i;ve done it on all my cars, it is not that hard. alignment is another skill to have in you automotive repertoire like tuning a carburetor. i learned from watching my dad align his 71 challenger.

make sure your floor is level, i've used a laser level to verify that. my current garage is pretty good. i park the car on some 1/4" plywood on one side to flatten it out.

the FIRST thing to do is set your ride height, because if you change this last then the static caster and camber you just dialed in will change.

i try to set the cars for maximum caster and 0 - 0.5* negative camber. you can measure camber with an angle finder on a straight piece of steel across the rim. or until i had an angle finder we just eyeballed it against the rear wheel. on a solid rear axle car you're pretty assured the rear wheels are vertical. i know people scoff at "eyeball" alignments but your eyes are better than you think.

set the toe last. use a tape measure and compare the measurement across the front and rear of the wheels. make sure you park the car while it's rolling forward as you don't want the wheels deflecting in from rolling backwards. i usually try for 1/16" toe in. while you're adjusting this is a good opportunity to make sure your steering wheel is lined up straight. if you think about which way the tie rods are moving you can make your toe adjustment and help straighten out the wheel.

if the car pulls to one side, add caster to that side to make it drive straight. changing the caster also changes the camber a little, so you will have to fiddle with it some to make it work. on the mopars with cam-bolts for adjusters it is very straightforward. keep practicing.

last week i changed the front shocks on my imperial; that car has suprisingly little suspension travel and to get the front shocks out i had to remove the upper control arm from the frame to let the lower arm fall enough to remove the shock. anyway when i put it back together i set both sides for maximum positive caster and i lucked out cause it drives pretty damn straight now. the new bilsteins are awesome

Last edited by Colin Frolick; 06/16/09 11:03 AM.