phobos0001

Hi everyone,

ive been putting in plenty of time into the LC torana paddock project and i think ive finnished the whole drivetrain now. so its time to start on the front end. one tyre is quite visibily off to the side and has a heavy camber on it (top of tyre is inwards so...negative camber? i dont know)

how does one adjust the camber and toe on the front end? im assuming they are the rods going from the sub frame to the lower control arms? and caster angle, whats the point of it? dont the wheels spin along that axis anyway? im new to indapendent suspension , all my knowlage (or lack thereof ) is live axels and leaf springs so bear with me here please. when i get home ill take a pic of the front end to demonstrate what the problem is as im having a hard time discribing everything without knowing the proper terms.

also what wheel nuts are compatible with the old torries? its an LC Torrie, ive tried kingwoods but their studs are too small, as are early commodores and theres no toranas in any wreckers near me . anyone know the thread size so i can ask @ repco or something or better yet, got old rusty ones you dont want anymore if i could be so lucky

the rear brakes have siezed too, any advice for getting the drums off to inspect the wheel cylnders, shoes, ect?

and finaly while im posting does anyone happen to know a good position for the idle mixture screws on a stromberg WW?


yea i know its a very mixed thread but it's better then spamming the forums i think

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"He who ignores history is doomed to repeat it"

76lxhatch

Camber is the lean of the wheel side to side, yes you're right that the top leaning inward is negative. Caster is more easily visualised using a car with McPherson struts - it is the angle that the strut leans forward/back (forward at the bottom is positive caster). Of course the same concept applies to any vehicle regardless of suspension type, it's the angle of travel. There are plenty of generic diagrams on the Internet that demonstrate the principles, shouldn't take long to search one out if you need clarification.

Torana camber and caster are adjusted simultaneously by loosening off the top arm mounts and putting shims between the arm pivot and the mount. This is the same as HQ. It's going to be hard to get a very good measurement without accurate tools - maybe use a spirit level and eyeometer to give it a bit of negative camber and as much positive caster as you can get (it will be limited). The rods I think you're talking about are called caster rods but they are not adjustable, they are required for front-rear impact strength because the bottom arm on the early Toranas was only a single arm not an A arm.

The toe is adjusted by turning the tie rods which screw in and out of the outer ends (they have lock nuts). Measure the toe by marking the centre of the tyre and marking (straight down from this) the ground at the front, then roll the car back and mark the ground from the same mark at the rear. Do this both sides, measure between the back marks and between the front marks and take the difference. For your paddock racer this should be near enough to zero difference.

The wheel nuts should also be the same as HQ, 7/16". Commodores will have metric wheel nuts so they won't fit at all.

Wind the adjusters off as far as you can on the brakes, maybe some careful tapping of the drum will help. Patience and plenty of jiggling goes a long way.

phobos0001

awsome, cheers for the advice LXhatch,......do you ever leave your PC mate? your usualy the first to answer my threads!

i took a look at some suspension diagrams to get on more farmiliar terms with what i am dealing with.

theres not much left of the original front end, but im hoping i can get it driving in a straight(ish) line or at the very least a predictable arc hahahaha.

__________________
"He who ignores history is doomed to repeat it"

76lxhatch

I spent most of my days in front of the jolly machine, when I get sick of working I start doing things other than work like posting here

Good luck with the alignment, if you want predictable arcs then just drive lock to lock with your foot flat, who needs straight ahead?

phobos0001

hahahahah, thats golden!
good to know you wont die of stress at work then,
cheers mate

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"He who ignores history is doomed to repeat it"

NG&M

I wouldnt be too worried about castor in that jerry rig. It looks like something is bent!

phobos0001

im not realy worried about caster too much, im not so sure its bent after looking at everything, dont forget speedway cars are designed for 3 things, speed, durability and taking left hand turns, all the problems are on the right hand side of the car.... seeing a pattern? it does look that way though, however the coils on the front drivers side are diffrent to the passenger's side, theyre thicker and its a longer coil, i havent looked at the rear yet though.

ive found out a nice bonus, it actualy has a mechanical locker and is not welded..... i was quite shocked at this.... by the way how did you know it was a jerry rig?

hahahahahaha

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"He who ignores history is doomed to repeat it"

76lxhatch

Didn't realise it was an oval track car - it probably has different springs and shocks at the very least, would have had different size tyres too. It definitely has some wicked negative camber on the one side though so you will be able to straighten it out a little just by adjusting.

How about a pic of the whole car, looks like a pretty cool paddock project to me

phobos0001

not the mose riecent pic, but i got this one, that's my sister in the driver's "seat".....plank-o-wood for now

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"He who ignores history is doomed to repeat it"

phobos0001

more progress, the wheels where siezed on the front brakes, the rotors where full of rust and binding, preventing it from rolling. and as luck would have it, the bake's hardline snapped, so i bought a straight piece and did come home-brew bending and its sorted now, once she's in a drivalbe area i can shake the rust off, so thats no issue...hopefully. and all the pads have plenty of meat left on them, so thats another expense to strike from the list.
ive also come to notice something after wiping the dust\grease from the front end... the whole driver side has been re-done with neoprene bushings..another bonus, pitty the other side is probably still from the factory hahahaha!

hopefully when i get back from the farm on sunday i can throw in some fresh oil as some condensation got in there and i got a milk-shake hanging off the oil cap bit of flushing and we're golden there

__________________
"He who ignores history is doomed to repeat it"