Originally Posted by Carmen Black (Post 7118510)

Well, I built a string box with colored catfishing line and jack stands to do the toe. I measured it with a precision woodworking ruler that allows me to measure to the 1/64th of an inch.

Then I used the SPC performance Caster/Camber tool since the Quick Trick tool was on back order. It has bubble levels instead of digital but it worked ok.

I got as close as I could to Lattimer's specs above. I really think I nailed the alignment. The truck runs straight as an arrow and turns great. The only problem was how mad I got thinking how much money I have spent on alignments over the years. And the best part of it is, I understand aligning the truck enough that I can make a change in 10 minutes anytime I want.

Originally Posted by lowrollin70gmc (Post 7118835)

Random story: When I had my 63 Chevy II aligned I watched from the waiting room (big window) and the guy kept starting it to turn the wheels. So I asked the counterman to let his guy know it has manual steering, no column lock, and to please stop starting it. The blank stare on his face explained everything so I had to walk in the shop and tell the tech myself. Once again I was speaking a foreign language until I had him turn the wheel without starting it and it felt the same.

Originally Posted by davepl (Post 7446283)

I had my '69 Pontiac 2+2 (same chassis as Impala SS) aligned a couple of years ago and when I picked it up they said they could get it close but not all the way because there were no more shims to remove.

Thing is, on that car, you don't use shims! The lower control arm is held in by a huge cam bolt that walks the lower arm inwards and outwards as it is rotated in its pocket.

You would imagine if you do alignments all day every day that you'd know this. But I'm finding that unless it's a speciality shop, anything old now you pretty much have to hold their hand through the process.

Originally Posted by toolboxchev (Post 7447067)

Not to be demeaning to anyone one here who is a mechanic, yet to the ones who are worth their salt I say, " If you need a computer to tell you how to fix one of these trucks you may need to have a close look at where you received your education from."

In needing a computer as in Its going to tell me how to fix it. These vehicles existed, prolonged, endured and survived and won long before the computer has been utilized as an aid.

Originally Posted by Carmen Black (Post 7100478)

After buying a perfectly good running truck, I decided I needed to replace the front springs which the PO had cut down to the point they rattled in their pockets. That turned into this.

So after replacing everything but the engine and the sheet metal, I finally made an appointment for the alignment shop. I chose Merchants Tire because it was 2 miles from my house, and I was worried about having a problem with the truck or dragging the non-aligned tires since it hadn't been out of garage in 9 months.

Well the guy at the shop types the VIN number into a handheld computer. The VIN doesn't come up so he just looks at me and says he can't help me.
I ask him what he is talking about and he says if my truck isn't in the computer, he doesn't know how to align it. The he says that my truck probably has shims. I say yes, its probably got a 1/2 inch of shims on each side. He looked at me like I just fell out of the sky. So I just got back in my truck and left.

The good news is the truck ran great and didn't really feel out of alignment. I kept all the shims together that came out of the truck so I could put them back in and pulled the tie rods out as an assembly so that I could match the length of the new MOOG parts and it drove surprisingly well.

It was really nice weather today and I really wanted to get back on the road.
I just didn't think someone had to have a computer tell them how to do an alignment. I guess I have to find some old timer shop to make this happen.

Originally Posted by lyrikz (Post 7497232)

The problem is those alignments normally sell for 79 bucks and the tech gets an hour pay maaaaaaaybe. So your 2 hour plus alignment shows up that's going to require parts and a bunch of labor and no one wants to do it. I dont. I can do them but I turn em down all the time.

Originally Posted by LEEVON (Post 7497326)

Exactly! But also, in the OP's defense, an alignment tech should know how to override the machine and enter the specs...although knowing what they should actually be and why is another story. My new Hunter Hawkeye Elite does have specs for my '71 and even has the diagrams showing where to shim, etc. I would assume older machines do also? Sounds like he used the VIN scanner as an excuse to get opted out, as he was probably undersold by his service advisor. Shims are extra, should've prepped the customer.