issues.
The prevailing theory I have seen on this and other forums is that there was more adjustment in the the LTD II alignment and that some spindles were machined with more positive camber and some were closer to the Galaxie spindles. While there may be some truth to this there is another factor:
When I had my car aligned after the LTD II install I had them set up the alignment with 0º camber. I thought I was one of the lucky ones and got spindles machined closer to the OEM spindles. At the time I was running the OEM FE springs with my all aluminum upper 302 and the front end was riding quite high. Now that I have the coil overs installed and the suspension is riding where it was designed to be I have 1º + camber on each side. There are not enough shims on my car currently to be able to remove them and get the camber back to 0º. This tells me that the camber curve on our cars is positive in compression and negative in decompression. That means that ride height is going to play a big part into weather or not people are able to run the LTD II spindles and get their car aligned to 0º camber.
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Daze wrote:
That means that ride height is going to play a big part into weather or not people are able to run the LTD II spindles and get their car aligned to 0º camber.
I agree 100%. Ride height is just a point on the camber curve so if you are trying to get to 0º on a lowered car, you're going to have to modify a hard part, e.g. upper control arm length or mount, or spindle geometry, or...). Of course this will also alter the camber curve. Conversely, if you change spindle geometry, you may need to change ride height to get back to 0º. Since everything is interrelated, the old adage stands true that "the only thing you can't change is just one thing".
I'm running Granada spindles with RideTech ShockWaves on my '63 Galaxie. My front ride height is 21.5" from the fender lip to the ground, measured vertically at the axel centerline. Incidentally, that's 2" lower than when I was running stock springs with 1.5 coils cut and stock spindles (with a heavy 390FE/C6 combo). For 0º camber at ride height, I need a 75" longer control arm (or a .75" thick spacer between the upper control arm shaft and the frame). That is to say, that's what is on the computer screen at the moment based on my measurements and kinematic analysis. With the .75" longer control arm, I should see camber decrease 1º per inch of compression, which seems pretty reasonable. Of course I'll have to verify once everything is bolted up and initial alignment made. - Garrett
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....hmmm..kinematic what? lol...just kidding! I think I get what both of you are trying to explain, but! In the first scenario(Daze's Galaxie) if the ride height is were it should be, I'm assuming that would be factory or OEM why can't the camber get back to zero? I understand there are not enough shims to remove, I am going to assume then, that you are riding lower than factory. In the second scenario, .75" of shimming will get the camber to 1 degree, why not adjust for 0 degrees?
I guess for a guy like me who is attempting for the first time what both of you have already done, the question is...." How low can you go"? In other words, can you drop ride height a specific amount before you start to run into camber issues? Is there a certain amount of play available? Oh yeah, one more question, is 1degree of positive camber going to be really that hard on the front tires? Thanks.
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In the second scenario, .75" of shimming will get the camber to 1 degree, why not adjust for 0 degrees?Thanks.
Sorry for the confusion but I am adjusting for 0º (or slightly negative) camber at ride height. With my setup, I will see an additional 1º of negative camber change for every inch of suspension compression. For example, at one inch of suspension compression, I will have -1º of camber, at two inches of suspension compression, I would have -2º camber...you get the picture. The camber curve directly affects handling and 1º of camber decrease for every inch of suspension compression is probably not too far off the mark.
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Ok, thanks. Just curious...when you ran the stock spindles with 1.5 coils cut, did you have camber issues? Also, you stated that the ride height was at 23.5 inches with that scenario. How much lowering did you achieve with the spring cut. Did it make the front end noticeably stiffer?
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Ok, thanks. Just curious...when you ran the stock spindles with 1.5 coils cut, did you have camber issues? Also, you stated that the ride height was at 23.5 inches with that scenario. How much lowering did you achieve with the spring cut. Did it make the front end noticeably stiffer?
No, I didn't have any camber issues but it had all 5/8" of shims allowed by the book. I wish I could tell you how much the spring cutting lowered the car but I didn't get a before measurement. I'd guess around 2" or so? Regarding the ride, it still felt pillow soft to me when compared to driving a modern car.
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I should also say that although I did not have camber problems, I was not at zero degrees at ride height. I was -0.6 deg on the left and -0.7 deg on the right at ride height. Zero to slightly negative is OK and is better than static positive camber for handling. Not that our beasts are necessarily known for their handling prowess. - Garrett
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You can get tubular UCA's in various lengths for circle track applications. Maybe there are some that will fit these cars and give you a way of getting into a range where you can fine tune the alignment issues?
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Because of the way the UCA on a 61-64 curves over the frame it would almost have to be a galaxie specific tubular arm to get it work properly.
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I agree with Daze. I've been all through Keyser Manufacturing's website and I'm afraid nothing looks like it will work. Galaxies are not well loved by the suspension modification aftermarket.
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