[Ron M]

Hey folks, my first post and I love t his site so far. Anyway, I am getting back to working on my 49 Chevy with a small block and stock Mustang II front end. I replaced all of the old A arms with aftermarket (stock type) units with heavier springs, rebuilt rack and upgraded to GM calipers with 11" rotors. I also put in a NEW MustangII manual master cylinder with a 58 Vette rear end. Heres my problem or questions.
#1. I have the front end components WAY out of adjustment. So I am wondering if anyone can tell me how to get them set straight enough at home to get the car to an aligment shop about 8 miles away? Could a protractor and tape measure get me there?
#2. My brake pedal goes to the floor, yet no leaks, The pedal seems to pump up somewhat as it bottoms out up and the lines are bled as was the master cylinder before installation. It also seems to have enough brakes when you are just moving it around the driveway (slowly).....

[adtkart]

Ron

As for the alignment, a protractor and tape measure should be able to get you in the ballpark. With the main adjustments being the camber and toe, they can be set relatively close at home. The caster should not be a real problem unless it is a mile out. The main thing is it may not return to straight forward as easy as it should, or may be harder to turn, if it is way off.

As for the brakes. You said that you have a new Must II master cyl. and Vette rearend. Does that mean that you have rear disc? If that is the case, you may need a different master cyl. to operate the rear calipers as they take a considerable amount of fluid to operate.

[Ron M]

Thanks for the reply, but Ineed to give you some more information itr appears.

1.) How do I go about setting the front camber and caster with a protractor and tape? I also think I have a problem when I put in the new Mustang rack. Like a dum..dum, I just bolted everything up and decided to worry about it later, and ofcourse, everything is whacked. If you seen the wheels leaning outward from top to bottom and felt how the thing hardly turns to the right, you would know what I mean. So how do I go about getting it all back in reasonable shape, including the tie rods.


2.) The vette rear end is a 58 which is a 4.11 like the 57 chevies as per a vette expert that rebuilt it. It has drum brakes and it is in this car just because its width is a perfect fit. So I am thinking the stock type manual 1" bore mustang master should be a good fit. I also plumbed this with straight lines - no proportioning valve or in line pressure valves. It was plumbed this way when I first got it with a single resevoir fruit jar type master cylinder, Mustang front with 9" discs and it worked well.

Thanks in advance for the help guys. You are helping me keep my hair.