wallowing tbird

1966 tbird fresh rebuilt front suspension , new shocks all the way around. the old girl drives fairly straight down the road, but she kinda wallows from side to side. im planning on freshing the bushings on the front sway bar. im not expecting a canyon carver. but a nice straight line with minium input from me would be nice anything thing else that you smart guys could suggest. a rear sway bar is offered also a larger diameter front bar

 

"kinda wallows" - love specific information to help with no visual info. stock suspension, tires & wheels, shocks? how many miles on odometer? what speed does it wallow?

 

I know exactly what you mean. I had a 65, checked it all over and it was fine, just the nature of the beast.

 

your not running mix matched radials and bias plys are you?

 

I would be inclined to put fresh springs under it. They are a nice riding car, I don't recall the wallowing thing as being normal.

Bob

 

Did you check the air pressure in the tires? we had a lady come back in a week or two after a front end alignment claiming that the car was all over the road. The boss took it for a test drive, inflated the tires to specs and all was fine.

The back tires would squirm around and the driver tried to correct with the steering wheel. With the tires up to specs, it went straight as an arrow. The very first thing a tech does when doing an alignment is set the tire pressure. It was fine when the lady picked it up originally.

 

Good point. I had a complaint from a customer that had just gotten shocks installed, took it for a ride and it rode like a truck. Checked the air... it was something like 40 PSI all around. Put it down to 28 and it rode like it should. Air pressure can do it either way.

Bob

 

My 55 oldsmobile does this, but its because I have 40 year old cracked bias plys on the front of mine. Start outside and work your way in. Are the tires up to par, proper pressure, balanced? Is the alignment good, sway bar bushings? Etc. Etc. Its usually always the simplest thing.

 

Not riding on whoopee cushions are you?
Every air bagged car I have ridden in does that.

My '62 'bird handles surprisingly well, even on blocks.
I know they improved it from what I have, too.
sounds like this may be bigger than just sway bars.

 

I've had a few of these birds, they tend to wallow when compared to other cars. Just the nature of the birds with soft factory springs and no input from the power steering.

 

Me neither and I am inclined to agree.

Maybe check that the radial tires are not shot, if it has them. Radials are shot well before the belts start breaking though and a set of worn radials will make you think that your suspension is shot.

Air pressure in tires as well as the proper size tires may make a difference as well. I have seen lots of older cars with the tires too small or even if they are oversized not inflated properly.

 

New springs are a must.

Also, the front sway bar on that '66 T-bird are ridiculously too small for it. They are the same diameter bar as found on a falcon, mustang, and fairlane. For such a big car, it is inadequate. They make new ones that are 1 1/8" for the front, and one for the rear as well. It makes a world of difference, especially when cornering.

 

x2 on checking air pressure also look into tires with stiffer sidewalls

 

the car has new front springs, coil overs on the rear. feel it is fairly well sprung. 205/75r15 r&r at 35psi. i kinda figured the sway bars could be the issue. or in my case sway bar. front only. new bushings might be a small bandaid for the moment. looks like larrys tbird will get to taste my credit card again. but are there any full sized fords that have the proper sized sway bars i need

 

I put a fat sway bar under my 62' Bird and it made a huge difference in ride quality.

 

My '54 Buick did the same thing... the stock sway bar is .690-inches, and you'd end up in the p***enger's lap while going through a turn.
The front sway bar bushings were totally worn out. When the front end was off the ground and the suspension drooped, you could practically get your finger between the top of the sway bar and the bushing.

New bushings and end links made an incredible difference.

Give that a try first.

If you're not satisfied after that, step up to a larger sway bar.
New lowering springs might also stiffen it up a bit. OR, you could get a set of stock coil springs and cut the height out of them yourself--shortening a spring makes it stiffer.

-Brad