Control Arm Differences

I took my truck for it's first alignment this morning. It's a 48 Chevy with a complete 72 Chevelle wagon chassis. My son had a real nice set of 72 Monte Carlo control arms that I used because there weren't any pits in them. But , The alignment guy couldn't align it because he says the Monte control arms are different. The caster on the drivers side is negative 6.7 degrees which he says he can't do anything with it ???
I've checked part numbers in the after market and they list the same part numbers for both cars. I'm confused at the moment. Anyone have any thoughts?? Thanks , Bill

Find a new alignment shop? If you can prove they are the same part..??..?? What more does he want?

Whats the passenger side s numbers--with castr that far off arms are probably on the wrong side of the car(reversed)

also find a new alignment guy

The caster on the pass side is -3.5. Bill

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Originally Posted by jerry clayton

Whats the passenger side s numbers--with castr that far off arms are probably on the wrong side of the car(reversed)

also find a new alignment guy

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Thats what I thought right away.

The lower control arms should have a hole in the front for the stablizer bar. If they are in the front, they are on the right sides. 68 to 72 are all the same as far as I know.

Upper control arms are reversed.

Driverside upper control arm should be on like this.

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Originally Posted by Trjohn57

Driverside upper control arm should be on like this.

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Thanks for the pic. Here is a pic taken during final assembly. Does it look right?? Thanks ,Bill

I think they look right in that picture

Man those look right ??? Kinda hard to tell from that angle, I did look up the control arms this morning and 1964-1974 Chevelle & monte carlo show the same upper arms part numbers. I'd say find the oldest alignment shop in the area and see what they say.

I just went outside and looked at my 1969 442 and Trjohn57's picture is correct for the drivers side. So just take a peak at yours and the curved area should be to the backside. If it is then find a different alignment shop cuzz the first guy doesn't know what he's doing.

You should be able to set your front end angles close to workable by using a spirit level and a steel ruler. I've forgotten the exact measurements but it was something like 1/8" on 10" is one degree.
Those of you who are up on their maths could soon work it out.

That can get it close enough so then you can get it aligned properly

I wonder if this is to old school for the alignment guy.
Shims are what adjust the upper control arm.
Besides the other adjustment is with the tie-rods. I can't tell by the picture if there are shims up there. Everything looks right to me.
Good luck to you!

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Originally Posted by Trjohn57

I wonder if this is to old school for the alignment guy.
Shims are what adjust the upper control arm.
Besides the other adjustment is with the tie-rods. I can't tell by the picture if there are shims up there. Everything looks right to me.
Good luck to you!

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Bruce, the alignment guy , does alot of the customs and hot rods around town. But he has a reputation of being crochity. He complimented me for the work I've done to my truck , so I took that as a positive. There is another guy about 20 miles further that also has a pretty good reputation. That's another option.
Before I disassembled the chassis, I took this picture,this is the D/S Chevelle a arm. You can see that the cross shaft is offset and it has some shims. In hindsight I probably should have used this set up . Today I am going to take the uppers back off to decide exactly what I plan to do. The bottom picture is what I have to deal with. Thank you guys for taking the time to respond to my question. Bill

There aren't any shimes in there .never seen one that didn't need some shims

Instead of taking them off I think on the driverside that the back bolt needs to be longer and you should add 1/2 inch wide shims in both front and back and then take it to ther other place. If you took it back to the first guy, he might be thinking that your trying to tell him his job. That should get you closer to it.
The bad thing is for the alignment guy. Those bolts that go in there where the shims are. They are knurled by the head of the bolt to hold them in so a person only has to tighten the nut. But with yours he is going to have to hold the bolt from behind the tire while trying to tighten the nut. Maybe he will let you hold the bolt. Hard saying. Almost a two person deal.

Hi Trjohn57, I used new knurled bolts when I put it back together. The bolts are long enough to add 1/2" of shims, but wouldn't that make matters worse ? I asked Bruce (Alignment guy) if I could come back to talk with him when I decided what I was going to do and he was okay with it. Tomorrow( Mon ) I am going to stop after work and run a couple of things by him and see what he says. His answers will help me decide whether to stay with him or not. Thanks , Bill

Bruce should be able to tell you what to do with it. I know they will need some shims. Weather it's 3/8th's to 1/2 inch. I have the front chassis off of a 69 Chevelle on my 37 Pontiac. I know some of my shims were rusty and I believe I don't have enough in there now. 7 years ago when I did my GTO I put the shims in a bag and marked them. When I put it back together it worked great. Still haven't had it to an alignment shop. Seems like no need for it. Someday, maybe. I'm hopeing I don't have the same problem your having with my 37. Keep up on this thread so maybe I can learn what to do with mine.