# gto front wheel alignment



## Chris-Austria (Dec 23, 2010)

Hi!

My left front wheel touches the wheel housing or something when I turn left..
The problem is.. the wheel housing looks good, but I think the distance from the left front wheel to the side skirt is less than on the right side! Could it be misaligned on the left side and because of this it touches somewhere at the wheel housing?
Is the left front wheel adjustable? I think it should be a moved about an inch away from the point where the side skirt begins.


----------



## Chris-Austria (Dec 23, 2010)

The distance between side skirt and left front wheel = about 1 inch
The distance on the other side is 1,5 inches bigger.. can the left front wheel be adjusted to be 1,5 inches moved away from the side skirt??


----------



## Eric Animal (Oct 28, 2007)

Chris, moving the wheel fore or aft by adjusting the alignment will cause a change in CASTER. The caster should be set to proper GM specification, or you will have handling and ride issues. Alignment may be incorrect, causing your problem. Your car may also have a bent A arm, bent frame, misaligned fender/wheelhouse, or a size tire too large. I would check alignment specs before using this to correct the problem. Eric:cheers


----------



## Chris-Austria (Dec 23, 2010)

Frame and wheelhouse don't look bent.. I'll ask a gm (opel) dealer if he can adjust the wheels and caster to specification, but I'm not sure that he has specifications for a 66 gto 
Using 15x7 inch rims.. what tire size should be used? I have 205/75/15...


----------



## geeteeohguy (Feb 2, 2008)

I agree with Eric. Your tire size should be fine. '65-'67 GTO align specs: Caster: -1.5 degrees, camber: -1/4--+3/4, toe: 0--1/8". Don't know what year your car is.....


----------



## Chris-Austria (Dec 23, 2010)

I have a 66 GTO (July 66)
205/75/15 is correct? I found some cars with 225/60/15 wheels, which are about 20mm "thinner" than my wheels. 
What's the metric original size in 14"? I can calculate how big the 15" need to be to have the same radius like the original 14" wheels...

And thank you for the specifications! With these every shop should be able to correct the wheel align front and rear??


----------



## geeteeohguy (Feb 2, 2008)

The closest original size tire is I believe the 215/75/14. The original tire was a 7.50x14 bias ply. The diameter is about 26 inches for an original tire. No rear alignment on the GTO, but all 4 heads get hooked up to check for rear thrust angle. I had a 2 degree thrust in my '67 with the old rear end (bad bushings) that cause a hard pull that no amount of compensating up front would fix. I ended up swapping the rear and installing new bushings and a new control arm to replace the bent one! Good luck. When the alignment guy does a caster cut and gets an SAI reading, he'll be able to tell if you have a bent A arm or spindle. The SAI (Steering Axis Inclination) should be the same on both sides of the car.


----------



## Chris-Austria (Dec 23, 2010)

Okay, I'll try a alignment and check if something is bent or if it's just bad adjusted! Hope it won't be to expensive.. a new control arm or bushings wouldn't be a big problem I think. Diameter of my tires is about 26,75".. not too far away from the original. So this shouldn't be the problem. 
What exactly is the "a arm"? Front lower control arm?


----------



## Eric Animal (Oct 28, 2007)

A arms are the front upper and lower control arms.....only the upper is adjustable. Also check for worn upper and LOWER bushings......


----------



## BearGFR (Aug 25, 2008)

Chris-Austria said:


> The distance between side skirt and left front wheel = about 1 inch
> The distance on the other side is 1,5 inches bigger.. can the left front wheel be adjusted to be 1,5 inches moved away from the side skirt??


Measure the distance from the wheel to the frame rail instead of using the inner fender or any other sheet metal. All the front end sheet metal mounts have quite a bit of adjustability to them to allow lining up all the panels and gaps, and that even includes the front radiator core support. If your clearance problem is related only to the sheet metal and not to the frame, then you should be able to get more clearance by loosening the mounts and shifting the piece(s) over. If all your panel gaps along the edges of the hood and between the doors and fenders are good now, try first just moving the inner fender without disturbing anything else.

Bear


----------



## 66tempestGT (Nov 28, 2009)

geeteeohguy said:


> The closest original size tire is I believe the 215/75/14. The original tire was a 7.50x14 bias ply. The diameter is about 26 inches for an original tire. No rear alignment on the GTO, but all 4 heads get hooked up to check for rear thrust angle. I had a 2 degree thrust in my '67 with the old rear end (bad bushings) that cause a hard pull that no amount of compensating up front would fix. I ended up swapping the rear and installing new bushings and a new control arm to replace the bent one! Good luck. When the alignment guy does a caster cut and gets an SAI reading, he'll be able to tell if you have a bent A arm or spindle. The SAI (Steering Axis Inclination) should be the same on both sides of the car.


i didnt think they invented SAI till the 90s :lol:


----------



## Chris-Austria (Dec 23, 2010)

I was in a shop and a mechanic checked my GTO.. He told me the wheel base is good (5mm difference) and frame and control arms are not bent. Bushings and bearings are good, but I might need an alignment. The upper control arms, the caster, camber and the wheel track. Maybe the steering angle isn't the same on both sides he told me.
What are all the values I will need to get everyting aligned? (66 GTO => wheel track, camber, caster..)


----------



## Instg8ter (Sep 28, 2010)

geeteeohguy said:


> I agree with Eric. Your tire size should be fine. '65-'67 GTO align specs: Caster: -1.5 degrees, camber: -1/4--+3/4, toe: 0--1/8". Don't know what year your car is.....


here they are GeeTee gave them to you in post 5


----------



## geeteeohguy (Feb 2, 2008)

66TempestGT; as a tidbit, Steering Axis Inclination (SAI) used to be called Kingpin Axis Inclination (KAI) prior to the '60's and '70's. It goes all the way back to the birth of the auto, over 100 years. Those old timers were smart: virtually nothing mechanical is new.


----------



## Chris-Austria (Dec 23, 2010)

Instg8ter said:


> here they are GeeTee gave them to you in post 5


I thought I might also need values for the wheel track... If these are all values that are needed, I'm sorry for asking an already answered question 

The shop that will align my front axle has no values for a 66 GTO, so I'll need to have all values ready without any missing.
I don't know how exactly wheel track and the steering angle is adjusted. The tie rod can be turned to adjust the wheel track I thought.. Are there no values needed to do this?


----------



## geeteeohguy (Feb 2, 2008)

You don't need wheel track. You need camber, caster and toe. The heads on the alignment machine connect to all 4 wheels, are compensated for run-out, and away you go. A caster cut is done, and alignment angles are read. Camber, caster, and toe are adjustable, and you have the specs listed here. Nothing more to it. It's a simple, basic job.


----------



## Chris-Austria (Dec 23, 2010)

okay, thank you for the patience  He told me he might need 2-3 hours for the whole Job.. is this possible? on my bmw it was done in 60 minutes.. Seemed to be pretty easy with the correct Equipment!


----------



## Eric Animal (Oct 28, 2007)

He might need time because he isn't familiar with American made autos. ....


----------



## geeteeohguy (Feb 2, 2008)

Yes, I agree with Eric. It typically takes me 30 minutes to an hour, depending on how many shims I need to adjust!!!


----------



## Chris-Austria (Dec 23, 2010)

For me it makes no difference how long he will need, as long as everything is correct aligned after that  Price is 50 Euro ($70).. not depending on the time he needs.
The guy who is more familiar with US Cars is back from holiday at Feb. The other guy who checked for bent parts and bad bushings told me that it could take 2-3 hours, but for the alignment I wait for the other one.. maybe he can do it in 1 hour, couldn't ask him yet.


----------



## Chris-Austria (Dec 23, 2010)

Now everything has been adjusted.. original values are like you told me:

Caster: -1.5 +- 0,5 degrees
Camber: -1/4 to +3/4 degrees
Toe in: 0 to 1/8"

Now I have:

Caster: -2,11°
Camber: -0,09°
Toe in: +0,44°

Especially caster was very bad on the left side.. (camber was +2° before)

Now the left wheel don't hit the fender any more!!!


----------



## Instg8ter (Sep 28, 2010)

success!!!!!!......good to hear Chrisarty:


----------



## Ohio66GTO (May 19, 2014)

I’ve decided to go with a set of 2” drop springs on the front of my 65 GTO instead of the stock height springs. I have two questions. Will all of the values for the alignment stay the same? Should I lower the rear also or leave the rear with stock height springs? I’m worried that it will have a really drastic angle.


----------

