Quote Originally Posted by firebird77clone View Post
OK I feel like I am entering Alzheimer's or something:

Somewhere along the line, it got drilled into my head that the pinion angle is supposed to be 3* down relative to the transmission.

Am I completely wrong, or perhaps this specification was specifically for leaf spring set ups, to compensate for spring wrap?
That sounds about right for a leaf spring setup. On a high performance leaf spring car, you have to lower the pinion angle to allow for the spring twist under acceleration.