Excess positive camber issue

[Outwest34au]

Rob, Bob, Bj and Roy,
thanks all for the input.
BJ, I will add gussets, such a simple job with potential big benefit. How much did you move your LHS in? I will do angular measurements on it before I cut, but if I have to I might as well do it at the same time.

If I add a (circa) 3/8" spacer to the other side both wheels will be positive and I can't see how that will be desirable.
Good idea with the one piece shim Rob. I might have to mill one or file depending on the difference due to caster adjustment, but once again, a job with beneficial long term results.
Roy, welcome to the party.
Are you saying the lower arms ARE different or that they may be?
The measurement from the longitudinal rails to the top shock mount is the same on both sides, but from the shock mount to top control arm mount plate is 10mm extra on the RHS. The LHS wheel sits nicely in the gaurd with my 7 inch Dragways on but the LHS is way out, of course this looks bad because the problem is at the top, if I had excess negative it would not look so pronounced (and be shimmable).
Yesterday I took the radiator out and got the ars* end up in the air then went for beers with the neighbour (was my first day off in a while) but friday coming I will get the front up and take some pics before I strip it down. I plan to mark where the cuts will be but might leave that till Frank rocks up as it will only take 10 minutes to circumcise it with a 4 inch and ultra thin wheel.
In hindsight it isnt going to be that big a job, just one that should not have to be done if the chassis builder was worth his salt.

[Tony Cram]

Hi Outwest34au,

While you have the front end out it would be worth your while to check that you have Series 2 bottom wishbones. They give you more + caster as they are moved slightly forward at the balljoint (~10mm) than series 1. ie there is a left and right side. (Beware dont put them on the wrong side)

I had series 1 originally on my car and they are straight at the ball joint ie are at 90° to the mounting. I had 0° caster. For about $50 for a set of series 2 at the Jaguar wrecker totally transformed my RMC that had bump steer issues. (ended up at 3° + caster after an alignment). Make sure you take enough off each side as adjusting Caster and Camber takes a bit of movement with shims.

Cheers

TC

[RoyTheBoy]

Hi Outwest34au,

Yes, the lower Series II control arms are different from left side to right as Tony C. has mentioned above.

Also note: I believe the Series I upper control arms are also so handed i.e front arm different to rear arm.

If your control arms (upper/lower) were sourced from different vehicles you could have a mixture of SI/II on the left side compared to you right side.

I have attached images of my front end which i removed from a '76 Series II XJ6. I also have scans of the Jaguar supplied Repair Manual that will give you the correct dimensions etc. Let me know and I can upload them

Regards Roy

[bobcowan]

Originally Posted by Outwest34au

Rob, Bob, Bj and Roy,
thanks all for the input.
BJ, I will add gussets, such a simple job with potential big benefit. How much did you move your LHS in? I will do angular measurements on it before I cut, but if I have to I might as well do it at the same time.

If I add a (circa) 3/8" spacer to the other side both wheels will be positive and I can't see how that will be desirable.

With your current a-arms, it wouldn't be benifical. But, if you used an adjustable arm you can make it as long or as short as you want.

The upper and lower arms are differant lengths for a very good reason. As the shorter arm on top moves through it's arc in compression, it pulls the top of the tire in, and increases negative camber. This can be a good thing.

Put the car on jack stands, but make sure the front to back angle is the same as if it were sitting on the ground. On the other side (that has normal alignment) remove the spring/shock, and use a bottle jack to place the hub where the suspension would be if it was sitting on it's tires normally.

Move the tire up 1", 2", and 3" and measure camber change. Then drop the suspension (from ride height) 1", 2" and 3", and measure camber change.

If you use a shorter arm, the camber change will be greater than it is now. Depending on what you have, that could be a good thing, or a bad thing. Shimming for a shorter arm would be more expensive but less work and maybe a better outcome. It also makes it a whole lot easier to adjust the suspension, because you don't have to shim anything. It only takes me about 30-45 minutes to do a complete front end alignment; and I am very picky about it. Close enough, isn't.

Other things to consider is where the tire sits in the wheel well; maybe you want to move it in or out a little. 3/8" doesn't sound like much, but it can really make a differance in tire clearance and looks.

Have you compared the lower ball joints to the chassis center line? Maybe the left one sits further away from the centerline than the right one does.

The point of this rambling thought process is that suspension set up is very tricky. One change affects three others. 3/8" is lot. On my car, 1* of camber only takes about 1/8" of adjustment. And you want to make adjustments in 0.25-0.5* increments. Before you make permanent changes by cutting and welding, make sure you checked all the angles - literally and figurativly. Measure 6 times, cut once.