looking for a good alignment shop

[n00blike]

I was hoping someone here knew one or what to look for in one. Is there some equipment i should look for or ask if they have?

 

[66340SEDAN]

DO NOT GO TO TIRES PLUS OR WALMART!! :angry7:

 

[n00blike]

lol i was doing some research and found these places and wanted to know if anyone has tried them?

http://www.customalignment.com/

http://www.rogerkrausracing.net/Pricing_Information.html

 

[pettybludart]

I was hoping someone here knew one or what to look for in one. Is there some equipment i should look for or ask if they have?

Look for oldtimer that knows Mopars!Ask in General disscusion Forum for caster and camber specs. take with you to alignment shop.That,s what I did last month for my 66 Dart.21 year old did mine!

 

[dusterdon]

I go to a frame shop. Tried to go to a tire store and they said that they couldn't do it. give me a brake. the frame shop I use now gets all of my alignmentt and front end work. Try the yellow pages.

 

[Dcuda69]

I've been doing alignments for 25+ yrs. I see this question all the time on various boards. Look for a CAR guy to do it! I've got 2 shops in a town of 60,000 that can align any car handed to them(I worked at one of them)!!!I now teach susp. classes at a tech college and the one thing I tell my students is.. if you understand the angles and how they work together you can align anything!
You don't need to find a Mopar guy,just someone willing to do the job the right way! The last shop I worked at was owned by a racer. We had muscle cars and drag cars(all makes and models) in that shop on a daily basis. Most we didn't even look up specs. for,we set them up based on usage rather than spec!!

 

[pettybludart]

Well that,s at your shop,1/2 the kids working on cars today,don,t have a clue about old cars.I did say 1/2.LOL

 

[Jim Lusk]

Years ago (late 80s) I had good luck with Wheel Works, but I can't say how they are now. Generally speaking any tire store will be a crap shoot, though.

We had an 87 Daytona aligned at local Big O (when they were in business) and when they were done the car had a fairly hard pull to the right. I looked at the numbers, which were "in spec" and it was obvious that the car would have a pull. They balked at fixing it and just couldn't see where the problem was.

You need to know what you want and have them align to your specs.

 

[Dcuda69]

Well that,s at your shop,1/2 the kids working on cars today,don,t have a clue about old cars.I did say 1/2.LOL

While this may be true,camber/caster/toe hasn't changed one bit.The eccentrics used on our Mopars are exactly the same as GM used on their 4x4 trucks till the mid-late 90's. If a guy can do one of them,he can surely do an old Mopar. Just need to find someone who will be paid for his time(i.e. NOT flat-rate)!

 

[Jim Lusk]

One more comment. I took my son's Dart by a shop once to get an alignment done. The guy told it would be double the price since his guy was not familiar with them. I snapped back that I wasn't going to pay a guy to learn.

 

[Dcuda69]

One more comment. I took my son's Dart by a shop once to get an alignment done. The guy told it would be double the price since his guy was not familiar with them. I snapped back that I wasn't going to pay a guy to learn.

Wow that's insane!! Little story..Had a guy show up w/ a 442,wanted an align,wanted to wait/watch,didn't want anyone to drive the car,etc. We agreed and I got the job.He stood by the whole time as I tweaked and explained(2+hrs)When I was done,he road tested,came back happy. When paying the bill(yes,we lost our a$$)he stated he had been looking for a shop that would do what we just did. Then said he needed someone to take care of the rest of his vehicles.Turns out he was a electrical contractor that had 40 vans!!!! We got the contract. We more than made up for that align!!!!!!!!!Seems some guys running shops need to look at the big pic!!

 

[n00blike]

Wow that's insane!! Little story..Had a guy show up w/ a 442,wanted an align,wanted to wait/watch,didn't want anyone to drive the car,etc. We agreed and I got the job.He stood by the whole time as I tweaked and explained(2+hrs)When I was done,he road tested,came back happy. When paying the bill(yes,we lost our a$$)he stated he had been looking for a shop that would do what we just did. Then said he needed someone to take care of the rest of his vehicles.Turns out he was a electrical contractor that had 40 vans!!!! We got the contract. We more than made up for that align!!!!!!!!!Seems some guys running shops need to look at the big pic!!

Nice! Yeah once i find a shop i like i stick with it. That's why i don't get why more people like a quick buck rather then returning customers and great word of mouth.