My 1972 GS 455 has a 111 inch wheelbase. Nothing seems to be wrong in the rear but the front wheel sits too far to the back in the wheel openings. When turning sharp the touch the fenders. The car was restored 10 years ago and the guy who did it has no memory of mixing up the front suspension parts and the car hasnt been in a crash. What can be the problem? Is it possible that the A-arms are taken from e.g a Chevelle? Any ideas about this ? Thank You John
My guess would be smaller (thinner) core support bushings and/or shims allowing the front end to sit too low.
Thanks for the reply. The problem is not that the front is too low. The front wheels are not in the right position. They are one inch too much to the back of the car.
What size tire are you running. I have 235/70's and had to do a few slight mods for consistant clearance. I always thought that the front tires look like they set back farther in the wheel well than other A bodies.
If the tire you have is a 205/75/15 the diameter is 28.3 inches. I am currently running a 235/70/15 that is a 28" diameter and I had to massage the wheel well to make them fit. You need to run a tire with a different diameter and you should be OK. I would go to a tire shop and have them mount up a couple of different sizes and see what looks best. A 235/60 or 245/60 should eliminate the problem.
I do not think there is any chance of installing control arms on the wrong side, on the lowers I doubt you could get the springs in that way. The 70 through 72 Skylark body was not designed for a 28 inch diameter tire. Now if Jon has this problem with a 14 inch wheel then all bets are off and the car needs to be put on a frame machine and measured. As far as I know the biggest factory tire was a G60-15 which is in the 235/245 60 range. Most Skylarks came with 14 inch wheels which gives you about a 26 inch diameter tire. I know on my car a 205/75/15 would rub.
How exactly are youy measuring the wheelbase? A tape measure is'nt going to cut it. How do you know the wheels are exactly straight? I wouldnt be surprised if you were an inch off in your measurments using that method. What I think you need to do is bring the car to an alignment shop that has am imaging aligner. The aligner will measure the exact wheelbase and can measure the SAI which will indicate if there are any bent parts. It will also measure "set back". This way you'll know exactly whats going on. Money well spent. Especially after ten years of use. After you get it aligned, post the measurents and we'll give them a look.
Thanks guys ! I agree with the idea of bringing the car to the alignment shop and measure it. ll be back when I got the data. John
Cool! Looking forward to analysing the numbers. I just installed this today at a shop. One of the latest and greatest imaging aligners my company makes. Check it out---->John Bean Co. This thing is amazing.
