Hi Guys, I have just acqiured this 61 gasser, 351 Cleveland, cheeta C4, 8" rear, I have an issue with the steering and was wondering what the panel thought? It has (I think) a VW camper steering box on a push pull set up as you can see in the pix, the trouble is when I nail the throttle I have to steering hard to the right and when I back off I have to steering hard left, anyone had any experience?? I know in the pic the top shock mount is broken but that has been addressed, it has a tappered wedge between the axle and the spring to acheive some sort of castor angle (but not sure what at the moment)
mine has always done the same you'll get "use to it" [see A photos my personal profile page] same since 69<<< for 1st couple mos. ran with a chain limiting travel suspension try not to steer it just AIM it<<< shock mount broke because shock too short travel you need a chain or strap to limit travel
>>>the trouble is when I nail the throttle I have to steering hard to the right and when I back off I have to steering hard left,>>> From what it looks like in the picture, then yes, it will do that. Couple reasons probably - First is that your steering linkage appears to run uphill from the box (pitman arm) to the steering arm on the spindle so when the nose rises (axle drops) on acceleration then you are effectively lengthening the linkage as it moves about it's arc/plane of travel, therefore steering the car without input from the driver. And vise-versa when you are on the binders. Second is that linkage is really short, aggravating the situation. There are a couple potential fixes, but personally I would move the steering box and convert it to a cross steering setup. Hope this helps. Al in CT
I was thinking the same thing. But the oil pan is probably in the way yes? Thats probably why somebody set it up that way (push pull) You could make a new steering arm without the big dogleg in it to make the drag link straighter.
Thanks guys for the replies, YES! I would like to convert it to cross steer but as has been said the sump is in the way?? The dog leg is clear the shocker. Tony
One problem is that when you accelerate and the weight comes off the front end , the shackles swing back and the axle moves toward the rear. This tries to turn the car to the left and you have to compensate by turning the wheel. I had this happen in my '48 Morris Van in the late '60's and I went to springs with less arch--actually ended up being no arch with weight on them and it eliminated the problem completely. Doesn't look like you can do that. In your car, like others have said, I'm sure the uphill angle of the draglink has something to do with it. The other answer is what someone else mentioned, switch to a cross steer setup and the steering won't be affected by the shackle/axle movement. For more clearance you could use a double sump oil pan which has the deep sump at the rear. Pretty sure they came on some Broncos and Vans. There has to be a small "sump" at the front to clear the oil pump. When I first built my Morris and had this problem I just loosened my grip on the steering wheel and didn't fight it. When you nail it, let the steering wheel turn and slide through your hands, the wheels will stay straight and so will the car. Oh, I'd like to add--nice looking Falcon! In your profession you should be used to making alot of sudden movements with the steering wheel!
Check the tech archives; Tingler posted a substantial amount of data concerning his Fairlane. I concur that cross steering would be a good choice.
Any pix mate? or anyone else with pix of cross steer on a Ford or Falcon? Thanks for the replies Tony
I used to have a 61 Gasser that looked a lot like this car but the axle is way different and I ran a 327 Chevy, so I don't that's it Besides the steering issues chack out some of these things that can give it the same affect: Can you post some pics of the top shock mounts, were the shock towers swapped left to right and reversed, are the top of the shock towers braced left to right? Were the braces between the cowl and fender wells cut out, This would cause alot of flexing in the front end. Do you have frame connectors, there is alot of twisting in an old unibody made for 144 cubic motor. These cars originally had a fairly large brace under the engine that tied the rails and suspension together most people when building pitch that without putting anything back in it's place to tie the rails back together. Check for cracks in the unibody behind the the right rear passenger window they like to crack there. Nova's also. Check the rear springs, I assume they are leafs to make sure they aren't bent or the bushings aren't wornout, same with the front. What do the rear shackles look like, are they really long? Does it go down the road at an angle, have somebody drive it and follow it behind to see if it's straight, check out the basic dimensions of the front to rear and left front to right rear etc.
In the short term...could you shorten the dogleg on the steering arm off of the back of the spindle. That appears to be the culprit for the uphill angle in relation to the pitman arm! Check out the steering arm on this Willys elsewhere here on the Hamb. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=557596&d=1229891040
to reduce the bump steer you have to change the angle of the link attached to the spindle has the smallest arc when going through the suspension travel, usually it's close to the same angle as the spring (parallel)
My 61 Falcon was straight axled and i used the stock steering box, pitman arm ,and it worked fine.I would put a stock cross steer setup on it and use a radius rod drag link with Heim joints .Mine steered nice at any speed with no bumpsteer...
You could put a rear sump oil pan, and pickup tube on the engine, it will give you more room for steering.
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