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This is a new section being added to provide technical information about cars or industry tools. This information has been provided by our members or found in industry standard books.
Original Factory Brochures
For nearly every American car you have ever owned here is a link where you can download the original factory brochure for that car. Pick the manufacture, the year and the model. Enjoy
Panhard Bar
Four-bar front end systems: The four-bar front end is designed to allow the front suspension to travel freely up and down but it cannot control side to side motion. A panhard bar (rod) should be installed on all four-bar front-end systems. The bar is mounted to the frame on the drivers side and to the axle on the passenger side and should be installed parallel to the axle.
Rear suspension systems: A panhard bar is required for coil spring and coil-over rear suspensions. Mounting is from frame on drives side to differential housing on passenger side. Various companies make mounting kits or brackets for this type of installation.
Caster, Camber and Toe angles
Caster: This is the incline of the steering axis from vertical in a longitudinal plane. Positive caster is when the steering axis is inclined toward the rear of the car and Negative caster is when the steering axis is inclined towards the front of the car.
Camber: This is the inward or outward tilt of a wheel at its top relative to vertical at its center. If the top of the tire is leaning inward toward the center of the car the tire has negative camber. If the top of the tire is leaning outward it has positive camber.
Toe: This is a measurement of how much the front wheels are turned in or out from a straight ahead position. When the wheels are turned in, toe is Positive. When the wheels are turned out, toe is Negative. Improper toe adjustment will cause premature tire wear and steering instability.
Determining Spline Count
There are various methods of counting spline teeth but the best method is to take white out and mark one of the teeth and count around each tooth clockwise until you reach the marked tooth. As an example on a rear axle, you may have a 28 spline axle or a 31 spline axle.
Safety and Tempered Glass
There is a difference between the glass for the windshield and for the side or rear windows. Front windshields use Laminated Safety Glass. This glass is referred to as AS-1 glass. This glass has an inner and outer piece of glass laminated to a .030' thick plastic liner. This liner helps the glass stay in place when it breaks. The side and rear glass in made of Tempered Glass. This type of glass is very hard and doesn't break easily, but when it does, it shatters into a thousand pieces. This type of glass is referred to as AS-2 glass.
Wiring your head light and tail light
Looking at the back of the bulb there are two vertical pins and one horizontal pin. The virtical pin to your left is the Ground and would be connected to the Black wire inside the socket. The vertical pin on your right is for the High Beam and would have a Green or Red wire connected to the socket. The horizontal pin on the top is for the Low Beam and would have a Red or Red/White wire connected to the socket. The short element inside the bulb is for the Bright light while the taller element is for the Dim light function. It is important that the socket be grounded, especially on a fiberglass car.
Water Pump Identification
For short block (S/B) Chevy's there are two different sizes. A Short pump (measuring 5 5/8' front to back) and a Long Pump (measuring 7 1/4' front to back).
Carburetor Tip
A good starting point for the idle mixture screw adjustment is 1 1/2 turns out.
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