Alfetta steering geometry

["John Hertzman" <johnhertzman@domain.elided>]

Alfetta Steering Geometry

Beatle Bayly in Oz asks "I need to know if Alfettas have Ackerman steering
geometry ?  Another term would be "toe out on turns" -- It's for a low cost
spaceframe racing project and I want to know if it's possible to swap the
unmodified uprights (hub carriers) from side to side to place the steeering
rack fwd of wheel centreline."

I haven't checked but on the basis of the one car I owned (and built, and
drove on the street) with parallel steering (i.e., non-Ackerman) and a locked
rear-end I will unreservedly wager that Alfettas have conventional Ackerman
geometry. A parallel-steering car is a blast to drive with the tail hung out
on all but the most gentle turns, but an absolute beast, and peculiarly noisy
from tire-scrub, in any more sedate turning situation.

I will also add that the only car I am familiar with which (very briefly) had
its Alfetta steering rack simply transferred from behind the wheel centerline
to in front of the wheel centerline surprised its builder the first time he
drove it, turning in the opposite direction than he intended. He survived, and
immediately replaced the Alfetta rack with one which went in the right
direction- from a Morris Minor, I believe. He had bent the steering arms (with
judicious use of the torch) to allow reasonable Ackerman steering, but hadn't
quite thought through rack directionality.

Cheers

John H.
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