I'm going to set up my alignment platform for a get-together at the new shop.
Get your 914 (4 wheel) aligned for $35 plus cost of rear shims.
Saturday, Nov. 4th - 10am to whenever; rain day - Sunday Nov. 5.
Who's coming? RSVP

Oh I will be there

I'd be in if I could get my car over there . . . hmm

That probably pretty unlikely tho I might just stop by to see some cars

i think i would be in for that. Same as above, if i can get my car to start and actually drive that far it would be awesome. Hopefully have it all sorted out this weekend.

_billy

Just duct tape your tie rod to the wheel and you should be fine

Wow, even though I align myself I would be into that if you weren't so
far, and I wasn't so busy with other stuff.
Thanks,

Sounds like a plan. I'm open on that date and it's not far for me. I'll RSVP when we get closer. I'll try to grab a teener friend.

Don

chris i'm in too!!! and if you see heidi tell her i have her part....s too!!!!!!!!!

Chris, I will be there my car could sure use an alignment.
Need directions from 84 east...Thanks
Paul F.

oooh! i should be able to make it as well!

this is just the push i need to tighten a few things back up after storage and maybe even find time to swap out my horribly slipping clutch.

or i could just show up, oil leaks, slipping clutch and all!!

That's the spirit!
Actually the clutch might be a good thing to work on before venturing out of state.


I'll post directions here.

I'm planning to be there... just to hang out.. no alignment needed

Scott... call me if you want a hand with the clutch

BUMP!!!!! hey you guys... LETS show our support for CHRIS!!!!!! he is striving to be the go to guy in our area and with his help which i know we all can use we will all be better because of it !!!!

Chris,

Nice deal. I'm assuming if I just want readings with no adjustment that would be OK? I'd like to see if my car is what I think it is.

I don't suppose you have scales too?

I'm about 80% good for this right now. I'll let you know as we get closer.

Kelly

I have a low budget (digital) scale setup that works on the same platform. We can corner balance your car instead of adjusting the toe/camber.

just keeping it near the front

I'm a bit confused by corner balancing. What are you trying to acheive exactly. And also I never hear anyone talk about tire size when doing this. Wouldn't you want to take into account how much rubber you have in the front compared to the back when balancing the car?


I noticed after switching to larger tires in the rear I could play with the brake bias and get alot more braking out of the back without locking up. So at some point tire size shouold be considered I imagine.

Good timing! I just rebuilt the whole front-end and need to have that done. I'll call you about other work needed too.

-Mike D.

Nathan,
Corner balancing is not for changing the front/rear weight bias. The primary value is to eliminate cross-weight (usually from incorrect torsion bar adjustment). When that occurs two diagonal corners of the car carry more then half the total load and handling is negatively affected.
To do a thorough competition alignment it is necessary to have the driver's weight in the car, the tires inflated to operating pressure, and the anti-sway bars disconnected.
Corner weights should be checked before other alignment parameters are adjusted since altering the ride height of a corner will change both camber and toe. I've had good success getting corner balance in the ballpark just by measuring ride heights (at key locations) carefully.

Gotta check date but would love to come
Howie

Mike,
I haven't seen your 914 since you finished it. I'm glad you're planning to come.
Howie, I hope you can make it.
As far as I'm concerned this is as much a 914 social as it is a work day.
I know at least a couple of 914 owners who are not on the board who will be here for alignments.

my teener is back in the shop, not sure if i will have it back in time for the align day. Hopefully though, we will see.


BTW, how much are the shims?

_billy

I have new shims from Engman. They will be $10 each, or $27.00 for a set of 3.

sounds great. Hopefully the car will be in order for me to get up there.

Nate - you wanna ride up together? would be nice to have someone ride along with me just incase.

Yeah that would be cool. I may have to stop for gas once or twice
Any others intersted in rolling up there together?

Directions from the west: I-84E to Exit 60, right off exit. Move to left lane and bear left at split. Go straight at second light on New State Road. Take the first right, Hilliard St. Go straight at the light, left at the stop sign, through the esses, left at the second stop sign, all on Hilliard St. Take the second left, Canterbury St. Canterbury is a short residential street. At the end turn right into the industrial driveway. C F R is at the near end of the building.

Directions from the east: I-84W to Exit 63, right off exit. Turn right at the second light onto 83S. Follow 83S for nearly 2 miles, through a right and a left. After the railroad tracks turn right onto Hilliard. Take the third right, Canterbury St. Loomis St. is at the end of Canterbury.

Directions from the north: I-91S to I-291E. Take the Tolland Tpk exit, go left off exit. Turn right at the light after Manchester Honda. Stay in the left lane to go straight at the first light on Adams St. Turn left at the second light onto Hilliard St. Go left at the stop sign, through the esses, left at the second stop sign, all on Hilliard St. Take the second left, Canterbury St. At the end turn right into the industrial driveway. If you missed the Tolland Tpk exit go to the end and take the right exit toward I-84W. Get off at Exit 60 (before re-entering I-84), turn left off the exit and follow directions above from the west.

BE THERE OR BE SQUARE

Chris if I show up around 11-12 on Saturday will that work into your alignment schedule?

Paul F.

That should be fine Paul. We'll be working on a first come first served basis.

The advance forecast calls for partly sunny skies and temps around 50F.
It should be a nice day!

New wheels will not be in till next week, going from 15inch to 17inch. Can car be Align'd on old wheels?

I would love to join everyone but my wife is away for the day and I am watching our daughter. If she were older I would bring her along but 3 months is a bit young for a ride in the 914!

Chris, if you have another day in the spring I will definitely make it down. I plan on doing some suspension work over the winter and will need an alignment.

Have fun everyone! Wish I could be there.

Alignment with the old wheels is fine as long as the track width doesn't change significantly when you put on the new ones.

Chris, would you mind if I stopped by, looked at some cars, and just hung out for a while?

Two enthusiasts plan to be there mid-morning. See you all then.

Don

By all means Jim, come on over.

Hey Chris,

I should be able to make the trip tomorrow and am trying to get a few more 914's to make the run from the NJ/metro area. I am not going to need an allignment, more for the chance to see your shop and I would like to take a look at the new exhaust coating you are offering. I was also hoping to discuss front mounted oil cooler options with you.

Looks like a good day to take the parkway in the 914!

Oh and I would like to purchase a fuel line for a carb setup.

Leo

Sounds Great Leo!

I'll have hot coffee ready for the earlybirds.

Call me at (860) 647-8719 if you get lost.

Few pics from today

asdf

couple more

thought I would post a few pictures myself

few inside

And, just a few more shots.....

The scene outside
Click to view attachment

The alignment rig
Click to view attachment

Leo and his pizza delivery vehicle
Click to view attachment

And a very proud grandfather
Click to view attachment

that looks like it was alot of fun, too bad i couldnt make it, thanks for the pics =]

Never knew my car could handle so good.....Thanks for the great alignment job Chris.
Nothing wrong with your shop and your fathers Ryan PT 22 either.
Paul F.

I'm glad everyone had a good time! Ten 914s made the trip to my shop yesterday. Four other members also came to the event - one whose car was already at the shop.
I only managed to complete 4 alignments, after getting a slow start on Paul's green car. Those 4 appeared to be in the greatest need, and should all benefit substantially from the adjustments. I'm heading to the shop soon today to align the black one. The (local) owner is in Mexico and his friend Pat brought it over for alignment but I ran out of time yesterday. Another owner dropped his car off late in the day for more substantial work too.

Thanks for putting on the alignment event, Chris. It was worth the drive and learning experience. Having 10 914's in one location (all registered to boot) was probably the largest gathering in New England this year. Also, thanks for the pizza.
Let's do it again next year.

Don

Thanks Chris!
The car feels great. I'm glad I made the trip. Nice cars, cool people and a great shop. It was a really fun day all around and I made it to Long Island in time for dinner.