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Axle shifted

3K views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  dokks6t9 
#1 ·
It is hard to tell but i think my axle may be shifted towards the passenger side about 1/2”-1”. What is the best way to check this. I just bought it. 70. And it is pretty jacked up. Subframe connectors bolted to the floor with carriage bolts in the back and welded to subframe in the front. Thoughts?
 
#2 ·
The older cars just did not have the tighter tolerances that the newer cars exhibit today and what you are seeing could very well be considered normal to a point BUT when you ask how do you check this, I wonder if the car has been in an accident at some point in it's life, are both the rims the same with the same offset, is the rear axle original to the car, and the list goes on.

Jim
 
#3 ·
There is nothing original to this car that i can tell. Like i mentioned. The sub frame connectors are in stalled with carriage bolts. There is a lot of work i need to do. Just need to know if this could be a catistraphic problem. There are some dents in the fenders but the underside looks solid
 
#4 ·
On my 73 Custom I built years ago I put steel fender flares on it and while I do not know the measurements I do know one flare is wider than the other as we used a straight edge off of the sidewalls and the tires and rims are identical to each other. While I know they are different, no one has ever said they noticed the difference.

In your case you could figure out what to do to correct things or you might just leave it alone.

Another thing to look at is if the rear axle is square to the chassis and the wheels are centered front to back in the openings. If one side has something like a broken leaf spring or the rear axle not square, with the other side not having a broken leaf and square, this might throw off the gap on one side versus the other.

I bet if you do a search on this site as well as others like a first generation Camaro site, you will find a lot of different gaps between the tire and the quarter panel.

Jim
 
#5 ·
1/2 an inch to 3/4 inch offset is known to be normal on these cars. Mine has a 1/2 inch offset and on large bumps my tire will rub in the upper fender well where the rear quarter curves in. Make sure the alignment pins on both leaf springs are through the hole on the lower spring perch if not your axle will not be square to the body.


Man carriage bolts through the floor to hold the subframe connectors! What a hack job.....
 
#8 ·
One other possibility is that one of the quarters were replaced. I know some of the manufacturers of quarter panels have a larger than stock lip on them, and you may think the rear end has shifted but it could be a after-market quarter has been installed. My 69 has all original quarter panels on it, and I ran 15x7 rally wheels on it with no problem. My buddy has a 69 and the same rally wheels would not fit as they rubbed on the lip. Turned out his quarters were replaced with a fat lip,lol.
 
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