Back suspension

[Gary Baxter]

I wonder if someone would be so kind as to give me some advice. I am in the process of performing a body-off restoration on my 280sl and after receiving the car back from the spray painters, I fitted the differential, springs and shock absorbers then put the four wheels on after completing the front suspension and steering. When I removed the jack stands and the car was resting on the wheels, the back wheels are facing in at the bottom quite markedly; pushing the car made no difference.

Have I made a mistake somewhere?

[Cees Klumper]

Someone else asked this same question a few weeks ago; chances are that all is well and you just need to drive the car a bit for the rear wheels to straighten out. I suppose if the floor is slippery enough (and you're strong enough), you could even pull the wheels straight by hand as the car is sitting.

[cfm65@me.com]

Gary,
The suspension is designed to carry the full weight of the car. If you are busy with a full restoration, the car will not settle to its normal stance untill all the components are fitted, including fuel, oil, etc. Therefor the rear axle will not settle untill the restoration is complete and the car driven for a few meters.
In any event, the Pagoda is so designed that rear camber should be set at about 1 to 2 degrees +(IIRC). Which means that it should stand with the rear wheels slightly tucked in, at the bottom, ie positive camber. It is very little and hardly visable. A squatting rear end is called negative camber and will impede handling.
Set it up as best you can, drive it a few 100km and reset.
Regards
Chris

[Gary Baxter]

Thank you for your answer Cees, most helpful.

[Gary Baxter]

Thank you for your answer Chris and the camber information, much appreciated.

[cfm65@me.com]

You'r welcome