[Mulsanne Motorcar]

OK.... I've had the caster set to 6.5 degs with 1 deg of neg camber, with the 'Toe' set at 1/16"th in. I've also installed the flow reduction valve (2 gpm) along with the shimm pack to reduce pressure to the rack.

Just throwing this one in. We are running stock leaf springs on the rear without a Panhard rod, would this contribute ? Picking at straws here.

The PS mod's didn't alter the assist very much, but the camber made a little difference. I'm finding that the more I drive it, the more I get used to it.

I think you hit the nail on the head when you mentioned the steering arm being too short. Does anyone know if the Thunderbird spindle/arm ***'y is compatible, or does anyone know then lenth of the 'T' Bird arm ?

I lowered the tire pressure a little and the seemed to help as well, perhaps a different tire would help. Has anyone had experience with tires in this respect?

Thanks everyone for your input....Martyn

[pasadenahotrod]

Just for information, the manual rack and pinion boxes steer just fine, effort wise, as long as you don't have steamroller tires on the front and have a steering wheel that is sensible in size, like 14-15".

My friend Burl is 75, suffered a severe stroke about 4 years ago, still has some right side weakness, and drives his 32 3W coupe (which he and I built after his stroke),with small block Chevy, Heidt's front suspension and manual R&P, with ease. Car building again has been very therapeutic for him. He discovered many new ways to do things without great body strength and realized if he'd done things that way in the his youth he might not have worn out his body as quickly!! He's added on to his shopbuilding and is preparing at attack some other projects which have been on the back burner for some years while we made the swap meet circuit. How about...A T speedster (26-27 cowl and doors, boat tail, dropped axle, Rocky Mountain brakes, 26-27 Wires), a 28-29 CLosed Cab Pickup, a 37 Chevrolet 2door sedan, a 35 Master Chevrolet 2door sedan, a couple more T bucket hotrod roadsters?? That ought to keep him busy for a decade or two!!

[trees]

I have been driving my 36 PU since 1990 with MII power rack and GM pump. It is on it's 3rd rack (rack one started puking fluid because it was used when installed, rack two was replaced because it was getting very sloppy (gears plus inner rod ins worn) rack three is going strong). The first 97,000 miles was with the stock GM pump and it drove exceptionally well. When I rebuilt the truck the second time, I installed the pressure kit, but aside from quieting the pump down, I could not tell any difference in the driving quality. My 36 Coupe was completed about 32,000 miles ago and it has the GM Pump with out the kit and it also drives fine and is not as noisy as the pickup before kit mod. I have learned that sensitivity is more a function of toe setting. If it is near 0, it will hunt like a dog. I request the alignment shop to go to the OEM maximum toe-in and they drive the best there and do not have abnormal tire wear. You may have the alignment to go to 1/8 toe and see how much that helps. Right now it seems as if you have done so much, it is going to be difficult to determine what the real solution to the problem was.

Trees

[Mulsanne Motorcar]

Thank you for all the inpout and advice, it's been very helpful indeed. The PS flow restrictor and the shim pack recucing the pressure were installed and whilst they helped a little, the problem was still there, but without being amplified by the power rack. The caster is set to 6.5 neg degs and has helped a lot.

A racing buddy of mine called round on the weekend and I asked him to drive the car. I felt I was getting tunnel vision with the problem and not being open to other causes. He suggested that the rear tires and the shocks may be a problem. His interpretation was that the car was being pushed and swayed from the back, especially going into a corner.

The first thing I did was to pump the tires right up to stop any sidewall sway. REMARKABLE !! Extra pressure certainly helped, so I installed tires with a much firmer sidewall, 225-70-16. Bingo, I am a long way toward solving the problem. I'm wondering whether a sway bar or Panhard rod will help.

I will keep you informed of progress.