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Upper control arm issues

1.2K views 7 replies 7 participants last post by  tx65coupe  
#1 ·
Ok, so first yes I've read through tons of info on here about UCA adjustments. So when I loosened everything on the driver side I noticed there are no shims. I thought that must be why my DS tire hits the fender when turning right. However there are no shims on my PS and it turns left no problems.

I put about 1/2" of shims in the front and 1/16" in the rear of the DS UCA and it seems to have made no change...what gives?
 

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#6 ·
Information such as year, current mods and tire size would have been nice to have at the time you asked the question. You really gave no information to help others to help you. I would be leery to start throwing shims at it without knowing what my baseline alignment figures are. kip
 
#5 ·
Tire and wheel size as well as the wheel offset can and will definitely effect whether the tires could possibly rub or not. With regards to the shims, and I could be mistaken here, but from what I've read I think you're confusing the 1/16" part where that should be the maximum difference between the front and rear bolts. For example, you shouldn't have anymore than 1/16" difference in shims between the front and rear bolts of the UCA's. Again, I could be mistaken here, but I don't believe that means you should only have 1/16" of shims total on the rear UCA bolt.
 
#7 ·
These cars when built were far from precision. They were being built fast and furious along with a 10 year life expectancy. It's 50+ years later with accidents, road abuse and modifications so all bets are off. My 66 is very solid outside of a minor dent on the RR lower Q panel at some point, it's never been wrecked. It's probably a very good example of what came out of the factory. My LF tire rubs at times.

A 1/8" difference between shim packs on the upper arm changes caster by 2* and 1/8" to both studs changes camber by 2/3* according to the Ford shop manual and they don't want to see more then 1/8" difference between front and rear shim packs on one arm.
 
#8 ·
My left front tire has slightly rubbed on rare occasion just forward of the upper center of the arch. These cars were not built to be perfect and likely few ever will be. If you determine that you do need adjustable strut rods places like Street or Track and Rosehill Performance sell heim jointed adjustables that also eliminate the rubber bushing. That tire does look like it sits farther forward than would be desirable. Also that wheel and tire combo looks kinda large and may stick out too far. What size are the wheels and tires rim width and offset?