Well disassembling and I note the pass control arm, upper rear has at least an inch of shims there - could it be because of worn out springs etc? Or possibly a chassis issue. Here is a pic.

http://my70ss.homestead.com/files/Convertable/Shims.jpg

Thks

Rich

Well, that's the opposite of what usually happens to these cars over time (frame sag) which pulls the horns inward. Apparently that side's frame rail is too far outward, as you know--could have been whacked some time in the past. Just eyeballing it, what does the camber look like on that wheel? If the alignment looks ok, I would have it checked and straightened (if necessary) on a frame machine before you get too deep into the resto. My '70 is within 1/16" of shim thickness between the driver's and passenger's side. Good luck Rich!

Tony,

Thks - the car was definately hit on the drivers side - I noted the driver fender, cowl support and bumper were changed. The chassis on the drivers side looks untouhed, the hood seems original.

The tires look fine - no unusual wear. I drove the car over the summer - tracks well no pulls, no shakes or shimmys. In any case I am going to see if I can get it to a chassis shop for them to take a look.

My question though - if it's been ok with the way it is shimmed now - can I leave it as is? Would it be that bad to do? The last owner had it for many years and never had an issue. The accident had to be more then 10 yrs ago.

Thks

Rich

Rich
You can use the offset upper shafts and flip them to eliminate some of that shim stack.

It seems like they only stacked shims on the rear to bring the caster into specs. The front one looks normal, which tells me that the camber is okay. I wonder if the entire frame rail on that side was knocked back a bit in the accident.

I recently had this same problem with my 67. We used the above mentioned offset bolt set, and also had to put it in backwards in order for us to correct this problem.

Thks Shawn and Fig - did you have both sides as well? I note the other side has a few shims as well - so I'm thinking of doing both sides with the offset arms. I'll snap a pic of that side tonight.

Thks

Rich

Hey Rich
I used the offset shafts on both sides and it brought my shim stack way down. The fact that I used a sping that dropped the front a goof 1.5-2 inches really necessitated the use of the offset shafts. Hope all works out for your rich!!!

Thks Fig - either way it will work out - I just spoke to the front end specialist who aligned my SS when I finished the resto on that one - he saw the pics of this one. He's not concerend too much - he has seen it often even on cars that were not hit. He told me not to put the offset arms in yet - first restore the suspension - as it is shot, then bring it to him, he'll decide then if I should go with the off set arms. He wants to see it all together with the new springs, bushings, ball joints first. So I'll wait - I'm still in the middle of disassembling so it will be awhile. I just can't wait to finish this one - it's gonna be way more fun then the Green one.

Thks

Rich