John McCormack Posted December 13, 2019 Report Share Posted December 13, 2019 I have just had a proper wheel alignment done on the restored TR2. The figures after the alignment are: Left Right Camber 1.4 deg 1.52 deg Castor -1.33 deg -0.07 deg Toe in -1.1mm -1.0mm What impact will this have on the steering? The castor is obviously out on the left wheel, it should be 0. I believe I can adjust this by moving the top ball joint towards the back of the car. How can I do this? B Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted December 13, 2019 Report Share Posted December 13, 2019 7 hours ago, John McCormack said: I have just had a proper wheel alignment done on the restored TR2. The figures after the alignment are: Left Right Camber 1.4 deg 1.52 deg Castor -1.33 deg -0.07 deg Toe in -1.1mm -1.0mm What impact will this have on the steering? The castor is obviously out on the left wheel, it should be 0. I believe I can adjust this by moving the top ball joint towards the back of the car. How can I do this? B The only way you can do this on early chassis is to utilise one of the adjustable top wishbone kits, its a possible symptom of a slightly twisted turret which is relatively easy done on early chassis. Stuart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
John McCormack Posted December 13, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2019 1 hour ago, stuart said: The only way you can do this on early chassis is to utilise one of the adjustable top wishbone kits, its a possible symptom of a slightly twisted turret which is relatively easy done on early chassis. Stuart. Thanks Stuart. This is what I thought. Having inspected it today it looks like the top ball joint is slightly out of alignment, the top of the vertical link looks to be a little bit forward of where it should be. The position of the top of the vertical link is really set by the vertical link but I am going to reverse the upper wishbones just in case they are the problem. Do you think the 1.33 deg castor is enough to warrant fixing it? The car has a slight drift to the left. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lebro Posted December 13, 2019 Report Share Posted December 13, 2019 As I recall, the ball joint pushes into the wishbones on splines. could it be you are 1 spline out ? Bob. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
iain Posted December 13, 2019 Report Share Posted December 13, 2019 1 hour ago, Lebro said: As I recall, the ball joint pushes into the wishbones on splines. could it be you are 1 spline out ? Bob. That has to be worth checking. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted December 13, 2019 Report Share Posted December 13, 2019 2 hours ago, Lebro said: As I recall, the ball joint pushes into the wishbones on splines. could it be you are 1 spline out ? Bob. Wont actually make any difference as its only turning on the centre axis , you need to move the centre axis forwards or backwards to alter the castor. Stuart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
John McCormack Posted December 14, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2019 (edited) The chassis was straight and has not had any accidents/repairs. I undid the top ball joint, it wasn't fully tight as it turned out, and gave the ball joint a tap or two towards the back of the car. It looked to then be vertical. I also loosened the top wishbone mount and gave it a few taps with a hammer to take up any slack. A test drive this morning and it is better. A slight drift to the left on the road camber and when I get on a flat road it is OK. Edited December 14, 2019 by John McCormack Quote Link to post Share on other sites
John McCormack Posted December 19, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2019 (edited) I have moved the left top ball joint as far back as I can by taking up the slack in the wishbone pivot. I did the opposite on the right side to get the caster as close as possible to be the same as the left side. I also tightened the steering, suspension and the chassis cross brace to make sure there was no slack, which there was before I tightened it. This is something I was due to do any way after about 700 miles back in the road. The steering and handling is much improved. The car will drift slightly when there is pronounced camber to the left but it isn't an issue now. Thinking about this issue raises a question. Are chassis aligned differently for left and right hand drive cars. Is a LHD car chassis set up for driving on roads with the camber to the right and a RHD car for camber to the left? Edited December 19, 2019 by John McCormack Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted December 19, 2019 Report Share Posted December 19, 2019 (edited) For US market they did have a small spacer on the passenger (Right hand) side so that side sat slightly lower to accommodate the slightly "Ahem" larger US customer as a driver. Thats all. Stuart. Edited December 19, 2019 by stuart Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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