Hot Rods Steering pulls when turning? !UPDATE 2/9/22!

Shawn, you need to replace the front spring so you will have sufficient suspension travel between the wishbone and the frame. Changing oil pans and adding spacers to motor mounts won't fix this problem.

 

I thought clearance was clearance ?

 

The OP just needs to hit his local metal supply and buy a foot or so of thick wall DOM tubing. I have s****s of it all over the shop

 

I'm suspect that he doesn't have the means to cut them to consistent lengths so would likely be better off to just buy the spacers and bolt them on!

 

Good home-built spacers for what his needs are should be faced off on both sides to eliminate making a wedge spacer. What are the odds?

 

I guess I come from the "where there is a will there is a way" school of thought. Even with a hacksaw and some patience you can get square cuts using a vice and a hose clamp as a cutting guide! Hell I cut down a 30" diameter steel pressure tank for a project with a cutoff wheel and two super long (36"?) hose clamps I scrounged up and it ended up perfectly square! But, most folks can ask around and find a person with a lathe and a bandsaw.

 

What he said.... I bought mine, made by Drake from Summit. The steel band helps them not to collapse.
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/bdr-78-6038-k

 

Here is what I was dealing with, the squished mounts on mine let the oil pan down onto the spring bolts. I replaced them and it helped, but it could go just a smidge more, I need to add a couple thick washers under the Hurst mount to give it a little more breathing room.


And, yes, I did change the pain gasket while I was under there, it's no longer leaking like the E**on Valdez.

 

Here: https://www.est1946.com/1932-1948directreplacementenginemounts.aspx

 

I am from the if there is a McMaster-Carr there's a way crowd.

https://www.mcmaster.com/spacers/sy...-steel-unthreaded-spacers/for-screw-size~1-2/

 

Awesome link! Good to know. But, when you live 25 miles out of town and in the middle (literally) of the Nation many things are easier and quicker built than bought.

 

True that. McMaster delivers to me either the next day, or the day after, depending on order time and which warehouse.

When I was working on some TV show pilots down n LA county, the courier delivered within 2-hours. It was surreal.

 

I've seen several post lately about McMaster-Carr. I feel like an idiot for not knowing about until now. I have a Grainger supply nearby but have had limited success getting what I need from it.

 

Fastenal is another option. One of the 3 will be your best bet depending on where you are located.

 

Thanks, I can already tell the Mcmaster website is way easier to navigate than Grainger. Just saw those cool Oillite bushings on the McMaster site when I just installed some ****py urethane ones in the springs of my 39. Doh!

 

I found these. Not a bad price and the chrome will add a little shine to a black under carriage:

https://www.lowbrowcustoms.com/prod...8-length-chrome-steel-universal-spacer-5-pack

 

They also have 1/4" spacers, #028.

 

like LowBrow for bling

 

I did a test fit for the steering arm spacers (that's why the nuts are on the inside of the brake housing). The steering arm now has about 3/16" between it and the backing plate. The tie rod ends also now sit straight up and down, where before they had pronounce lean to one side. I'm going to try and install the engine mounts this weekend to see if the tie rod has any clearance from the oil pan.

 

It’s amazing to me that the initial builder just cranked the nuts down on those arms and never realized there was interference. Some people are mechanically inclined, and others should never touch a wrench.

 

He was also willing to leave the tie rod against the oil pan, so either his mechanical skills or work ethic, or both are genuinely lacking. It just makes a little more work for me, but it will be a dream truck for me when I (eventually) finish.

 

Great to see that you are making some progress.
Those squished motor mounts mounts are on the same line as squished shock absorber bushings of the same design. Someone ran them down way too tight and usually with an impact rather than having them just tight enough to be solid but not squish the bushings.

 

He would have one hell of a time setting the caster on that I beam to 1 degree more positive on the right side than the left side.

I did front end alignment every day for a number of years and usually was the guy in town who straightened out something that someone else had made a mess of. I never ******** jacked in that much if any more CASTER in one wheel rather than the other and the only place I have ever seen it done is on circle track cars.
I set the caster per factory specs or at what I knew from experience helped a vehicle track right and started out with 1/4 degree more camber on the drivers side than the p***enger side to compensate for the crown in the road. I know that some guys put a tad more caster in the p***enger side to do the same thing but it always worked better for me using camber. Well enough that most cars I set up could go for a quarter mile hands off the wheel down a straight stretch of freeway without drifting one way or another.
I never changed one set up for negative caster to Positive caster as only a very small handful of cars are designed to run negative caster and that is primarily 60's early 70's Cadillac Devilles with very limited adjustment caster wise from the get go.

 

you still have a 49-53 'car' oil pan - 3 rib
look at the 8ba pan from a f1




you still do not know IF the genius that invented those steering arms intended them to be fitted to a 35-40 ford with a wheel base of 112 inches
keeping the stock 48'' king pin distance /\
or IF they were intended to be used on a early ch***is engineering 47'' wide king pin axle - @ 122'' wheel base.
IF the spring you have is new, IT WILL SETTLE

THE PROBLEM YOU ARE HAVING IS THE WEIGHT SHIFT IS ALL TO THE FRONT - BECAUSE YOU ARE JACKED UP IN THE REAR
ALL THE WEIGHT IS FOCUSED OVER YOUR FRONT AXLE,
SELF CENTERING RELIES ON THE WEIGHT OF THE VEHICLE PRESSING DOWN UPON THE SPINDLE THAT IS INCLINED

THE EASIEST WAY TO EXPLAIN IS BY SHOWING YOU A PICTURE OF A RISE AND FALL DOOR HINGE, THE WEIGHT OF THE DOOR WILL CAUSE THE DOOR TO CLOSE, THE HEAVIER THE DOOR, THE QUICKER IT WILL SLAM SHUT !! - THE STEEPER THE ANGLE THE QUICKER IT WILL CLOSE !! THE SAME THING HAPPENS WITH SELF CENTERING ON MOTOR VEHICLES - THE AXLE BOSS IS LEANT BACKWARDS THE SPINDLE 'THUS' ROTATES ON AN ARC UPWARD
/\ SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

 

You don't have to yell....

 

A hinge is not a good example of caster!
Also looking at the pic of the steering arms with the spacers, the tie rod appears to be bent from hitting the oil pan, this will need to be straight as it has all the force from braking keeping the wheels straight. JW

 

I always visualize caster by thinking of the front wheels on a shopping cart.

 

Same here. JW

 

Please, please, please remember to use grade 8 bolts on your steering arms, not the grade 5 I see in your pictures. You're doing great so far.