The suspension adventure...

[azruss]

Caution the technician against over-tightening the nuts on the "dogbone" (lower arm pivot spindle)

The mounting and shim studs for the lower a-arm are fine threaded and usually badly worn. I ended up double nutting mine because the only decent threads were at the end of the stud.

[81SPIDERMATT]

I ended up double nutting mine because the only decent threads were at the end of the stud.[/quote]

me too ... great trick

[garion]

Luckily for me, my threads were in good shape, they came off and went back on without a hitch.

Tomorrow, she going into the alignment shop.. I'll be bringing in the alignment specs, and a small note not to over torque those nuts. Hopefully tomorrow night I'll have her home and going straight!

[garion]

Just got the call from the alignment shop..

Apparently, the camber and caster are definitely off, so they are going to have to shim things around. My toe adjustment was like 1/64 off on one side from spec.. Its a low priority, so probably Friday I'll get it back.

[RoyBatty]

A professional shop should be able to bring your Spider into spec in about 1 hour unless there's a problem.
I can do our in my driveway in less than 2 hours.

[RRoller123]

Curious: Do the usual chain alignment shops typically have the necessary shims? I have not used one of these services on the Spider yet.

[njoconnor]

Pete, I headed over to a local shop recommended by a couple of the better "vintage car" repair shops here in Madison. The proprietor/technician told me that he does 124's for $75, uses shims, and when I got around to changing the suspension parts, he'd sell me some shims replace any on the the car until I brought it in. He uses slotted shims so that the nuts on the pivot bolts don't have to be undone each time. He also reminded me to put weight on the car before final torquing of the various parts, so I suspect he's done a few Fiats and similar types in his time.

Once past all the tax and usual early year expenses, I suspect I'll be emailing Csaba and Ramzi again....

Neil

[johndemar]

I'd stay away from the typical chain alignment shops and find one that works on vintage vehicles. Not to say they couldn't do it, but why take a chance when there are plenty of shops around that know what they're doing. At least in large urban areas.

Found a place in N Phx, glad John (garion) found something in Chandler.

Gotta get it on the road as it's now driving time in Arizona!

[RRoller123]

We have chains like Sullivan Tire, etc here that are extremely knowledgeable on general alignment, have top notch equipment and understand the specs, etc. But I certainly agree they likely have little or NO experience with our cars. The slotted shims are a great idea.

So my thought is to have them do all the measurements, set the Toe-In, and issue their report on the caster and camber. The proper slotted shims could them be purchased, and the calculations made, and the shims easily installed in the driveway. Weight of 200 pounds in both front seats I think is specified. Would have to bring along sandbags or something.

[garion]

Just got back from the alignment shop (well, its full service place..)..

Drives like a dream now! Finally! Here's the final report for you guys to analyze....

[garion]

I dont know why it has 72 on there, its a 79, and I actually gave them the specs (from a 75?)

[garion]

Oh, also noticed these at the bottom of the sheet...