64 Barracuda front end troubles.

[Patrick Hogan]

Hi all, we just did a front disc brake conversion on my 1964 Barracuda installing a used Kelsey Hayes setup (73 Dart style) and rebuilt the front end with all new bushings, ball joints, tie rods, etc. Our issue is that the left front tire is contacting the front lip of the fender opening, the right tire has good clearance. It went to the alignment shop and with the cam bolts on the upper control arms they were not able to get the caster where it needed to be. The best they could get was left side +2.1 and right side -1.5. The alignment tech suggested that i order a set of adjustable strut rods to fix the issue or at least improve it. I am not sure why I am having this problem and what will correct it. I am definitely not a steering and suspension guy.
All help from this excellent group of mopar guys is much appreciated!

 

[WV64Signet]

Hi all, we just did a front disc brake conversion on my 1964 Barracuda installing a used Kelsey Hayes setup (73 Dart style) and rebuilt the front end with all new bushings, ball joints, tie rods, etc. Our issue is that the left front tire is contacting the front lip of the fender opening, the right tire has good clearance. It went to the alignment shop and with the cam bolts on the upper control arms they were not able to get the caster where it needed to be. The best they could get was left side +2.1 and right side -1.5. The alignment tech suggested that i order a set of adjustable strut rods to fix the issue or at least improve it. I am not sure why I am having this problem and what will correct it. I am definitely not a steering and suspension guy.
All help from this excellent group of mopar guys is much appreciated!

Hmmm....

I just redid the front end of my 64 Valiant along with a disc brake upgrade and did my own alignment.

What size tires are you running?

(Pictures are just as a point of reference....)

 

[Patrick Hogan]

Hmmm....

I just redid the front end of my 64 Valiant along with a disc brake upgrade and did my own alignment.

I have 215/70R14 Cooper Cobra Tires on it, I had no issues before the conversion and rebuild.

What size tires are you running?

(Pictures are just as a point of reference....)

View attachment 1715965762

View attachment 1715965766

 

[Patrick Hogan]

I have 215/70-R14 Cooper Cobra Tires on it. I had no issues before the conversion and front end rebuild

 

[WV64Signet]

I have 215/70-R14 Cooper Cobra Tires on it. I had no issues before the conversion and front end rebuild

Are you running the same ride height? (Torsion bar setting)

 

[Patrick Hogan]

Are you running the same ride height? (Torsion bar setting)

Yes it is set at the same ride height. I saw the Slosh chart also. We can't get the same caster settings on both sides.

 

[RustyRatRod]

Here's your clue to find an alignment shop that knows what they're doing. That one does not. When he wanted you to get adjustable strut rods to adjust caster. That's NOT what they are for. They adjust so you can get the exact length you need to avoid any binding. You do NOT under ANY circumstances use them to adjust caster. You will get the suspension in a bind if you do. Find a new shop.

 

[72bluNblu]

The 73+ Mopar disk set up widens the track width pretty substantially. It depends on what brakes you had before, but, it's a good 1/2" at least. That changes tire to body clearances quite a bit, and the bodies on these cars are not known for having super tight tolerances.

Where did you get this brake kit? And did you swap the upper control arms as well? Getting +2.1° for caster on one side and -1.5° on the other means something is VERY not right. The shop may be part of that problem, but, something is definitely off.

Here's your clue to find an alignment shop that knows what they're doing. That one does not. When he wanted you to get adjustable strut rods to adjust caster. That's NOT what they are for. They adjust so you can get the exact length you need to avoid any binding. You do NOT under ANY circumstances use them to adjust caster. You will get the suspension in a bind if you do. Find a new shop.

Exactly. Your caster may change by using adjustable strut rods, but you should not be using adjustable strut rods to change your caster.

 

[rustycowll69]

Kinda flying blind on this ask. A LOT of good pictures with the wheels and tires removed may very well help. Are you sure you didn't mix up upper control arms or spindles side for side?
The later disk setup has greater track width which may exacerbate tire fitment issues. What tires and wheels are you running now.
If the car has been in any serious accidents it can certainly affect alignment, too. Maybe you could compare your shock upper mount center to center distance with some other known good A-bodies. Closely examine your front frame rails for wrinkles, they should be quite straight. If you have a v8 and an oem rad w/shroud, is the mech fan centered in the shroud opening?

 

[Patrick Hogan]

Here's your clue to find an alignment shop that knows what they're doing. That one does not. When he wanted you to get adjustable strut rods to adjust caster. That's NOT what they are for. They adjust so you can get the exact length you need to avoid any binding. You do NOT under ANY circumstances use them to adjust caster. You will get the suspension in a bind if you do. Find a new shop.

Thanks for all the great input. I agree that the adjustable strut arms are not what I need to fix this. I have what may be a dumb question but we had this apart for a couple of weeks before reassembling it. Is it possible that we got either the upper control arms or lower A arms reversed on the wrong sides and that is causing our caster issue?

 

[72bluNblu]

Thanks for all the great input. I agree that the adjustable strut arms are not what I need to fix this. I have what may be a dumb question but we had this apart for a couple of weeks before reassembling it. Is it possible that we got either the upper control arms or lower A arms reversed on the wrong sides and that is causing our caster issue?

I seriously doubt you switched anything side for side with those numbers. You didn’t swap the LCA’s side for side, as that doesn’t work. Swapping the spindles side for side only moves the brake calipers from rear to front and has no effect on alignment specs at all (and in fact is necessary for clearance with some brake kits). And if you swapped the UCA’s the alignment numbers on both of them would be bad, as it is the drivers side at +2.1° caster is about right if you used regular (non offset) UCA bushings.

 

[Patrick Hogan]

Update:

Well I think I figured out my problem. I originally took it apart and my son reassembled it. While taking it apart I loosened the strut rods which didn't really need to be loosened so when he reassembled it he didn't check them and I had backed them off evenly so they didn't look "off". Just for clarification I thought at the time I was loosening the torsion bars. Both were loose so I am tightening them to the recommended 40 ftlbs and see how that effects my wheel clearances. I'll post another update after I'm done.