1929 Ford Model A Front end alignment

I use a pair of 2 ft pieces of angle iron (bed frame). With the wheels off I bolt the angle iron (centered) to each hub. Measure between the two irons at the front and the rear. Adjust the tie rod for 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch less at the front of the angle iron than at the rear.
 
In summer of 1958 my employer during a conversation commented that he dreaded a trip to Albuquerque NM due to poor steering. A fellow employee and I asked if we could look at the pick-up, with his permission; we found a bent tie rod. His trip was scheduled for the next day so an alignment shop was out. We told him we thought we could improve the steering by straightening the rod which was done using a screw driver to mark the tires in a manner described earlier. Upon his return he said he was impressed with the improved steering,
 
Toe set by using a bar held against the tire with two contact points will be affected by any wheel runout. Wire spoke wheels are never perfectly true. Not for long, anyway. Chalk the tire tread. scribe a line in the chalk by spinning the wheel against a fixed pointer. Measure. Adjust. This is far more accurate than those computerized laser contraptions that clamp to the wheel rims.
 
Back
Top