Another alignment thread!
but in doing so took all the adjustment out of the strut bars which brought my tires within 3 inches of the front of the fender, and jacked the torsion bars so far that the car sits like it has no engine in it and has 0 suspension travel because its so stiff. Both cam bolts are still all the way forward and I am at .1/.9 positive caster.
No wonder they get it right.
The reaction struts are not adjustable! They must have the correct position and torque or they will be pushing on the lower control arm bushing and messing everything up. They are adjutable on some Ford's like Mustang/Falcon IIRC - totally different system.
Get yourself a '74 Factory Service Manual just like 67Dart273 wrote above. The section on front suspension in my '67 and '68 FSMs are excellent. I have to imagine the '74 is just as good.
First thing you will need to do is make sure the struts are positioned properly and tight.
Next is check for any looseness in both the suspension and the steering linkage. The first is the control arm bushings and ball joints. The latter is the tie rod ends, steering link, idler and pitman arms. The FSM explains the correct way to check for ball joint play as some play in the lower joint is normal
when the arm is hanging.
To check for play in the steering system, one method is to raise one side and move the tire -wheel with your hands at 9 and 3 o'clock. Look for motion at the joints. Then lower that side and do the same on the other.
Once that's done, you can follow the proceedure in the FSM. Ride hieght, camber, caster, toe.
Another tip. Since the measurements have to be done with the weight on the wheels, drive the car up on some 2x10s or 2 x12s, front and rear. That will get another 1.5" clearance to crawl underneath.
