Can't get enough negative camber...

[rapieper@yahoo.com (Ron Pieper)]

I began to try my hand at a homebrew alignment today...and found that I
couldn't get near enough negative camber on the driver's side (I was
shooting for -1 deg., could get only -1/2 deg.)  Passenger side is
fine, there's more than enough.  To measure, I'm using a
gravity-powered angle finder on a standoff I made so I could check at
the rim (vs. tire).  The floor is level (well, how level is level
enough?). 

I pushed all the slack from the top bolt slot (where the eccentric
fits), using a hammer even.  I tried filing out the top holes in the
strut housing to gain more adjustment. I removed the balljoint and
filed its holes oval and pulled it out as far as I could. I swapped
control arms with a spare (and put poly bushings on in the process). 
Gain?  Basically zilch...gotta conclude the car was hit sometime. 
FWIW, I'm not using camber plates, just old-style factory strut
bearings.

The doofus at the VW parts desk has never heard of so-called "crash
bolts" that are supposed to give more adjustmen over the original
eccentric bolts...the owner of the local import FLAPS can't get them. 
Looking at the setup, I'm wondering if such an animal does indeed
exist...any help here?

Any other thoughts or suggestions most appreciated.

Thanks, 

Ron


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