Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
A body factory rear alignment way off #2607507
01/16/19 02:53 PM
01/16/19 02:53 PM
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 472
Minnesota, USA
humpty Offline OP
mopar
humpty  Offline OP
mopar

Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 472
Minnesota, USA
I'm getting ready to finish up the Dana fabrication and found the front spring mounts in my Duster are 3/8" off center towards the driver's side. I could see it with the original 8-3/4 and figured it was just the perches. This summer I found the passenger front spring mount was off front to back by 1/4" so the rear was tracking to the left. I've fixed both but man, that seems like a lot! There doesn't appear to be any damage to the spring boxes.

Is this typical for them to come like this from the factory?

Re: A body factory rear alignment way off [Re: humpty] #2607512
01/16/19 03:03 PM
01/16/19 03:03 PM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 8,021
Tulsa OK
Bad340fish Offline
master
Bad340fish  Offline
master

Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 8,021
Tulsa OK
I would say yes, mine was similar. I centered mine off of the frame rails which may or may not be correct.


68 Barracuda Formula S 340
Re: A body factory rear alignment way off [Re: humpty] #2607513
01/16/19 03:03 PM
01/16/19 03:03 PM
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 4,669
Wichita
G
GY3 Offline
master
GY3  Offline
master
G

Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 4,669
Wichita
I had a '75 Duster that was like that.


'63 Dodge 330
11.19 @ 121 mph
Pump gas, n/a, through the mufflers on street tires with 3.54's. 3,600 lbs.
10.01 @ 133mph with a 250 shot of nitrous an a splash of race gas. 1.36 60 ft. 3,700 lbs.

Re: A body factory rear alignment way off [Re: GY3] #2607559
01/16/19 03:52 PM
01/16/19 03:52 PM
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 19,355
north of coder
moparx Offline
"Butt Crack Bob"
moparx  Offline
"Butt Crack Bob"

Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 19,355
north of coder
almost every vehicle back in the day was built like that. i have never seen one that was to the factory blueprint.
it could be to either side, or front to back, and more often than not, both.
beer

Re: A body factory rear alignment way off [Re: humpty] #2607618
01/16/19 05:08 PM
01/16/19 05:08 PM
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 11,530
Fulton County, PA
C
CMcAllister Offline
Mr. Helpful
CMcAllister  Offline
Mr. Helpful
C

Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 11,530
Fulton County, PA
QC in the day was "yep, it rolls".. I've come to accept that you often have to make something crooked to make it look straight.

I would establish a centerline off of the rocker pinchwelds. And I would drop stringlines to check spring mounts front and rear, frame rails, etc. If one of the front perch mounts was closer to the center, you could put the spring perches on the housing offset, but I would probably fix or modify one or both of the mounts to get it right. 1/8" is not bad. 3/8" is a bunch.


If the results don't match the theory, change the theory.
Re: A body factory rear alignment way off [Re: humpty] #2607632
01/16/19 05:50 PM
01/16/19 05:50 PM
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 2,540
Milwaukee WI
T
TRENDZ Offline
master
TRENDZ  Offline
master
T

Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 2,540
Milwaukee WI
Yep. Invest in a plumb bob.


"use it 'till it breaks, replace as needed"
Re: A body factory rear alignment way off [Re: humpty] #2607635
01/16/19 05:56 PM
01/16/19 05:56 PM
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 472
Minnesota, USA
humpty Offline OP
mopar
humpty  Offline OP
mopar

Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 472
Minnesota, USA
Ha! I must have a Friday afternoon car...

It is good to know I'm not alone. The spring boxes are now fixed and everyrhing lines up. I thought long and hard about cheating the perches over but couldn't bring myself to do it.

Thanks everone!

Re: A body factory rear alignment way off [Re: humpty] #2607642
01/16/19 06:03 PM
01/16/19 06:03 PM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 20,751
A collage of whims
topside Offline
Too Many Posts
topside  Offline
Too Many Posts

Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 20,751
A collage of whims
Not unusual to be 1/4" off side/side, or in wheel opening locations.
I know of a couple Dusters that have a bow in one rocker at the door gap; neither car was ever hit or run aground or jacked up there. One bowed up, one down, one is right side, one is left.
Both cars track & drive straight.

Re: A body factory rear alignment way off [Re: humpty] #2607643
01/16/19 06:11 PM
01/16/19 06:11 PM
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 11,530
Fulton County, PA
C
CMcAllister Offline
Mr. Helpful
CMcAllister  Offline
Mr. Helpful
C

Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 11,530
Fulton County, PA
Good. I'd rather see stuff fixed than half a$$ed. Put a few of these in the air and start dropping stringlines and you get to a point where if you find one that's reasonably straight, you're pleasantly surprised. Not just Mopars, but all of them from the muscle car era.


If the results don't match the theory, change the theory.
Re: A body factory rear alignment way off [Re: humpty] #2607677
01/16/19 07:45 PM
01/16/19 07:45 PM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 20,751
A collage of whims
topside Offline
Too Many Posts
topside  Offline
Too Many Posts

Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 20,751
A collage of whims
It would be interesting to know which/if any plants were better/worse than others, but 45-50 years on, facts would get muddied by restorations, wrecks, and repairs.







Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.1