Hi,
I just wanted chime in on this one. The initial concern was that shorter
springs can result in excessive camber. My direct experience is that the
shorter springs DO result in a negative camber change, but it is very
small. In my case, I was actually trying to get negative camber to help
cornering, and by simply removing the spring pads I was able to get from 0
camber to about 0.5 degrees negative.
But the other thing I wanted to touch on was the condition of the
"uprights" and the spindle attachment. It turns out that these parts can
be effected by various forces including the intentional! Back in the day,
it was not uncommon for racers (and wannabes) to put a pipe on the spindle
and pull up to bend the link (and/or the spindle (axle stub)). The result
is a camber change. Similarly, severe shocks (like hitting a kerb) can
bend those puppies.
So, it's probably a good idea to verify that the upright and spindle is
okay. This is one of those cases where having a parts car or another
complete car to measure things pays "big dividends". But you mention that
the start of this exercise was apparent excessive negative camber. That
points to something being bent. BUT you need to verify the observation
with measurements - so before you go nuts, verify what the camber is
either positive or negative by getting the car on a rack or by setting up
a "string alignment" and measuring stuff. Then you can know what's going
and not working on a "hunch".
Trust me - the hunch thing is a crap shoot. My cars would have a lot more
miles on them if I could get around that hunch thing. By the way, doing
the suspension (bushings, springs, etc.) was very rewarding to me. It
transformed my car back to the way I remembered it. Of course I had a
"hunch" I could do better and built another car. Go figure.
:-)
rml
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