Vin # for alignment

Anbele · Post by **Anbele** » Fri May 13, 2022 12:18 pm

So I took my ‘79 for alignment this morning after doing a complete suspension overhaul. Only to find out that they were not able to do anything cuz the Vin was not recognized by the computer alignment machine. Any ideas?
I know that the Fiats vins only have 13 digits instead of the current 17, but this should not have been an issue since the same shop sits next to a jaguar mechanic who brings in “60s jaguars for alignment with no issues. Puzzled here.

18Fiatsandcounting · Post by **18Fiatsandcounting** » Fri May 13, 2022 4:19 pm

I'm puzzled too, but I'd look for another alignment shop.

On a related note, I went by an alignment shop close to where I live to see if I could buy some alignment shims off of them (I only needed two of a certain thickness), and they told me, "Shims are old school. We don't align those older cars anymore, so we ain't got no shims." Really?? Sigh...

-Bryan

Anbele · Post by **Anbele** » Fri May 13, 2022 5:09 pm

I guess you’re gonna have to hit the shelves of either Vics, Bayless or AutoRicambi…

Anbele · Post by **Anbele** » Fri May 13, 2022 5:11 pm

https://www.midwest-bayless.com/p-12486 ... l-new.aspx

18Fiatsandcounting · Post by **18Fiatsandcounting** » Fri May 13, 2022 5:53 pm

Anbele wrote:https://www.midwest-bayless.com/p-12486 ... l-new.aspx

Thanks Anbele, I did not know about these! I ended up getting some generic Dorman alignment shims that fit pretty much any vehicle. They did work on my spider (I do the alignment myself), but the size wasn't ideal.

By the way, I'm thinking the VIN number would allow the shop to pull up the database specs for your model/year. I'm guessing you could also just take them the toe/camber/caster specs and they could align to those, but make sure you know whether the specs are for laden (430 lbs in the car) or unladen (no one in the car). It does make a difference, and the shop needs to know this to align to the right specs.

-Bryan

Anbele · Post by **Anbele** » Fri May 13, 2022 7:50 pm

Sure thing!
Unfortunately, the shop guy was the “lazy type”. I did offered the specs but “if the computer didn’t pull the car specs, then there was nothing he could do”.

18Fiatsandcounting · Post by **18Fiatsandcounting** » Fri May 13, 2022 8:29 pm

Anbele wrote:“if the computer didn’t pull the car specs, then there was nothing he could do”.

Jeez, time to find another shop... Stay away from shops that just follow the instructions on the computer. Might work for a 2018 Toyota Corolla, but not good for a 40+ year old Fiat.

-Bryan

bobplyler · Post by **bobplyler** » Sun May 15, 2022 4:56 pm

These are the shims I used
https://www.harborfreight.com/144-piece ... 67585.html

Vin # for alignment

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