Front Axle / Front Suspension: Avanti alignment

[Sagandaga]

Is there anything special that is needed to have my 63 Avanti aligned before I put on new tires? I am looking for a reputable shop in the Albany/Saratoga area of upstate NY. Anyone know of any?

[52hawk]

They are different from most other cars. If you can't find a shop that is familiar with Studebakers,the best thing you can do is take your shop manual to them,and beg them to follow the instructions for alignment.

[sweetolbob]

If you don't get a specific recommendation, look for an alignment center that also does trucks. They usually have a familiarity with kingpins. Also ask if they have done Studebaker's before. The advice on taking the manual is excellent.

Even in this small town part of Michigan, the local alignment center has done a few Studes and Dave is only in his late forties but he's seen about everything and is proud of his work. Cost is usually a bit higher than the generic alignment shops but it is money well spent here.

[rstrasser]

Even though it is a little removed from Albany; Triebels Garage in Red Hook NY has done my Avanti in the past. They do both Trucks and Cars.

Phone 845-758-5800
Ron

[swvalcon]

Be sure you put on the new tire's first then have it aligned right away.

[rstrasser]

What I have discovered and been told over the years of having front ends aligned on various cars is it does not matter if the tires are new or old the alignment measure the angles of the front wheel independent of the tires. What does help the technician is the wear of the tires if they have been on the axle for thousands of miles and what you tell him the car is doing.
Does the car pull to one side, center itself when you let go of the wheel after a turn wander left and right as you go down the road or?
Ron

[Alan]

Look at the tires on an Avanti that has gone 20,000 or more miles and you will see the inside 1" or so will be worn down to the threads and cupped. That will drive the new computer alignment machines crazy.

[64V-K7]

Presuming your king pins and outer pins are ok, before any Stude alignment, take all the heavy crap out of the trunk, adjust wheel bearings and make sure the tire air pressure is where you want it.

[rstrasser]

Alan;
I disagree. Last year I removed the tires on my Avanti due to age. They were the same tires that were on the car the last time it was aligned. There was plenty of tread left and all 4 were evenly worn. The mileage I don't recall, I usually put about 1500 miles a year on the car and the tires were over 10 years old.
I also just acquired a second Avanti that had G78 15 tires on it. Tire Millage unknown; car millage about 69,000. They also were replaced due to age. Also plenty of tread left and evenly worn.
I still do not understand how worn tires will effect the alignment machine. The car is sitting still.
Now my wife's Honda is a different story; it cups the rear tires before they are worn out; fronts are fine. My mechanic tells me many front engined cars do the same thing due to no weight in the rear. Sounds good. The car goes down the road straight.
I do not rotate tires.
Ron

[Alan]

What ever works for you Ron. I am glad you have 2 that doesn't eat tires. The way Stude front ends were designed with the center bell crank. As the front end moves up and down the wheels toe in and out, plus there is 3 degrees Ackerman built in Stude front ends. Most eat up tires for breakfast.

[StudeRich]

The wear on Avanti Tires (or any car) will vary depending on how fresh the Upper Inner "A" Arm bushings are, after some miles and years, the wheels will lose their Positive Camber and lean in, causing the wear Alan is talking about.

But really, it does not change the fact that you MUST have Square, evenly worn, flat treads to get an accurate Camber Reading or adjustment. Usually that equates to Only New Tires will work.

[JoeHall]

For way over 600,000 Studebaker miles now, I have been aligning my own front ends. Excess wear on the inboard of front tires is most often caused by excess negative camber. Problem is, the higher a Stude sits in the front, the more negative camber comes into play. It comes to a point where the adjustment cam will not overcome a high sitting Stude. The problem may be compounded by worn upper & lower rubber bushings, which also cause increased negative camber, as they become increasingly off center with wear.

Since most Avantis sit relatively higher, I am not surprised to hear they are prone to quicker wear on the insides of the front tires.

I seldom rotate tires either.

[64V-K7]

Now my wife's Honda is a different story; it cups the rear tires before they are worn out; fronts are fine. My mechanic tells me many front engined cars do the same thing due to no weight in the rear......Ron

Your rear tires are cupping because the struts are worn out. Tell your mechanic to go back and read a few shop manuals.....

[rstrasser]

No Joe I don't have anywhere near 500,000 miles on a Studebaker nor do I have the equipment to align a front end. I have owned a Studebaker continuously, since 1960. Originally as my only car. Since 1976 and the purchase of the Avanti the car has been reduced to pleasure use.
As far as alignment goes; I have used many different shops, looking for someone that knows what he is doing . One shop got in the way of urban renewal and retires another gentlemen in a local tire shop left. His replacement was a young person that knew nothing.
So far I have been happy with Triebels. They rebuilt the front end on the Avanti and the last time it was aligned I asked them to give it as much positive caster possible (or should I say as little negative as possible) Then they took the car out on the street and readjusted it so it goes down the street straight. Yes it cost money to get it done right.
Ron

[karterfred88]

Although camber is a cause of inner edge tire wear, the most overlooked and common problem is toe. Due to steering component wear, setting toe to "factory" specs is useless. Only by rolling the car across a toe "scrub" gauge can the dynamic toe be measured and wear compensated for. Setting the toe static, say at 1/16" for new radial tires, may result in a dynamic toe out of 1/4" wearing the hell out of the tires from the inside edge as they scrub themselves away. I've seen "perfectly" aligned cars with totally worn out inner edge of the tires in 3,000 miles, due to this problem, when replaced, without any changes to settings, other than toe change, the next set of tires showed NO unusual wear after 20,000 miles.