Thread: Drop spindles alignment

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I called the local tire center about getting my 69 C10 aligned. I told the guy on the phone I had drop spindles and wanted an alignment. He said bring it in and they would see if they could do it. Is the alignment procedure different with drop spindles or should I take it somewhere else ?

Giving the guy the benefit of the doubt, it could be that he's seen one too many botched jobs and has become overly cautious. Probably prudent on his part to not make a commitment until he sees what he's dealing with.

Assuming you're using good quality spindles, and your existing control arms and associated hardware, as well as the frame itself, are in good condition it shouldn't make a difference. Toe will still be adjustable by the tie rod ends, and camber/caster by adjusting the control arm mounting points. If you didn't drop the rear it could be an issue of running out of adjustment range.

Sometimes hunting for people to do this kind of work on a modified vehicle requires an attitude check on them. As an example, I recently needed to have some tube type WW tires mounted on freshly painted wheels for my '33. I went through half a dozen tire shops who all had the attitude that they wouldn't do the job because they were afraid they would pinch the tube, or chip the paint, or some other potential " catastrophe". I ended up with a guy who said he'd try his best not to do any damage, explained to me how he'd protect the wheel and tube, but said he wouldn't guarantee that the paint wouldn't chip (he'd had experience with that issue before). Finally I'd found a guy who was willing to approach the job with a positive attitude instead of a negative one. That was all I wanted. He did a great job, and no damage. (I'm sure it helped that I'd used catalized paint that I heat cured too)

toolow,

If the tire shop guy doesn't work out, you might search for a shop whose primary business is alignments and suspension work. I have dropped spindles on my Studebaker and at the first shop who said he would try, the car was too low to fit on his alignment rack. He suggested another shop that had a straight drive on rack and they did a great job. The guy that did the alignment had about 30 years experience and even though I had a narrowed Nova front suspension, with dropped spindles, in a Studebaker, he was able to set it up right. After initial setting,s he took it out and drove it around and then adjusted again. It really drives sweet now and no tire wear.

Find someone who really knows suspensions, not someone who just reads the settings out of a book or relies on an automated machine.

Pat