Zee,

Given the fact that you probably don't know the distance between rod ends on the old assembly, not much you can do to "preset" the replacement assembly.

Speaking of which, I'm not that familiar with the exact differences, but it sounds like you may be mixing early (67/68) and late (69 and up) parts here. Maybe you've already checked, but are you sure this is a viable setup? My concerns would be (1) are your '69 ends the same thread diameter and pitch as the center rod, and (2) if they are the same, are there enough threads on the ends to make this setup a safe one, given the 1/2 inch shorter center link? Maybe someone out there has already been there and done that, with this parts combination... I haven't.

In any case, with the adjustable center rod setup, you've pretty much "... got what you've got". You can just eyeball the left and right wheels to the straight-ahead position and adjust the left and right ends of the center rod equal amounts until they "fit" the distance between the left and right steering arms. If you're after more accuracy on initial setup, use a couple of jackstands and some string to set each front wheel parallel to the rear wheel on the same side. (This assumes of course, the rear axle is relatively "square" with the rest of the car... no bent trailing arms, badly worn bushings, etc). This requires some patience and careful measurements to get the string exactly parallel to the rear wheel, but is a fairly accurate way to set toe-in. FWIW, on the left side, this setup will also tell you (within reason) whether you're going to have a centered steering wheel, before you ever hook up the center rod.

Speaking of which, no way to adjust steering wheel centering with the adjustable center link setup. After alignment is complete, the steering wheel must be removed, or you can make the adjustment at the splined end of the shaft at the steering box, IIRC.

Gary L


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1971 142E ITB racer, 1973 1800ES, 2002 S60 T5