guys, i've had a surprisingly hard time finding a frontend shop that will align my car, i keep getting rejected. all these guys want to fool with these days are these front wheel drive cars and these newer pickups. well i finally found a place that said they could do it in a nearby town, but the mechanic said something that kind of disturbed me. he said he has aligned his share of old ford cars before, but said that sometimes you have to bend the control arms alittle to get it aligned right. now that didn't make me feel good at all, anybody else ever heard of having to do this?

i'm not sure what exactly it is wrong with my frontend, when you make a turn it barks the tire on the side you're turning to. also, when i'm parked on level ground and look at the car from the front, the right tire is kicked outward alittle.
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NMCB 28 Seabee Battalion

Bend the control arm? Ha, this sounds like a Bubba shop. Front suspension is adjusted by a cam bolt on the lower control arm at the crossmember for camber and in the strut rod for caster. They're actually quite easy to align.

I had mine done at a Goodyear tire store. The guy was quite good.

that's what i wondered too gerry, if he didn't know about the adjustment where the control arm goes into the cross member. i'm gonna let him do it, but i'm gonna sit right there with him and make sure nothing gets bent.
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NMCB 28 Seabee Battalion

The mech. is correct.I have had alot of fords,and alot of the pick-ups were done this way....

Pickups, yes. You bend the I-beam. Fairlanes and Mustangs, no. Bending the lower control arm just gets you a damaged control arm. The only thing you could bend to achieve an alignment spec in these cars is the strut rod, and that would only be done if the frame had been damaged.

now i have had the I-beams bent on my 76 pickup to align it, glad i wasn't the only one. but bending a fairlane control arm sounds scarey, they're nowhere close to being as thick as an I-beam.
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NMCB 28 Seabee Battalion

I believe Gerry is correct. I just redone my 67 Fairlane front end completely and seen the adjusting points. I would try Goodyear or anywhere else..