Ian Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 OK so I changed the springs thinking it would raise the body a little more and stop the rubbing issue on one side, it did not raise it as much as I thought it would.. But I think there might be a different issue. On the left side I can stick my hand between the tire and the edge of the fender, but on the right it is like a small finger width.... I have put all new rear suspension parts (BMR with polly bushings) and rear disk brakes from Right Stuff Detailing. I have not replaced the body bushings, yet. I do not recall there being this much difference in the space before moving to AR. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGD72Monte Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 Hi Ian, to confirm the problem, try measuring from the ground to the base of the rear bumper below each tailight. I don't think it is that unusual to have an old car not being perfectly straight. From what I have seen, the higher you raise the rear, the more the differences between the sides show up. When I first got mine I had a similar issue. I changed to stock springs, which lowered the car back to stock and the difference is virtually nil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuck Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 That's a common issue Ian. When I changed my rims and tires this year I had one side with good clearance but the other side rubbed. I had to bend in the quarter panel lip to fix the issue. My buddy with a 71 had a similar issue with his but more severe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cny first gen 71 Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 I just went down and checked mine. Im assuming your talking about the rear . The space between the front of the rear tire and the quater panel. Mine is 2 1/2 on one side and 2 1/4 on the other. you may want to get it on an alignment rack and check the thrust angle see if its off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyDavey Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 pretty much all A bodies are that way... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam (Bones) Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 these cars were anything but perfect when they came off the assem-line you could loosen all your body-mount bolts and straighten her up but!!! you stand a good chance of opening up another can of worms Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted October 23, 2011 Author Share Posted October 23, 2011 I was also thinking that it could be how the rear 1/4's were put on. It had the one on the right replaced way before I got the car, and the left one was replaced when I got it painted back in 01... But like I said I do not remember it being this pronounced before... I went with CC501's for springs, so it is stock height.. I guess I'll have to either bend / cut the fender lip on that side. I was thinking maybe the axle had shifted or something when I put the new parts in. Not having a garage where I can jack it up and look it over sucks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyDavey Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 Ian our car has never been in an accident or had the quarters replaced...that's just the way most of them are. On ours I just trimmed the lip up to the WW molding trim screws....that will clear a 28x10 slick on a 8" rim with a 4.5 backspace.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC-71 Posted October 24, 2011 Share Posted October 24, 2011 Buy two new rally wheels with a greater backset. Thats what I did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
downset71 Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 do to design of rear, the axles's C-Clip govve on the axle wears away. jack up car and move tire in and out. amazed on how much lateral play u find---- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted October 26, 2011 Author Share Posted October 26, 2011 They are new axles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
502ci Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 They are new axles How new? Did you notice this difference before or "after" you put the axles in? If so they could be different lengths. Did you measure them before you put them in? I know it sounds like an interrogation but I'm curious now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted October 26, 2011 Author Share Posted October 26, 2011 Couple years Bill, I got them when I was having the vibration problem... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KLASSIK1 Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 actually the differance is designed , your angle of your driveshaft cannot be straight or it would bind the differance side to side is that way on most all vehicles , we built a 1970 z28 and replaced the entire rear body with new sheetmetal we spent days measuring prior to final weld luckily we were able to obtain an orignal body print it was designed to be off 1/2 inch by design , mopar offset their motors 1 in in the front to accomplish the same result , when you run stock tire there is no problem , try to stuff fatties under your car then you find the differance Leo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallaby Posted October 29, 2011 Share Posted October 29, 2011 That's interesting. It makes sense, but there are other ways to engineer the driveline so the offset result isn't seen from the outside...shifting the engine to one side is pretty clever, or even using two different axle lengths and having the gear carrier not exactly centered would be another way. I assume then that the RH and LH axles are the same in our cars? Maybe when it comes down to cost analysis, having both sides use the same axle was the cheapest (cost saving) method, and offsetting the entire axle assembly was the easy solution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
680HPStroker Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 What Leo says makes sense. I've had the same issue with both stock and aftermarket axles and springs with 275/60/15 tires with wheels that have 5" of backspacing. I only rub once in a blue moon if I get real crazy in curve/corner and it's very slight so it doesn't cut the tire and I can't see it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffss396 Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 I have the same set up and i lost clerance on the right side.I figured that the rear rotors are thicker than the drums are where the wheels seat.I think thats what messed up mine,but a saw fixed it all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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