many axles are cast iron, and will break--the forged steel axles can be bent---however--they need to be bent on the outside of the spring mounts if a parallel spring set up--if a cross spring one bend in the middle can be used to change both sides angle---most of beam axles have positive camber built in so the contact pivot point is at the center of the tire ground contact patch--mosy of these older vehicles had tall narrow wheels/tires so didn't take as much as shorter/wide tires--also brake systems were narrower and the wheel sat closer to king pin--now with wider tire/wheels, wider brake drums the wheel assy gets pushed out further--this will cause errattic, darting front suspension on uneven road surfaces.