steering and suspension questions - 68 fastback

boingo

New Member
Jan 9, 2004
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Hi all,

this past winter, the majority of the work was completed on my dads 68 fastback, here is a photo:

529036.jpg


We had a front-end alignment done last week, and although greatly improved, it still steers rather hard, even for a manual steer. My dad wanted me to post a few questions while I research through a few pages of threads. I appreciate anyone's time to do so, but it's always good to hear direct replies to your questions. we've never done any kind of steering/suspension work so this is all pretty new. I have found several articles, that prove informative. :)

- at slow speeds, when cornering it seems like the sterring will 'catch' and turn sharper at certain points than others (ie. you're turning in a driveway and suddenly it catches and turns sharper)......can you adjust the steering box? if so how? we were also told that a 'fast' steering box takes 4 1/2 revolutions of the steering wheel, and may consider replacing it...

- our car has the granada front disc setup on it...from just reading a little bit, I see it's not the most loved of mods. anyway, we have yet to upgrade things like the inner tie rods, idler arms, centerlink, pitman arms...how much affect will replacing these items have? :shrug:

We're not looking for aggressive 'road course' worthy handling...this car won't be driven hard, but it will be driven, and we just looking for some way to make us feel more in control.

What are the more reliable, K.I.S.S. methods that folks use to improve this area? what about rack & pinion setups? are they worth considering? who makes the best quality setup?

It rides fairly nice going down the road at 55, even on the dumpy tires we have on it (not what's in the photo). But we know it can be improved and just appreciate any info the community here can provide on what steps to take, parts, methods, etc.... :cheers:
 
Check your tie rod ends and tie rods for wear, also check your pitman arm. You said that you have a granada brake setup. Did you change the tie rod ends when you converted to the granada front discs, or are you still running the 68 mustang tie rod ends? If you are running the 68 tie rod ends, that is one of your problems, you must use the tie rod end from the granada when you convert to those disc brakes.

Mario
 
Mine wandered like yours. I crawled up underneath it and discovered that the tie rods both inner and outer on both sides were absolutely worn out. If you can easliy move them by hand then they need to be replaced. I replaced mine and it is much better. Mine is manual steer as well. Nice car!!
 
Thanks everyone for their ideas.

I believe the outer tie rods were replaced, I just can't think of it off the top of my head. We will be replacing the inners, pitman arms, centerlink, and idler arms.

I've found a lot of useful information here: http://www.sunflower.com/~vervaecke/index.htm


Just curious, what are some of the setups that people have had success with? or if you had to go through this yourself, how would you set the car's suspension/steering up to be a confident, casual driver?

Would the 'shelby drop' benefit us?


Thanks again for taking the time to answer this newbie's questions :nice: