Mid Year rear camber adjustment

[Greg Y.]

1966 corvette... and pretty much a newbie at this. left rear was at negative camber. Adjusted it but it slipped back to about where it was before after driving it some. I'm going to get back at it this afternoon but what are the possibilities? Maybe I did not get the bolt tight enough? I'm going to check and see if the outboard bushing caps are missing. Someone said that if those are gone then the wheel will not hold camber. If I can get the camber adjustment bolt out is it possible to tap the caps in without pulling the strut out? Full suspension rebuild is planned for this winter but right now I want to drive it.

Any and all ideas welcomed... thanks in advance
Greg Y.

[Joe R.]

Re: Mid Year rear camber adjustment

Greg,

Take it to an alignment shop that is recommended by Corvette friends in your area. Good idea to completely rebuild a 1966 Corvette. Probably needs the care by now.

JR

[Edward J.]

Re: Mid Year rear camber adjustment

Greg the were some special washers that help with keeping the alignment in spec.. also its possible that the cam nuts were not tight enough you may have to add a little more torque.

[Greg Y.]

Re: Mid Year rear camber adjustment

Greg the were some special washers that help with keeping the alignment in spec.. also its possible that the cam nuts were not tight enough you may have to add a little more torque.

I agree... I'll get back under the car tonight and see if my original adjustment moved at all and to see if the end caps are missing.

[Joe L.]

Re: Mid Year rear camber adjustment

1966 corvette... and pretty much a newbie at this. left rear was at negative camber. Adjusted it but it slipped back to about where it was before after driving it some. I'm going to get back at it this afternoon but what are the possibilities? Maybe I did not get the bolt tight enough? I'm going to check and see if the outboard bushing caps are missing. Someone said that if those are gone then the wheel will not hold camber. If I can get the camber adjustment bolt out is it possible to tap the caps in without pulling the strut out? Full suspension rebuild is planned for this winter but right now I want to drive it.

Any and all ideas welcomed... thanks in advance
Greg Y.

Greg------

My recollection is that no caps were used on the bushings on the outboard end. The caps were only used on both sides of the bushings on the INBOARD end of the strut rod.

Use new split lockwashers AND use Loctite blue. Torque to the specification shown in the AIM or factory service manual.

[Gene M.]

Re: Mid Year rear camber adjustment

Greg------

My recollection is that no caps were used on the bushings on the outboard end. The caps were only used on both sides of the bushings on the INBOARD end of the strut rod.

Use new split lockwashers AND use Loctite blue. Torque to the specification shown in the AIM or factory service manual.

Yes correct and also I’ll add if replacement bushings the outer steel sleeve is present that originals don’t have. So that will enable you to discern if they (bushings) were replaced. If the special cap washers Joe talks of are missing the spacing will be loose making the strut rod brace bend when the cam bolt and nut are tightened.

[Edward J.]

Re: Mid Year rear camber adjustment

Greg if your car has hub caps you can remove them and place a piece of 2X4 against the wheel and use your I-phone compass app. it has a degree wheel that will let you get 0 degrees which should be close enough for now. there is a calibration on the phone just reset it.

[Joe L.]

Re: Mid Year rear camber adjustment

[QUOTE=Edward Johnson (49497);834222]Greg if your car has hub caps you can remove them and place a piece of 2X4 against the wheel and use your I-phone compass app. it has a degree wheel that will let you get 0 degrees which should be close enough for now. there is a calibration on the phone just reset it.[/QUOTE

Edward and Greg------


Yes, but the car has to be on the ground with the suspension normalized when the reading is taken. Then, if it's not right there is a trial and error process that has to be followed with raising the car, making the adjustment by "guesstimate", lowering the car to the ground, normalizing the suspension and measuring again.

[Bill M.]

Re: Mid Year rear camber adjustment

Greg I sit the rear wheels on dollies to adjust and I always use lock tite

[Joe L.]

Re: Mid Year rear camber adjustment

I agree... I'll get back under the car tonight and see if my original adjustment moved at all and to see if the end caps are missing.

Greg------


One more thing: there were 2 different size caps. The smaller size (1-1/4" OD, I think?) was used for 1963-74. A larger size (1-3/8"OD, I think?) was used for 1975-82. The larger size replaced the smaller size for all 1963-82 SERVICE MANY years ago. The larger size is 100% functional for 1963-74 but if the larger size is used on a 1963-74 that is usually detectable during judging. I think that both sizes are available in reproduction. As I recall, the reproductions are not identical to the originals but, once installed, the difference cannot be discerned.

[Joe L.]

Re: Mid Year rear camber adjustment

Greg I sit the rear wheels on dollies to adjust and I always use lock tite

Bill------


Yes, dollies or grease plates can be used. But, one still has to normalize the suspension and one still has to be able to get under the car to make the adjustment.

[Bill M.]

Re: Mid Year rear camber adjustment

Whoops the car is on a 4 post lift

[Richard L.]

Re: Mid Year rear camber adjustment

I'm considering installing adjustable aftermarket rear struts on a driver '63 coupe. It looks to be a convenient, easy and more durable set up than the stock bars with the circle adjusters. Any thoughts?

[Duke W.]

Re: Mid Year rear camber adjustment

If everything is assembled with the proper parts and all fasteners are properly torqued, once set the camber should not change. So why replace the OE parts with aftermarket?

[Richard L.]

Re: Mid Year rear camber adjustment

you're really not going to like what I'm also contemplating--a fiberglass rear spring.