Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[colwyn500]

[colwyn500]

It's looking better for keeping the number after speaking to the very helpful person at the club who will verify the age of my car to DVLA.
I had to bleed the brakes again after fitting a new stop switch but and it was no easier this time. I found that this is a generic item shared with many British cars.
Should I book an MOT now? It's ready but I can't legally drive it until the number is confirmed and that will be weeks away.

[kevin2306]

You can mot it off the chassis number, get it done

[D4B]

Yes no problem using the chassis number, then when DVLA issue new or existing reg number, they will transfer the MOT test pass to that reg anyway... as said "get it done"

[colwyn500]

Thanks...consider it done then.

[colwyn500]

First job for the car....bring home sand for the house build....
BRA_8382 by peterthompson, on Flickr

Not really of course. I read somewhere on the internet that the front toe in should be checked under significant loading. Since all the stout chaps I know pretended not to hear when addressed as such, I had to resort to buckets of sand. These proved to be much more patient and co-operative.

I was sceptical despite doing all this and was surprised to find that my millimetre perfect tracking almost a couple of centimetres out
So this evening will be back under the car again. I wonder if this is the same for all cars?

I also treated myself to an hour or so to hand polish the passenger door and front wing with Farecla G3. the resultant shine is exactly what I wanted and a few more days should see the whole lot done.

BRA_8384 by peterthompson, on Flickr

[peter scott]

One very important thing to do before adjusting toe is to ensure your steering is absolutely straight ahead. You can only ascertain this by driving along on a level (no camber) road and noting the exact steering wheel position.

Peter
_________________
http://www.nostalgiatech.co.uk
1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon

[vitesse]

That's an interesting solution Peter. I didn't notice the one inside at first, I thought you had finally lost the plot!!!!

[colwyn500]

One? One? There's four inside and three in the front! That's around 170kilos. The contributor on the Fiat 500 club quoted that Fiat suggest 280 kilos! Would need Hugh Jarce for that.
I am going to ask on the Fiat Forum what they think because the reverse is also going to be true. If the tracking is spot on with tjis load then I will actually have toe-out when it returns to its normal featherweight load.....of me!

[vitesse]

I missed the s of off one!!!!!

Let me have a read of the bible and see what they say?

[colwyn500]

Tried the toe-in technique anyway althoigh I am keen to hear what the bible says.
The car feels less twitchy now and keeps a straight line better but I'm not saying I won't change it back again.

[vitesse]

Bible says.

Should be carried out with tyre pressure set to 17.1psi front and 26.5psi rear.

With an orderly load of 4 people, so that is when the nearest point of the sump is 156mm from the ground and bottom of the leaf spring mount is 173mm from the ground. Not the very bottom but the actual bit the leaf spring goes through. I don't think when they say orderly they mean well behaved.

Wheels are straight ahead and steering wheel has spokes in horizontal position.

They are using a Fiat workshop tool but it basically is set and measured at the horizontal centre point of the wheel. You are looking to set the toe in to be between 0 and 2mm. So if you measure at the back of the wheel at the centre point and call that A. Then measure at the front at the centre point and call that B. A-B = 0 to 2mm. So you have no toe in or virtually nil.

How the hell you are going to measure on those centre points on the rims to that sort of accuracy I have no idea? You could rig up something with a long bit of wood and some nails I guess.

It says if it needs adjusting the slacken off the four nuts and rotate the sleeves in opposite directions and of an equal amount.

[vitesse]

Thinking about it again I don't see how the toe in would be affected by load. As you are measuring between the front wheels at the horizontal centre line that is never going to alter. The tops and the bottoms of the wheels will change under load but the centre is always going to be in the same position?

Caster and camber is a different think though set by the shims.

Or am I being stupid???

[colwyn500]

Brilliant work Tony. That's very useful and concurs with what I read.
I did measure from the bottom of the mount and it was about 175mm.
I used a brand new magnetic tape measure which stuck to the inner rim edge and butted it up to the other rim. You can't quite get to the horizontal centre of the wheel but pretty close.
I measured front and back a million times and kept measuring the relative lengths of each adjustable track rod at balljoint centres.
After each adjustment and before measuring I rolled the car backwards then forwards again.The rims are new so I have reasonable confidence in the measurements.
I realise that in my search for accuracy I have been a bit cavalier with certain aspects of this but I bet it's better than KwikFit would have achieved.
Time will tell.

[colwyn500]

The camber does change with load and the angle of the wheel unladen is quite sharply pulled in at the bottom. This has a significant effect even at the centreline of the wheel.
The difference on my car was 2cm!
I'm guessing that the designers intended a small amount of toe out in lightly laden driving but this is a whole new area of experience for me.