Ok..I have posted this a couple of times on different boards but I figured I would throw it here as well....

Measured from wheel center to wheel center..

Drivers side = 103 1/2"
Pass. side = 101 1/2"

But afterwards I noticed that my steering wheel wasn't exactly straight when I did it.. and my pass side rear shock/spring is sagging slightly lower than the drivers side (about 1/2" in the difference)

Two inches is a lot isn't it??? She does pull very slightly to the passenger side, even after I got a 4 wheel alignment.

Weird thing is... there are no signs of a bent chassis, doors close perfectly, a slight push and they "chunk" shut, just like a new car almost, rear hatch closes perfectly, t-tops fit properly, and the pull to the passenger side is very slight, on the highway she pulls straight.

The guy that is doing my SFC's asked me where I got my front wheel alignment done and I told him the local GM Dealership... he laughed and said that they probably never did it right. He said that I should take it to another shop which he recommended, he said that they are the only people in town that know anything about front wheel alignments. I did have work done there before on another of my cars and they do damn good work (they put in new front struts and springs for me). Guess I will know after tomorrow. If she is not bent then I will have to get the front wheel alignment done again!! GRRRRR!!!

If you want to eliminate the possibility of it being a wheel position/wheel front-end alignment issue- pick a solid point at the front of the car (i.e. an non-moving spot) such as the frame right behind/beside where the strut is located.

Do your measurements from there on each side to the centre of the rear wheel hub- not the wheel itself. Just make sure you pick the exact same spot on both sides of the front end.


Now- if you do find some misalignment issues- it could any of a number of things:

-bent passenger compartment (i.e. sagged)
-moved subframe (front or rear) on the bushings-i.e. subframe shifting
-loose/worn rear control arm bushings
-bent subframe (front or rear or both)

As well- and I can't speak for certain on 3rd Gens. but 2nd Gens had a passenger side 'shift' of about .25"- the rear axle was placed forward .25" more on the pass. side than the driver side. This was a factory design feature which no one has been able to explain definitively- but the going theory is that GM was trying to get as much weight as possible over the rear passenger wheel vs. the driver wheel without causing other big issues.


Also- just a question- but how exactly would someone doing a 4-wheel alignment on a car that has a solid rear axle make adjustments? i.e. how could you change the alignment of the rear wheels without major re-work or replacing (as mentioned above) bushings or disconnecting/reconnecting subframe? I'm thinking this is one of those 'feel good' activities that don't in fact get done.

As for 2" out- this is MAJOR and as such I suspect your measurments were way off to start with. If you were 2" out on one side you would have more than just a pull- hopping/skipping at high speeds and excessive vibration at anything over 20km/h- as well as visible misalignment when looking from the rear beside wheel to front of vehicle.

Stan, dude, don't worry about it...t-top car and 5.7L...it happens to all of us. I'm sure if I measured mine it would probably be the same...but I'm not gonna check, because what I don't know won't hurt me!

I think your probably ok. Once the SFC's are in, you should have to worry about chassis flex anymore.

I suppose yer right... I am just a little freaked about the accident my car was in at some point in the past.

I don't know the severity of it! All I know is that the front bumper cover was replaced, a new rad support was installed, and the driver's side fender/wheel well was replaced. Now all of that could have been replaced in a minor accident or it could have been replaced due to a major collision.

I rear ended a Grand Am a couple of years ago in my Cavalier, the collision was only at about 30 kph but I had to get my rad support replaced, passenger fender and bumper cover.

DAMN I wish the Ontario Govt would quit that strike... Paul would then be able to run my VIN and find out the past owners of my car and seeif she was in a major accident or not!!! hehehe

The shop that is making my SFC's... yes "making" them, long story about a wrong part ordered... end of story, shop is going to make me a set.

Anyway.. while the car was on the ramp the "chassis guy" checked it out and he said that my chassis is not bent .. phew!! At least I can feel a little more comfortable about installing the SFC's and adding more HP.

Any bending from here on in will be a direct result of my own doing