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Daze wrote:
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.
I'm sure you could get something to work properly with a little time and head scratching.
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If it's out there, I'd like to know!
My rough measurements for the 61-64 UCA show the axis to ball joint (parallel to the offset) is 9". The ball joint mounting surface is offset 1.5" downward. The kicker is it is also offset 3.375" from the UCA centerline. Also the shaft mount centers are at 5-1/2", which does not seem common in the circle track communities. I might be able to start with something and modify it to work but I think I'll save money and time by just making what I need. Of course, if you know of something out there, please point me to it! - Garrett
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Fatman fabricaton makes a galaxie specific tubular UCA but they are IMHO way over priced. I think it's like $800 for a pair
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..and it's intended for their dropped spindle, which is also way overpriced. It's also fabbed, not forged, which is something I tend to avoid in spindles. - Garrett
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..and it's intended for their dropped spindle, which is also way overpriced.
As someone who makes and sells aftermarket parts I never understood why some places charge so much.
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Yeah, it can get pretty outrageous in many cases. I felt that way about the Rack and Pinion kits, which is what prompted me to make my own. There are some good quality parts for reasonable cost out there (CSRP comes to mind) but it seems to be the exception rather than the rule.
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Hi Daze,
I,m close to getting the front end alignment, but have some questions. You previously wrote that our old Galaxies have a positive camber curve in compression. So when the suspension lowers, the top of the tires are forced away from the car(positive camber). Also, the T-Bird/Cougar/LTD spindle swap may also further cause positive camber. To correct the positive camber, shims need to be removed from between the frame and upper control arm shafts. Problem is there are not enough shims available to remove and as a result, the positive camber cannot be completely eliminated. In your case the best that could be achieved was 1 degree of positive camber at your current ride height. So, there is more tire contact with the road on the outside of the tire, rather than the tire being flat or perpendicular to the road.
Question 1: How bad will the tires wear with 1 degree of positive camber?
Question 2: Was the steering affected...does your car feel like it is wandering slightly when driving?
So, to completely eliminate the positive camber after removing all shims is to raise the suspension? In your case, you would have to extend your coil overs slightly. But doing so would increase the distance between the top of tire and the lower lip of the front fender which is why you installed coil overs...to get rid of that large gap. Correct? Cutting the springs to lower the car will only further increase the positive camber, correct?
BTW, a guy at a suspension shop told me that the reason our old Galaxies have positive camber in compression is because the lower control arms are longer than the upper control arms. Can't under stand that as I don't under stand steering geometry. I always thought cars had negative camber in compression.
Sorry for all of the questions! Thanks
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The Galaxie gains positive camber in compression only if, at ride height, the upper ball joint is closer to the ground than the shaft about which the upper control arm rotates. If not, then the camber must decrease in compression. If you don't mind lowering the car a bit, you can get through any positive camber gain and it will start going negative again. Once you reach zero, you've found your new ride height. My car is lowered a lot so I'm well into the negative camber curve, so much so that I needed to shim everything back out to get to zero. - Garrett
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Garrett,
Thanks for trying to explain the camber issue. Problem is I am a beginner, I don't understand. Here is the deal: 61 Galaxie, I have cut half a coil, swapped in Cougar spindles and shaved about 350 lbs of weight off of the front end by enigne/tranny swap and rack and pinion. Currently the tires sit with positive camber. The tops of the tires are further away from the car than the bottom of the tire. When I bounce the front end up and down, the camber seems to increase further as the tops of the tires push further away from the car when compressing the suspension. If I remove all of the adjustment shims, I fear that I will not have enough adjustment to get the tires to 0 degrees. I want to lower the car another 1.5 inches, but am afraid of the results. I believe by so doing, I will further push the wheels into positive camber. I don't want to create a bigger issue than I already have. Sorry for the confusion.
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When I was messing with mine I could never get the camber to go to negative through compression, it only gained in positive camber (that s with t-bird spindles, with oem units I might have been fine). Good news is positive camber will only slightly ware the tires. Its negative camber that really scrubs them. As to the handling, my car drives fine, doesn't wander and has no steering issues, however I know that if I could get the camber to 0º or -.5º the steering would be more responsive. This is not a hard fast rule as every suspension is different, but in general negative camber creates oversteer and positive camber creates understeer.
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