The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk front end alignment specification - '52 with 79 Nova front clip

I'm looking for a known good alignment values for a 52 that has had either a front steer camaro or nova front clip added.

Has anyone got this sorted out?

I don't think anyone can offer what you are asking for. Unless you can find one that was cut at exactly the same places, and the two frames aligned with each other exactly the same way, someone else's alignment specs are not going to work for your situation.

A better question might be to ask how others have dealt with figuring out the correct alignment for a clipped truck.

why wouldn't it be just the alignment of the originating vehicle? the entire front clip contains all the 'alignable' bits [usually including the steering box too], assuming it's attached straight and true and isn't sittin on a big rake or something, the front geometry should be whatever it originally was

Bill

I think you caught some of the reasons. Its very likely the suspension won't be aligned the same as it was in the original car. Plus the weight might be different, and the wheel base is likely to be different.

You should use the alignment specs for the donor vehicle as a starting point. A good alignment person will then be able to fine tune the specs for your truck. Be sure to get a report once things are dialed in and keep that in your vehicle records for the next time.

I have a 69/70 nova clip in my 39 Coupe... I set the toe in and the camber at the spec for the Nova, seems to work fine... at least i'm not wearing out the tires...

I bought an alignment tool... but if you dont think you can do it... ask the custom tire/wheel bubba who does all the local hotrods...

take it to an old front end guy, he will know where to set it. factory specs are just a guideline.
I retired from A lincoln-Mercury Dealer..All I did was front end work. Some young kid with a 4 wheel alignment machine isn't gonna have a clue without the factory specs to put into the machine.

A competent from end shop can align your front end so it will track true and not dart or wear out tires. The big non correctable thing we run into is people not being aware of the anti-dive factor built into the factory front suspension. In an effort to make the frame grafting "pretty" they upset this angle, sometimes severely. Really not a factor in one that just puts down to the Sonic on saturday night but will definitely unload the rear under hard braking which can be a real bummer in a curve or on less than ideal surfaces.