Alignment the easy way.

[D. Clay]

I saw a neat alignment setup for toe in/out the other day. It uses a 2' laser level that shoots a line/dot out the end like laser pointer. The stock car guys use this all the time. The level costs $25-$50 and you can also use it for what it was intended.
On a short track car the right side is usually set up with 0 toe and the whole adjustment made to the left front. The left front also has 0 to negative  1 degree caster. They do wierd stuff but they only turn left and every turn is 180 degrees.
Any way, you tape the level to a 2" square aluminum tube with a bracket that hangs it over the rear tire so it shoots the beam toward the front. Then  put a tape measure to the tire (front and rear) and read where the dot hits it. On an E30 the rear track is narrower than the front making for a high level of accuracy when you put the level on the front and measure at the rear. Any body know the track widths front and rear?
Link to a cheap one: http://www.old-fashioned-values.com/item.asp?n=CL2060&k=CL2060&sc=YAHOOSHP
Here's a pic:

[Euro Nation]

Roundy round guys also run solid axle rear ends so they don't have a rear toe setting to get around while trying to set all this up. We do.

[D. Clay]

Correct - there is a rear toe setting to consider. Still no problem. A laser alignment tool for less than $50 pays for itself the first time you use it.
Park it facing a wall. Measure the distance from one dot on the end of the level to the other. Then measure them on a wall 12' away. Shouldn't take more than a few adjustments to get to 0 degrees which is within spec for an E30.  
At 12' a sixteenth of an inch on the short side is .02 degrees angle on a right triangle. That's quite a high degree of accuracy.
Once it was set to zero you could record that track width from the outside edges of the tires and it would be good for the life of the tires.
Some roundy rounders setup their solid rear axles with negative camber on the outside and positive on the inside by bending the tubes or by welding the hub snouts on at an angle.

[Euro Nation]

My toe plates and metric tape measures suit me well.

Some roundy rounders setup their solid rear axles with negative camber on the outside and positive on the inside by bending the tubes or by welding the hub snouts on at an angle.

You lost me here. If you weld the hub snout on crooked or bend the tube you'll succeed in destroying axle bearings or the splines in the diff. Regardless of how bad the housing is the axles inside still have to find the differential and they're still straight.

[D. Clay]

You lost me here. If you weld the hub snout on crooked or bend the tube you'll succeed in destroying axle bearings or the splines in the diff. Regardless of how bad the housing is the axles inside still have to find the differential and they're still straight.

Off topic but I thought it was crazy too when I first heard about it around 10 years ago. When you order rear axle housings, you specify the camber and toe settings. They hold up and rarely fail. On NASCAR sedans you can "see" the camber.
http://www.stockcarproducts.com/special2.htm
http://www.1speedway.com/forms/ss_order_sheet.pdf
What toe plates are you using? I've seen toe setting tools all the way from Longacre's $50 plates to $1000 plus setups. I used to use a 2' aluminum level setting on oil cans (oil cans?).
To tell the truth one of my main motivations has always been cost savings.  Everyone races on a budget, It's just that some are bigger than others.

[Euro Nation]

Ahh... floater rear ends... cheaters. That explains why ASA cars were running wide-5 floaters through the 90s regardless of how heavy they were.

My camber plates are a copy of the Longacre plates. A buddy of mine popped out some coppies of his set of Longacres when he had a brake and shear handy.