I don't know about a "kit" but you can buy a caster/camber gauge and then use a tape measure for toe-in and plastic trash bags for turn plates.
I have the Specialty Products c/c gauge that clamps to the wheel. Other people use the Longacre magnetic c/c gauge.

Upon review I see that Bidenomics has greatly inflated the prices of those c/c gauges compared to what I paid 6 or 7 years ago.

 

I do alignments with a Longacre bubble caster/camber gauge that mounts to the wheel lip; you can also get a magnetic adapter to mount to the center of the wheel. I have cheap Toe-In plates with two tape measures to aid in toe adjustment. Finally, I use a laser level to confirm the car is level before aligning, as my garage is sloped. I have old hardwood flooring cut into 1-foot sections to place under the wheels to level, then I use a broom handle to set on top of those wood pieces and confirm the horizontal laser marks the same spot on the top of the broom handle at all four corners.

 

I have the this Tenhulzen kit and have used it on my mustang and F150, verified after at an alignment shop my numbers have been exactly correct. Never done it on a level floor either btw, as you can zero it out to compensate, they say. It has worked for me both times to get it perfectly accurate.

 

I have this exact same kit. I've used it on my '66 coupe and my '12 GT, both drive straight down the road, no weird tire wear. I built a rack of sorts out of 2x12s and 4x4 blocks underneath. Gets my car high enough to be able to adjust stuff.

 

I use an older model Longacre camber/caster gauge that mounts to the wheel and has the optional toe plates. You set the camber/caster gauge to 0* when mounted onto the wheel, so having a perfectly flat surface isn't an absolute necessity.

EDIT: I don't use a Longacre camber/caster gauge, but Fastrax, along with the toe adapter kit. I don't know why Longacre got stuck on my brain.

 

Doing an alignment on a car can be as easy or hard as you want. Way too much to get into here. You can use a bubble level and do the trig to get camber and caster angles. You can measure from a circle marked in the tire to get toe. Or you can get a fully computerized Hunter rack that's well into the 6 figures.

Some basics apply to all approaches. The car has to be level. Like really level. Not your garage floor. It's not level. Setup shops use poured self leveling epoxy setup beds to get things level. And this matters. At the very least you need to do something like use vinyl flooring squares to get four level pads. The other thing is the car needs to be settled before any measurement. Again, lots of ways to do this from ball bearing setup pads to trash bags to simply rolling the car the circumference of the tire.

Asking what tools do you need to do an alignment is like asking what tools do you need to build an engine. You can assemble an engine with a $50 Horror Fraught toolkit. Or you can buy a set of CNC blueprinting machines. And FWIW, most F1 teams still use string jigs to do setups!

Here is my car on a set of setup stands I made when I was racing. The string jig I use isn't installed yet in this pic. But I made a version of the Smart Strings setup. And I use a Longacre digital camber caster jig (as well as a lot of other tooling that only applies to race cars - scales - bump steer gauges, etc).

SmartStrings Kit

NEW for 2025 - All SmartString support tubes are now made using high strength 304 Stainless Steel. Lifetime corrosion resistance guarantee. Fast and simple to use. If you can read a ruler, you can align your car Universal, three-plane telescoping design easily attaches to nearly any car or truck...

smartracingproducts.com

Longacre Digital Caster Camber Gauge 78295

<p>Here's a super accurate digital caster / camber gauge that reads to .1º (1/10º) camber and to .1º caster as high as needed, and at a pric...

www.longacreracing.com

The kit linked to above is just a set of $75 toe plates and a $20 inclinometer. Most racers would see toe plates as a quick and dirty at the track way to set toe. Useful,but not the right way.

https://www.summitracing.com/search/department/tools-shop-equipment?SortBy=BestKeywordMatch&SortOrder=Ascending&keyword=toe+plates

 

Some basics apply to all approaches. The car has to be level. Like really level. Not your garage floor. It's not level. Setup shops use poured self leveling epoxy setup beds to get things level. And this matters. At the very least you need to do something like use vinyl flooring squares to get four level pads. The other thing is the car needs to be settled before any measurement. Again, lots of ways to do this from ball bearing setup pads to trash bags to simply rolling the car the circumference of the tire.

Can you explain to me why is has to be "like really level" My garage floor is anything but and I did my F150 on a slanted tilted driveway and both came out EXACTLY as I had measured when I took it to an alignment shop and they put it on their laser rack thing. Did I get lucky with both? The level gets zeroed and accounts for the floor unevenness, excuse my ignorance.

 

I did mine with a piece of angle iron, a digital level, string and heavy duty garbage bags

 

This is all you need.

Dont bother with the toe plates or longrace gauge. If you want to spend more, invest in turn plates that you can elevate off the ground to make adjustments easier.

 

Damn cell phone bubble level app got me real close.

 

If the car isn’t level then I can’t imagine the angles are correct that are needed for alignment.

Take it to an extreme, if the car was at a 45-deg incline and you read camber then turned the wheels for caster, the gauge is showing much different angles than if the car was level because the steering linkage is 45-degrees lower but the gauge is level/zeroed.

 

The reason for a level floor is "gravity". A car that leans to one side or forward/back shifts the center of gravity which places more weight front or back or side-to-side which compresses and/or extends the spring which moves the control arms which changes the alignment.

 

I got one of these:

Amazon.com

It is highly regarded for the camber/caster settings. I haven't really dug into it yet, as my friends and I are planning to swap my entire front steering, suspension and brakes to all new stock/aftermarket parts sometime in early June after we get back from a trip next weekend. We'll probably thrash on it on a Saturday and Sunday, hoping to be home by Sunday dinner. But you know how these things sometimes go.

I will note that I paid $322, it is $287 now. Usually tools and parts move the opposite direction.

As for the level ground thing. Try corner weighing your car on a hill. Measuring suspension angles on a hill doesn't work for the same reason weighing it wouldn't. I think Woodchuck mentioned it. It's that jerk Sir Isaac Newton.

 

Now it’s $306. WTH

 

I just click the link jdub posted: $286.58

 

Amazon, you sketchy.

 

Amazon, you sketchy.

That's the CA price, you know 'cause you might get cancer from it.

 

@Woodchuck, I would be lucky to find a level or smooth highway in Michigan.

 

Amazon uses a variety of sellers selling the same item, the one in which it shows you first and the reason for it seems to sometimes be regional. You can always choose the seller. Last night the seller it showed me by default would have had the order here by Tuesday. I looked through the other sellers and paid roughly the same price to get it here today, because I need it for tomorrow.

 

Just made a spindle adapter this afternoon. I thought I'd try it out to see how accurate it is compared to the tenhulzen measuring off the rim setup.
3/4-16 coupling nut epoxied to a 4x4 electrical box plate. $15 for 2. Credit to @Huskinhano for the idea.

 

Why pay $300 for a digital level?

Amazon.com: Ziopetru Adjustable Magnetic Gauge Tool, Wheel Camber, Caster Pillar and Wheel Alignment Tools for Automotive Truck RV Tire Repair : Automotive

Buy Ziopetru Adjustable Magnetic Gauge Tool, Wheel Camber, Caster Pillar and Wheel Alignment Tools for Automotive Truck RV Tire Repair: Tire Repair Tools - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

 

Very true. This is simple geometry. I can eyeball alignments. I've always had an eye for even minute deviations from parallel or perpendicular. That's probably why I make maps. I swear I can see a 1 degree difference by looking at the tire from a few different angles.

Triangles are my goddamn business.

But tools are fun.

 

Very true. This is simple geometry. I can eyeball alignments. I've always had an eye for even minute deviations from parallel or perpendicular. That's probably why I make maps. I swear I can see a 1 degree difference by looking at the tire from a few different angles.

Triangles are my goddamn business.

But tools are fun.

I don't doubt your 1 degree claim at all.. Im pretty good myself at being able to square, parallel or plumb by eye. I think its more of a trained skill from doing it constantly all day at work. I often train new hires how to fit parts and I can spot when something is off looking across from my welding bay. I will walk over and ask them if they checked that, cuz it looks off. They will check and wonder how the hell i caught that just by looking at it

 

Tired of eyeballing, I scored a pair of these puppies at a local auction, new in box for thirty bucks.
Not correctly mounted, just checking to make sure all the bits are there.