I put a MP Brakes disc brake frontend on my 1972 Duster, will the caster and camber settings be the same as the original drum brake frontend settings?
I am about to take it to the front end alignment shop and I might need some settings.

bwhitejr

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'72 Duster (Performance 360)
'83 Ramcharger (Performance 318)
'80 TrailDuster (360)
'80 D-150 Truck (See Below)
CompCams 252S, Holley 390cfm, Offy manifold
Ported, Polished and Gasket Matched
P4286813 Springs,0.040 Overbore,
0.090 Shaved Head

Manual/power steering, tire size and type, willing to live with stiffer steering than stock, performance handling desired??

These will affect alignment settings. Stock settings were for bias ply tires.

A good general setup would be:

+1 deg caster
-0.5 deg camber
1/16" toe in

Go more positive on caster (+0.5-2 deg) and more negative on camber (-0.5-1 deg) for performance handling and somewhat harder steering.

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

It has power steering. Which right now is very easy to turn, keep in mind, I just put everything back together, so no textbook "alignment" is in effect.

Performance handling would be desirable.

Thanks!

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'72 Duster (Performance 360)
'83 Ramcharger (Performance 318)
'80 TrailDuster (360)
'80 D-150 Truck (See Below)
CompCams 252S, Holley 390cfm, Offy manifold
Ported, Polished and Gasket Matched
P4286813 Springs,0.040 Overbore,
0.090 Shaved Head

I that case, go for +1.5 to 2.5 caster, -0.8 to -1 camber. You may need offset MOOG UCA bushings for this, but likely not. Also keep in mind the more negative camber, the closer the rim will get to the UCA/UBJ. Take a look at wheel clearance first. If more than 0.5-0.7" or so right now, you'll be fine.

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

Lou likes very aggressive alignment. It is great for handling.

Think about how much suspension travel you expect (is your car lowered?). If your car is stiff you can expect less travel and thus less tire wear at ends of the travel.

I like a more compliant (less stiff) suspension than most. Soft T bars with lots of shock and swaybar and tire. This means more travel. On a lowered car like mine this puts you at the bumpstops or travel limit often enough to cause tire wear. I went to a midpoint between stock and Lous spec that seemed to work for me.

If I had stiffer/stiffest bars I would go with Lous suggestion.

If you can ....play with the cam bolts till you find the maximums on caster and camber. Its good to go for alignment with the greatest range possible for the tech. I make sure everything slides easily and looks nice. I have my own specs on a card I give the tech.

Ive never had to use offset bushings....but have been at the limits with stock bushings. Keep in mind Ive never done a PS car.

Its always fun to have the offset bushings on your pocket when Tech says he cant get enough camber. Ta Daaaa!

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Yeah....Im the one who destroyed this rare, vintage automobile.....

You'll be happier with power steering with this set-up. If you're using the car for autoXing or road race work, the aggressive setting will help even out treadwear. Normal tendency is to wear the outer edge more heavily than the rest of the tire.

Toe in: 1/16"
Camber: negatve .75 degrees or more agressive 1 degree negative.
Caster: positive 4.5 degrees

Unfortunately, not all A-bodies were created equally, add in the cumulative effects of crash damage, it may not be possible to get 4.5º of caster. In that case, take as much as it will give and keep it the same on both sides.

If you find the power steering to be over-assisted, recommend going to a smaller diameter steering wheel. Remember that if the PS goes out steering effort will skyrocket.

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You can't fix stupid. - Ron White