Alignment?
 

My B&B roadster's on the road and finally ready for a front-end alignment, and wondered what camber, caster, and toe I should be aiming for. I have the Carrera coilovers and tubular upper and lower control arms.

Any suggestions?

Regards, Alan

Alan:
I'll suggest a generic setup, one that you can work from but will probably not be the best for your car although close. Assuming you'll be using radial tires, start with -1/4 degree camber, +3 degrees caster and 1/8-inch total toe in.

Drive your car after the alignment and check its driveability such as pull and self centering of the steering wheel. The car should track straight and the steering wheel should tend to return to straight ahead after exiting a turn. Also, steering shouldn't be hard even with manual steering, both of which is a function of caster: having to constantly drive the car usually means there's not enough caster; hard steering can mean there's too much caster. It's a fine balance, so adjust accordingly one at a time in small increments.

Check tire wear as you go. Start out with a reasonal tire pressure, such as 27 psi front/25 psi rear. (I'm saying this without knowing what tires you're using, so I'm using typical numbers.) There should be no saw-tooth tread-wear pattern developing, unless you do hard cornering. Outer-edge wear is a sign of excess toe in or positive camber and vice versa. If it's equal wear side-to-side, check toe in first, but 1/8-inch in shouldn't cause such wear.

You didn't say anything about the rear, so I assume you're using a solid axle back there.

What I've given you for the front should be a good start. Most improtantly, find an alignment shop that knows alignment and work with your suspension for a while. Check in later. Good luck.

I took mine to an alignment shop and had them set it just like a Mustang II. I use my car for street use only and it seems fine to me! Steering is good, no uneven tire wear and self centers after corners. Jim