So I replaced the tie rods and ends on my 240, and set the toe-in with a tape measure. Needless to say, it was a bit off.

I'd heard people mention using string, and I wanted to get an alignment done by someone else before I drove 350 miles to go skydiving (It was AWESOME!). I couldn't find any string, but my housemate recommended fishing line.

First things first - I started my car and turned the wheel a half turn to the left, a half to the right, then carefully centered it.
I remembered I had fishing line on a reel in my rack o' stuff in the garage. I dug it out and wrapped it all the way around the car, getting it to sit on all 4 wheels. Making sure that the line wasn't touching anything but the rear tires, I pulled the line closer and closer to the front tires. Eventually, it started touching the front of the tire before the rear. I had a helper hold the line while I adjusted the tie rod to basically 0 toe-in. I determined this when the line touched both front and back of the tire at the exact same time.

Then, I adjusted the tie rod in (positive toe-in) so that I had about 1/16th-1/8th of an inch distance from the front of the tire to the fishing line. Then I repeated with the other side, but stopped at 0 toe-in. On my long drive, I realized how important it is to have the right amount of toe-in, and that I needed to balance it on both sides.

So next time you replace your tie rods, bust out a big loop of fishing line or kite string and set your toe-in that way. It will get you to the alignment shop for sure, and maybe even farther.

Cheers!
--
1990 740 Turbo, on its way to stock specs, maybe beyond