The Crusty Cuda: Whole lotta Shakin' (N96) Goin' on!

[John Brown]

Used to do drag car alignments at home using such tools. Slip plates were made of 1/4 steel on the floor with an aluminum plate on top, and grease between the two to allow the suspension to remain in a relaxed state. Worked out quite well.

[njsteve]

Actually, I just used several sheets of really slippery, thick, polyethylene plastic. I cut them into 12" squares and placed them on top of each other, under the front tires. It's like having the front wheels on ice. I can turn the wheels with one hand! Who needs power steering!

[olredalert]

----Wow, Steve! You are getting close. Such a good looking Mopar.....Bill S

[njsteve]

Here's the alignment contraption in action. You do camber first. You have to zero the level on the garage floor rght next to the wheel so it zero's out to the floor's angle. There was probably a 1 or 2 degree angle to the floor toward the left side of the garage. So I had to readjust it when I went to the other side of the car.

The reading on the ground is zero (I put the edge of the bubble just below the zero line so It's easier to see). And once it is clamped to the wheel it reads the true reading of 1/4 degree positive for the passenger side.

[njsteve]

Caster is measured by attaching the contraption to the wheel and then turning the wheel outwards 15 degrees. By design, the end of the bubble level has a 15 cut to the fore and aft of the end of the level. So you just turn the wheel til it approximates that mark. Then you zero the right side of the bubble gauge. Once you zero it, you then turn the wheel inward to the other 15 degree mark and see what it reads.

Here it reads about 1/2 degree negative caster. (It was kind of hard to get the photo angle right so it looks like 1/4 in the photo).

[njsteve]

Finally I did the toe today. I tried two measurement versions to see if they match up. (They did). I used the old Manco Wheel Alignment tool. You set it behind the front wheels and zero the gauge. You them move it to the front of the front wheels and read what it says. Though the initial reading was about 16 on the scale, which reads in 1/32nds, When I tried my other method, it showed a difference of 1-1/2 inches between the rear measurement and the front.

My second method is to take a metal straight edge, hold it tight agains the tire and trace a chalk line along the straight edge. You do that to both wheels. Then simply measure the distance under the car from one line to the other. Subtract them from each other and you get the amount of toe-in or toe-out. I had 71-1/2" behind the wheel and 70" in front.

So I adjusted the tie rods to move the passenger side wheel out (which was noticeable turned in) and wound up with a measurement difference of 1/16" which is the spec. After I adjusted the wheels, I made new chalk marks and verified the Manco gauge results.

[njsteve]

I then bolted the old driver's seat in place and took her out for her maiden voyage! I was able to see the odometer roll from 76,999 to 77,000 miles! I drove a couple miles and the alignment worked out nicely. No pulling or drifting. With the tall, bias ply tires, the car is really easy to steer with the slightly negative caster, even at low speeds.

I then backed her into the garage. I still have to adjust the tie rods to get the steering wheel centered. The center spoke is currently in the 4:30 position and needs to be moved to 6:00. It was getting dark so I will save that for another day.

[cook_dw]

We need video confirmation! Great progress.

[njsteve]

I have yet to figure out how to directly post a video here without a youtube account or something like it.

[njsteve]

I've spent the last few days doing the upholstery on the rear seats. (Can't do anything else greasy since that white upholstery is unforgiving to dirty hands). I stripped both top and bottom frames to the bare metal, hosed them down and then sprayed them with phosphoric acid to kill the surface rust. After that I let it all dry a few days, rinsed them off and once they dried, painted them with black Rustoleum.

(Actuallly I figured it was time to bring them in after the wife said "What the heck do you think the neighbors are thinking? That we threw out a couple of old box springs in the front yard to rust away? What are we: Jersey Rednecks???? Get those damn things...yada, yada, yada...out to the curb with the rest of the garbage...yada, yada".

So by then the installation kit had arrived so it was time to tackle the project.

The foam on the bottom and the cotton padding on the top cushion were all mouse-ified and needed to be tossed. I took a lot of photos of the disassembly and kept them handy. But the most handy tool was the video that Legendary did on their youtube channel that showed the step by step process for installing all the burlap, muslin, foam and cotton layers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUo_...yAutoInteriors

They sell a installation kit that has more than enough stuff to do the rear seats. In fact about three times as much cotton as I needed - an entire bale from what it looks like.

Anyway, 300 hog rings later, and half a dozen puncture holes in my fingers, here is how it turned out.

P.S. Although the photo makes it look like the back cushion is brighter than the other white pieces, that is just the way the light is hitting it. They all match in real life.