Rear acle help please

[mitchDublin]

Hi all, I'm based in Dublin Ireland, spent last 3 years working on 72 440 barracuda.
I replaced whole suspension, usual track rods , shocks , heavier roll bars etc .
I was looking at rear of car today and noticed that my passenger rear wheel in set about 2.5 inches inside fender, drivers rear wheel is approx half an inch inside fender , looks to me that rear body of car is about 2.5 inches to the left . Not level side to side . Has anyone please got any idea why this would be like this

 

[mitchDublin]

Hi all, I'm based in Dublin Ireland, spent last 3 years working on 72 440 barracuda.
I replaced whole suspension, usual track rods , shocks , heavier roll bars etc .
I was looking at rear of car today and noticed that my passenger rear wheel in set about 2.5 inches inside fender, drivers rear wheel is approx half an inch inside fender , looks to me that rear body of car is about 2.5 inches to the left . Not level side to side . Has anyone please got any idea why this would be like this

View attachment 138818

View attachment 138819

Sorry , other way around , drivers side is set back

 

[Katfish]

I would measure the axle perch to backing plate on each side, to see if there's a difference. These cars weren't built to very tight tolerances, some offset is to be expected.

 

[mitchDublin]

I would measure the axle perch to backing plate on each side, to see if there's a difference. These cars weren't built to very tight tolerances, some offset is to be expected.

Hi, thanks for reply, I had a look underneath, leaf springs look same, bolted to body frame , I also looked at leaf rear mounting points and they do not look like they had any damage over the years, everything looks like it in place but rear wheels are definitely to one side , it's noticeable, closer to one fender than other , tell me if I'm wrong, but if I just move axle to one side and centre , that could affect driveshaft alignment??

 

[Katfish]

Reading your description, it sounds like it's shifted 1".
Have the quarter panels been replaced?
Is this the original rear end?
Maybe the spring perches were moved/replaced at some point.
That's why I mentioned measuring the distance from the spring perch to the brake backing plate, it should be the same distance on each side.

 

[Chryco Psycho]

Virtually every E body I have measured is similar with the diff no actually centered

 

[Xcudame]

I've seen a lot of Mopars that are in the 1/2" range of offset from side to side and I've heard of some being off as much as an inch, which you unfortunately have.

Quick and dirty (and I do mean dirty and sleazy) is to jack up the rear of the car on jack stands under the frame, un-bolt the u-bolts and use a die grinder to offset the leaf spring hole on the axle perches. This will only gain about 3/8" max. Welding up the original hole helps.

The correct way is to remove and install the axle perches to the correct place. That's what I would do if it was mine. The driveshaft angle will be much better with the rear axle centered to print. The quality controls back in the 60s and early 70s were severely lacking.

 

[Chryco Psycho]

Offset spring shackles can help center the diff a little also

 

[mitchDublin]

I measured today from back of drum brake back plate to leaf springs and there wasn't much difference, maybe rear quarter panel was replaced and is off or it could be like that from factory, if I move axle to one side I think driveshaft won't be straight , could cause more problems , car drives straight, feels OK,

 

[Mascottrepair]

Sounds like you’ve done a ton of solid work! That offset definitely isn’t normal, could be the axle's not centered on the leaf springs, or maybe the spring perches or bushings are worn or mismatched.

 

[1972 AAR Cuda]

I have seen offsets from side to side - mine is offset by around a 1/4 inch, but never seen that amount. I am wondering if adding a spacer (1/2-3/4 inch) to the drivers side would help the visual part and not affect anything else? Just a thought....