1955 Thunderbird Drivability at Higher Speeds | Ford Thunderbird forum club group 1955-2005 models

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1955 Thunderbird Drivability at Higher Speeds

SJ Barr

SJ Barr

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Reaction score
4
Thunderbird Year
1955
Greetings, I’ve owned my 55 for about a year now and upgraded the tires with whitewall radials with the bias ply look. At freeway speeds 55-65 mph the car wanders to the point where safety becomes an issue.

Anyone have any idea if this is normal and if not where would I start addressing this issue?

I’m thinking alignment or possibly rebuilding the steering box.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

Shawn

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I had the same problem. Had the steering box checked and all was well there. Got the white wall radials and that helped but it was still uncomfortable. Put new shocks on and it drives great now even at 65-70 mph.
 
SJ Barr said:
Greetings, I’ve owned my 55 for about a year now and upgraded the tires with whitewall radials with the bias ply look. At freeway speeds 55-65 mph the car wanders to the point where safety becomes an issue.

Anyone have any idea if this is normal and if not where would I start addressing this issue?

I’m thinking alignment or possibly rebuilding the steering box.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

Shawn
Click to expand...
Have you checked the steering and front suspension as well as the steering box itself? The radial tires should improve the drivability. Even with a somewhat loose steering box you should have the ability to drive at current highway speeds. I recently drove over 2000 miles in our '57 to a convention and return. Driving speed was generally 65 to 75 sometimes higher and sometimes lower. Additionally a check of the driveshaft and u-joints can cause harmonic problems. If the tires changed the drivability then look to the tires for roundness and balance first.
 
SJ Barr said:
Greetings, I’ve owned my 55 for about a year now and upgraded the tires with whitewall radials with the bias ply look. At freeway speeds 55-65 mph the car wanders to the point where safety becomes an issue.

Anyone have any idea if this is normal and if not where would I start addressing this issue?

I’m thinking alignment or possibly rebuilding the steering box.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

Shawn
Click to expand...
Do you have a Lotta play in the steering wheel if so it’s probably the steering box and were the tires balanced ?
 
tbjc said:
I had the same problem. Had the steering box checked and all was well there. Got the white wall radials and that helped but it was still uncomfortable. Put new shocks on and it drives great now even at 65-70 mph.
Click to expand...
Thanks!!
 
Shawn,

I have a 56 T-Bird with the same issues. I have completely rebuilt the front and rear suspension, bushings, ball joints, tie rods, wheel bearings, KYB shocks, idler arms, steering box and the power steering control valve. All of these helped tremendously, but the inherent operation of the Power Steering Control Valve is where the problem lies. Even when completely rebuilt, there is still a small amount of movement in the steering arm before the center link begins to move. I looked into building a rack and pinion steering system. There are also a couple of vendors the make a bolt on system for about $2000 to 3000.

Here is an article on the subject. http://www.*******************/tech/html/rpinbird.html

I've learned to enjoy the lower speeds on back roads.

Good luck,
Steve
 
Birdman57 said:
Do you have a Lotta play in the steering wheel if so it’s probably the steering box and were the tires balanced ?
Click to expand...
Yes had the tires balanced and there is a lot of play in the steering wheel. I
tbjc said:
I had the same problem. Had the steering box checked and all was well there. Got the white wall radials and that helped but it was still uncomfortable. Put new shocks on and it drives great now even at 65-70 mph.
Click to expand...
SWinner said:
Shawn,

I have a 56 T-Bird with the same issues. I have completely rebuilt the front and rear suspension, bushings, ball joints, tie rods, wheel bearings, KYB shocks, idler arms, steering box and the power steering control valve. All of these helped tremendously, but the inherent operation of the Power Steering Control Valve is where the problem lies. Even when completely rebuilt, there is still a small amount of movement in the steering arm before the center link begins to move. I looked into building a rack and pinion steering system. There are also a couple of vendors the make a bolt on system for about $2000 to 3000.

Here is an article on the subject. http://www.*******************/tech/html/rpinbird.html

I've learned to enjoy the lower speeds on back roads.

Good luck,
Steve
Click to expand...
Thanks Steve! Great article!
 
SJ Barr said:
Greetings, I’ve owned my 55 for about a year now and upgraded the tires with whitewall radials with the bias ply look. At freeway speeds 55-65 mph the car wanders to the point where safety becomes an issue.

Anyone have any idea if this is normal and if not where would I start addressing this issue?

I’m thinking alignment or possibly rebuilding the steering box.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

Shawn
Click to expand...
No, it is not normal. I had a similar problem in my 57 at highway speeds and thought it was all in my steering box. Turned out the idler arm bushings were worn out and the steering box needed more adjustment.
 
SJ Barr said:
Greetings, I’ve owned my 55 for about a year now and upgraded the tires with whitewall radials with the bias ply look. At freeway speeds 55-65 mph the car wanders to the point where safety becomes an issue.

Anyone have any idea if this is normal and if not where would I start addressing this issue?

I’m thinking alignment or possibly rebuilding the steering box.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

Shawn
Click to expand...
SJ Barr said:
Greetings, I’ve owned my 55 for about a year now and upgraded the tires with whitewall radials with the bias ply look. At freeway speeds 55-65 mph the car wanders to the point where safety becomes an issue.

Anyone have any idea if this is normal and if not where would I start addressing this issue?

I’m thinking alignment or possibly rebuilding the steering box.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

Shawn
Click to expand...
No it is not normal you should be able to get to 80 miles an hour very stably on the highway. Clearly the steering box needs to be tight as does the ball joints and the other steering components in your front end I would check those as well as the front wheel bearings. If the car is not vibrating it just wondering I would say that the tires are probably fine and it's in your steering components and they should be checked out as well as the alignment.
Good luck
 
Douglemmo said:
No it is not normal you should be able to get to 80 miles an hour very stably on the highway. Clearly the steering box needs to be tight as does the ball joints and the other steering components in your front end I would check those as well as the front wheel bearings. If the car is not vibrating it just wondering I would say that the tires are probably fine and it's in your steering components and they should be checked out as well as the alignment.
Good luck
Click to expand...
Thanks Doug!
 
SJ Barr said:
Greetings, I’ve owned my 55 for about a year now and upgraded the tires with whitewall radials with the bias ply look. At freeway speeds 55-65 mph the car wanders to the point where safety becomes an issue.

Anyone have any idea if this is normal and if not where would I start addressing this issue?

I’m thinking alignment or possibly rebuilding the steering box.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

Shawn
Click to expand...
I had the same problem..........new idler arm and bushings with an adjustment to the steering box solved my wondering at higher speeds, almost 95% good.
 
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