[mikepellegrini]

What'd it drive like when you took it to the alignment shop? Before they did their thing? Was it hard to turn then, and didn't wanna center? If it wasn't driving like that pre-alignment, then obviously it's something they did.

What did the car drive like before you took the engine out? Is it possible the steering shaft is binding/rubbing on something? That's the only thing I can think of that might possibly be affected by an engine change.

And if you put it on jackstands, how does it turn then?

Caster is tough to set on early cars, because all you can do is move the rear mount back and forth - not really as exact as the later caster blocks. I had an alignment place tell me the caster on my 83 was not adjustable. I had to copy some pages out of the factory manual and take it to them before they'd admit they were wrong.

Most alignment places don't really have a clue what they're doing. Most all the tire shops, for example - pay minimum wage or close to it. For that kinda money, what kind of real mechanic are you gonna get? They're on par with oil change places.

I watched the tech at a Firestone shop work on my car once. He had big a looseleaf binder; you turn to the "Porsche 944" page and it tells you how to set up the machine for the car and what values and where the adjustments can be made.

But how many of these minimum wage mechanics actually understand what they're doing?

I had that same Firestone shop work on an 84 NA my son owned. We'd replaced the oil pan gasket and put on new struts, so it had to be aligned. We got the car back, and in short order, the car was wandering all over the road - scary. I took it back to the place and demanded them to correct it. Turns out the kid that did the alignment had forgotten to tighten the camber eccentric bolt. D'oh!

If the place you took your car to screwed it up, take it back and demand they fix it, and if they won't, demand a refund. And if they won't make it right or give you your money back, I'd look at suing them in small claims court, as well as filing a Better Business Bureau complaint.