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RE: steering rack alignment (now shock and camber shimming)

To: "Larry list account" <list@marketvalue.net>,
Subject: RE: steering rack alignment (now shock and camber shimming)
From: Barney Gaylord <barneymg@MGAguru.com>
Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 09:47:49 -0500
At 05:14 PM 5/25/04 -0600, Larry list account wrote:
>Interesting.  I'm trying to visualize this.  Do you have any idea how much
>shim would have to be placed under the shock to go 1/2 degree negative?

This is a simple matter of geometry.  The lever shock has a base width of 
2.75" between the mounting bolts (left to right), and a shaft height of 
1.75" from the mounting surface.

If you install a 1/8" stack of shims under the outer end of the shock base, 
this will tilt it 2.65 degrees, and will move the shaft toward the 
centerline of the car  0.08".

The distance between the suspension upper and lower trunion bolts is 8.5", 
so this 0.08" inward displacement of the upper trunion will result in 
camber adjustment of negative 0.54 degrees.  That's not a lot, but it may 
be enough to fix some minor misalignment one way or the other.

If you were an avid autocrosser, and you wanted 1 degree negative camber, 
you would need to shim the outer and of the shock base nearly 1/4" to tilt 
the shock body about 5 degrees.  If I was to do this, I would more likely 
use a solid wedge plate rather than spot shims.  I haven't investigated 
this enough to know if this 5 degrees displacement of the shock body might 
result in running out of downward travel of the shock arm (but I suspect not).

Barney Gaylord
1958 MGA with an attitude (but absolutely no camber)
http://MGAguru.com





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