Hi all, So to start with I have a 1956 Chevy 210 4-Door Station Wagon. The wagon has an aftermarket disc brake set up that bolts up to the stock front spindles and the stock rear drums. The brake master cylinder has been upgraded to an aftermarket power break set-up with a proportioning valve on the rear brake line and the vacuum booster tubed up to the intake manifold. In addition, the suspension has had all of the bushings and rubber parts replaced, the front springs replaced with new stock height springs, and new, but cheap, shocks. With that said, I am having two problems; loose steering at highway speeds and not enough braking power. When I am doing about 60-65mph on the freeway and I go through a rough or un-even patch of highway the steering gets a little squirrely and the car wants to bounce around and drift into another lane. At low speeds I do not really have any complaints. I know it is by no means a new sports car, but the steering should be a lot more solid than it is. As far as breaking is concerned, when I step on the brakes the car comes to a stop, but even if I stomp the pedal the brakes do not have enough power to lock up the wheels front or back. I read online that the rear brake lines should have a 10psi check valve since I have a disc/drum set up, and I know that I do not have one. If I add a check valve and bleed the brake system do you think that will help? Just looking for whatever advice you can give. Thanks for the help, Sh0eter1a
You might not get a lot of responses as a newbie... The best suggestion I can give you is to enjoy reading here at the HAMB until you are around for awhile. Learn to use the search function as your topic may have been discussed many times over already. And register at Chevytalk.com and go to the modified 55-57 section for very specific advice on the chassis of this car. You will get a ton of responses and a lot of help. Give it a try. That being said, I would recommend ditching the cheapo shocks and put a set of KYB gas shocks on as a starting point. Good luck.
Well, I dont care if your a FNG or not , you have a worty car (HAMB FRIENDLY) with a valid and discussable problem that deserves an answer , that being said , I would check the vacuum on the booster on the brakes , it needs a dedicated vacuum for nothing but the booster , as far as the steering , di you change the steering box? , does it have a quicker turning radius than the original ? , could be to responsive , you know , different boxes , different gear ratios...I dont claim to be a technical kinda gut , I just think of some common things I would check.
Steering problem sounds like bump steer, made worse with bias ply tires or a bad alignment. Also could be loose steering components. Have a buddy turn the wheel side to side and slide under the car to see whats loose. Now on the brakes, verify you have the correct master cylinder and you will need to have a residual valve somewhere to the rear drums to allow them to work properly. Also make sure the shoes are on correctly, and adjusted correctly. Basically you need to check everything.
Has the steering box been rebuilt? If not, that would be my first step. Also, if its been converted to a "605" power steering box (it will have a round cover, rather than a rectangular bolt on one), that is most of the problem with wandering. I put one of those boxes on my '57 as a a teenager, and it was the WORST modification I ever did (my dad talked me into it, when the stock box came apart. I should have just rebuilt it!). You didn't mention, but does the engine in the car have a big cam? It may not have enough vaccum to give you good assist. Plus, don't expect too much from stock size front discs on one of these cars...they don't fade like the stock drums will, but they don't drasticaly reduce stopping distances, either. What master cylinder does it have on it? Is the prop valve adjustable, and have you made any adjustments on it? You shouldn't need any additional valving with a stock location MC on a '56.
Check the rod end adjustment at the pitman arm. It needs to be tight. Look in shop manual for the way to adjust.
Tons of variables, you have homework to do. Recheck all the bushings and bearings. Make damn sure everything is tight. Loose feeling steering can be an alignment issue, too much toe in makes things nervous feeling and excessive camber (wheel out) can make the car hunt around depending on the car. Negative or neutral caster settings could also contribute. Bias ply tires tend to wander about and follow ruts. Brake ineffectiveness on a system you described could be an incorrect pedal ratio or an oversized brake master cylinder bore. It is very popular amongst the hot rod crowd to install an 1 1/8" bore master cylinder on everything to make up for mismatched or incorrect parts. This larger bore may make your pedal more responsive but will make less line pressure for the same amount of pedal pressure. Cheap brake pads need to be bedded properly for longevity and bite. Some brake friction compounds may not be suited for your application.
Thanks for the input so far guys. I really appreciate the help. I do have some homework to do and I will definately check everything that people have pointed out so far. To answer a few more questions, the steering is 100% bone stock original manual steering. No changes have been made at all from when the car was purchased other than a recent alignment, which helped a little bit, but did not fix the problem. I will check for tightness and see if I can adjust the steering gear at all. As for the breaks, I was told it was a Danchuck kit. It has the bolt on caliper mounts that use the existing spindles and a 7" single diaphragm booster. Not sure of the master cylinder bore size. I do not believe the master cylinder has a residual valve since it is a new tandem master cylinder and is most likely for a disc/disc set-up. I will let you guys know if I find out anything else and if you have any other comments or suggestions please feel free to post. Thanks again for all the help, Mathew
When they aligned it they should have checked the front end. But there are alot of alignment dudes that all they will do is set the toe & go. Look at the upper control arms and see if any shims have been added or if there are any at all. They make off-set upper a arm shafts to get the alingment into specs if ness. . Read the service manual on adjusting the steering gear. Most people don't know how to adjust it. Make sure it is full of lube Don't know how many tri 5s I have bought and they were empty. I have a 56 wagon all original and drove it to the hamb drags and it drove fine You are on your own on the disc brakes I don't care for them Good luck
Might also consider adjusting Lash in your steering box...IF alignment is tight then the next place would be the steering box. Loosen lock nut ...tighten screw about half turn ...don't over tighten and tighten lock nut back. That should take out your loose steering.... Some models require the loosening of pitman arm. Over tightening will cause you to have your box rebuilt. I will agree with the above that most don't do that adjustment. Make sure you have the manual you need for the appropriate car. This should give you an idea of what is involved....Like I say, though important for you to understand your particular vehicle. This is for a Corvette...just as illustration. http://www.lbfun.com/warehouse/tech_info/suspension & steering/GearAdjustInVehicle-Rev25JA06.pdf
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