'65 Fastback Newbie Q's?

[danleyc]

Hey everyone,

Long time lurker, first time poster.

I have just picked up my 2nd '65. First one I have had since '86 as my first car. Still the ever work in progress. It is a early 65 coupe. 3spd, 260, w/gen. Always wanted a fastback, just picked one up off eBay and have a couple questions.

The car has 17" rims (Thrust wheels) off late model with wheel spacers. Drives terrible on the way home after getting picked up. I take to get alignment and they say "we did as well as we could, it needs springs due to sag". I replace springs, shocks, bearings, brakes,......still same problem. If you hold the wheel straight it is ok, when you turn even slightly it jerks to the side sharply. It does this either direction when turning. Both front tires are worn badly and you can hear squealing at all times, when turning and even going straight.

I put 14" rims on from my other 65 to see if that makes a difference and it was 100% better. Now I am wondering if it is the larger size tire in the front, the wheel spacers or the badly worn tires. The tires have worn even on the sidewall from previous owner.

Any opinions, suggestions, advise are greatly appreciated. I will post pics of the wheels, car etc when I can get them loaded.

Thanks in advance.

 

[hipo_p51]

my two cent say that you will be happier with smaller wheels and tires. i had 16's on my car, but swithed to my 15 TTD's. i enjoy the cat a lot better.

 

[danleyc]

Link to pics

Here is a link to the car if anyone is interested.

65 Fastback pictures by danleyc - Photobucket

 

[65fastbackresto]

Great looking car

Welcome to the forums.

 

[iskwezm]

the tires are the issue, going smaller has nothing to do with it.If they are worn and have a "pattern" worn to them they will groove track, where they find grooves in the road. Directional tires are more known for this, but cant really tell from the pictures.

I have 17's and mine drives straight.

 

[horseballz]

Sounds like negative caster on the alignment when it should be positive. If the alignment shop set it to original "factory" specs, it will drive like crap, especially with modern tires. As far as the jerking to each side, does the car have power steering?
My $.02,
Gene

 

[danleyc]

Thanks for the replies. The tires are directional and each are worn badly on the outsides. I was considering getting two new tires up front but want to make sure before I spend the $. My guess is that they did try to go back to factory specs on the alignment. The car does not have power steering.

I would like to keep the wheels as that is an item not currently in the budget and I do like the ones on there.

 

[iskwezm]

theres nothing wrong with the wheels or the adapters.you already know replacing the wheels helped.If the outside is worn either it had postive camber or the toe was off depending how the tread is feathered.

 

[danleyc]

I have considered putting the rear wheels up front and giving that a try, the back tires look to be in good shape.

What is the general concensus of wheel spacers? I had one shop advise me "carry a lug wrench wherever you go", meaning they will always work loose and need to be torgued often.

Thanks again for all the info.

 

[65 fastback]

Another vote for a poor alignment. This is a cut and paste from another post, but I think it applies to your issue.

"My guess, is it's going to be due to the alignment. If you took it to a shop and had them do a stock alignment, the car will feel very twitchy and want to wonder a lot at highway speeds. If this sounds like what you are experiencing, go back and have the alignment set to the performance specifications:

The original stock alignment setting for '64 - '66 Mustangs are:
Caster: -0.5*
Camber: -0.5*
Toe-In: 9/32"

The Performance alignment settings for the "Shelby" drop are:
Caster: +1.5° to +2.5°
Camber: 0 to -.5°
Toe: 1/8"

The biggest difference being in the Caster setting. A positive Caster setting will help the car to track straighter and return to center more quickly after a corner. The easiest way to describe it would be to think of a bicycle and angle of the front wheel fork. If the fork that connects the handle bars to the front wheel were to be straight up and down (0 degrees Caster) you would constantly need to steer to keep the bike going in a straight line. Now if the front fork were installed at an angle (think chopper - Positive Caster), you could take your hands off of the handle bars and the bike would continue to track in a straight line."

 

[danleyc]

Thanks Guys. I will make another appt at the tire shop. Will follow up with results.

 

[Bluepiper]

Tire Squeal...

I had the exact same problem with my '66. I had to make very small adjustments to the toe to get it right. Would make quick turns with small movement of steering wheel and make squealing noise, especially during turns. It is surprising how a 1/8 turn makes on the tie rod end when adjusting. I am guessing that you have too much toe out. Always adjust toe AFTER making caster & camber adjustments.

 

[danleyc]

I finally had the opportunity to move the rear wheels and tires (17" w/ spacers) up front today. The tires are in very good condition.

I noticed that the problem is back again but less noticeable. The car still wants to track somewhat and the tires squel when turned quickly but not nearly as bad. (The car drove much better with the 14"'s)

I honestly don't know what the next step is. I bought the car off eBay with the understanding that it needed....."final details". I had my wife on board thinking that she could drive the car on weekends, even haul the kids around.

Now after a month of the car on jack stands in the garage her excitement is all but gone.

I am open to ideas, options, suggestions, and encouragement.....

 

[Fstbk]

Buy a caster camber tool from summit and check everything first hand, it's not that hard and you will own those skills forever. Paying a shop to work on a vintage car will break the bank..