Could it be the tires?

While the tires may have flat spots I don't think that's the entire problem.

After driving it a few miles I still get the wobble at about 18 mph. It smooths out at about 20.

I noticed a "Clunk" when I turned the steering that I traced back to the ball of the wishbone. On close inspection the ball jumped around in it's mount when I had someone turn the wheel.

It had no springs on the mounting bolts and the caps were tightened all the way. The cotter pins were free of the castellated nuts they usually ride in. I am thinking it had the rubber ball mount and when the rubber ball disintegrated someone just tightened it up all the way.

I suspect this caused quite a bit of wear on the ball of the wishbone so I ordered another rubber ball type kit from Snyder's.

In my order will also be Les Andrews three books (hopefully) explaining how to support the car while doing this and not loose any teeth or sustain worse injuries.

From what you guys told me the wishbone could very well be the culprit. I'll let you know how it turns out when I install the new ball mounts and the tie rod ends I also have on order this weekend.
 
You may not be too happy with the new rubber ball mount either.Just using the rubber type sometimes is the problem itself.The steel-on-steel is pretty foolproof,and if the ball is too worn you can beat a washer into a cup shape and lay that on the ball before clamping it all into place.You can just unbolt the yoke and drop it,you may have to force it back into place again,but it has no dangerous stored energy like a rear spring.
 
I believe there is a dished-washer available for use in a worn ball-seat on the bell-housing.

I found loose spindle steering-arms, loose tie rod ends, and loose wishbone as bell-housing on my car, coincidentally, those nuts were all missing their cotter pins...
 
from reading in the catalogs I noticed that the rubber ball cannot be used on the original type ball socket. Nor can the washer be used on the rubber ball type.

I don't know which type I started out with so I just decided to replace the whole thing and the rubber ball rig seemed less like a temporary fix.

My neighbor has a big press and a bucket full of fender washers in case I don't like the superball solution.
 
Here's the pics:
 

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Thanks Steve. I can't believe I found it right in my backyard! And the fact that I had driven past it hundreds of times in the past 33 years it resided there makes it more exciting.
You will notice the MAFCA sticker on the windshield but nobody in my chapter knew about it. The P.O., who purchased it at a Kruse auction in 77, had never been a local member. It seems he just bought it and parked it, perhaps because of the aforementioned steering problem.

So to me it was kind of a barn find.

In his garage there is another car covered in dust. A restored 1957 Chevy Bel Aire two door hardtop.


After griping down the wishbone I still get the shimmy on braking and low speeds.

This weekend I am hoping to rebuild the drag link and tie rod ends in hope that smooths things out.

I bought the tool to remove the end caps from the tie rods but it looks like I'll have to remove the brake backing plates to get them out. Is that correct?
 
I'm not sure Jeff but I think it's called andulisite blue. When I did a search for andulisite blue I got a pic of an identical 30 Tudor.

The color is weird. At noon it looks black, but when the sun is low on the horizon it's unmistakably blue.

I hope someone here more familiar with A paint schemes than I am will verify this.

I really like it.
 
Well......It wasn't the tires!

After replacing the drag link, the tie rod, tie rod ends, both steering arms, the pitman arm, and replacing the wishbone socket (first with the rubber ball then with the original design including the washer), and installing teflon tie rod and drag link innards, the shimmy is gone!

I guess it was a combination of all of these things but I think the biggest culprit was the pitman arm. When removing it I had a wheel puller at the ready but, as it turned out, after removing the bolt I didn't even have to pry the slit open with a screwdriver. It was so loose that when I tugged on it with my hands it came flying off the shaft so easily I had to reposition the brake rod hanger which it banged against.

Installing the new one was a totally different story. It fit so tightly it required a hammer, a 2X4 and not a few cuss words.

I suppose I'm lucky the old arm didn't fall right off in the street during one of my jaunts around the neighborhood.

Anyhow, I'm pleased to report that when I went to test it by driving around the block, I wound up about ten miles away.

I just couldn't stop driving it.

WHOOHOO!

Thanks for all the help and support guys.
 
Skeezixx, this may be the best thread that I have read in a long time.

1. You find a great car close to your house.

2. There is a problem and it is solved with help from fellow Fordbarners.

3. A child gets a picture and a memory.

4. You have a good time talking with interested onlookers and even make up a story or two.

5. You express your joy in driving the car.

This thread to me is the essence of why I enjoy this hobby so much. Thanks.

Happy trails.
Dean

P.S. Skeezixx, I'd love to have the mechanic in your avatar help tune my engine.:)
 
dean from bozeman said:
Skeezixx, this may be the best thread that I have read in a long time.

1. You find a great car close to your house.

2. There is a problem and it is solved with help from fellow Fordbarners.

3. A child gets a picture and a memory.

4. You have a good time talking with interested onlookers and even make up a story or two.

5. You express your joy in driving the car.

This thread to me is the essence of why I enjoy this hobby so much. Thanks.

Happy trails.
Dean


P.S. Skeezixx, I'd love to have the mechanic in your avatar help tune my engine.:)
Click to expand...


Thanks Dean. That's what this is all about. Having a good time and sharing it with others.

And make no mistake.....I am having more fun with this cantankerous old strugglebuggy than I have known in scores of years.

And there is a "rest of the story." In my accounts of the trials and tribulations of this project I refer to myself in the singular but really it's a "we." You see, I represent 50% of a pair of old bachelors who have been boon companions for over thirty years. Both of us near retirement age.
Although we didn't know it we were looking for something not boring that didn't involve drinking, casinos, or designing women to occupy our time.
One day we saw a Model A happily trundling down the road and my old pal turned to me and asked "Didn't you own a Model A when you were young?" "Yep, I replied "And I wish I hadn't let it get away from me." After a pause he said "Let's get one and drive it to all the Cajun festivals they have around here (we live in Southeast Louisiana)." At the time we had never heard the term touring.
Well, that sounded like a fine idea to me so the hunt was on for a driver and I think we found a good candidate.
Even though the temperature here in New Orleans has been in the 100s and currently we are working out in the sun, we both look forward to arrival of boxes from Snyder's, Macs, etc. because it means the following weekend we get to commune with the old gal. And that, gentle reader, is a large part of the fun of having such a toy as an A.

We joined the local chapter of MAFCA and there is a tour coming up in September which has both of us as eager as schoolboys awaiting the first day of summer vacation.

Like I said, Our friendship spans over three decades and this might be the most fun endeavor we have undertaken together. And amazingly, we discovered quite accidentally a method for two old coots to get the attention of nubile young cafe' waitresses and such which we haven't enjoyed in many years.

Yep friends, it's a hoot!

As for the mechanic in my avatar........I call that photo "How Grandpa met Grandma when she broke down on highway 61."

Ken
 
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