My wife was following behind my 50 Ford Club Coupe, she said she could see a little bit of the side of the car when it was going down the road, what could cause this, any ideas?
Measure your axles diagonally. Left front tire to right rear, right front to left rear. If that number is not the same, you will track funny.
A corner. Or the rear end not square. Have someone drive it and you follow to see if you notice it. Any decent 4 wheel alignment shop can also check it, also check U bolts and spring perch pads to make sure it's (the rear end) where it should be. For a quick reference, measure the tire to rear wheel opening from side to side and see if it's off. No big deal unless something is broken or bent. Usually a very easy fix. But it's the HAMB, and it will be made complicated for you shortly.
It could also possibly be a sprung frame caused by a side-impact accident. Cross measuring the frame (corner-to-corner) would verify. A good frame shop might be able to straighten it for you.
I remember some later Chevy Novas did that straight from the factory. We used to call it skateboarding. I'd take a good look at the rear suspension specs.
It could be as simple as the fact fact shoebox Fords have a bit of taper at the rear quarters...or, she was not directly aligned behind you...or, she may be exactly correct. I once was following my employer in a new '67 Ford F-150 (Ford Dealer) and when we got to our destination, I told him the truck was dog tracking. Closer examination revealed it was an optical illusion, the rear track of the truck was narrower than the front, designed and built that way from the factory, but it appeared to be misaligned when viewed from behind. The water track idea is simple and can work, but only if the car is steered exactly straight ahead. Otherwise the tracks will not tell an accurate tale. Ray
See if the rear is square in the car first, also center the steering box and check the wheelbase side-to-side.
Drop a plumb off each corner of the frame to the ground using common reference points each side, front and back. Drop similar from the centre of each lower axle U-bolt plate (Centre bolt) and end of front spindles to ground. Mark all points on ground where plumb bob falls and move car. As stated also check wheelbase, centre of front spindle to centre of axles. Check lengths and diagonals from marks on ground to determine whether frame is square or laterally deformed. Next check similar for front and rear axles to see if they are true and then cross reference with frame. Rear axle might not be square in frame and perpendicular to centre line of car.? Lengths and diagonals won't lie! If frame is OK and square, then axle groups should be checked for square. Draw a mud map of all measurements and post so we an see where we go from here.
I use a 2' laser level up against the side of rim with some equal size blocks pointing forward, put a cardboard [or what ever] box at the dot at about front bumper and mark it...measure from beam to front tire side wall, straiten tire out to get equal deminsion..do the same for other side..You'll also see how much toe ya got..
Not an uncommon sight when I was growing up in the 60s, to be behind a car and see all 4 tires. Remember my Dad told me that was usually a car that shouldn't have been fixed after a wreck. There was a mid 50's Olds in the neighborhood that we made fun of when we were kids, looked like it was going sideways. Guess tires didn't last too long on them, either.
Lots of old cars go down the road like a happy dog, if the tires are not wearing funny you can live with it I suppose. Look for things like the rear end cocked or the chassis tweeked a little bit. here is one that you may or may not believe, I was there and I am still not sure that I believe it. A friend and I bought a '53 Merc once cheap because it went down the road sideways. Sweet car, mid-nite blue, black naugahyde, full house flatty. chrome reverse. The tires didn't look bad. Anyway I digress, we got it up on the rack and fully expected to find the rear jostled or the frame bent ( one easier to fix then the other) and what we found was a couple of bolts missing from the body mounts and the body shifted. easy fix.
Anyone got a '50 Ford body manual & chassis? Those usually list crucial measurements that frame and body shops use for reference.
Hnstray has a valid point...shoe box fords are fat in the middle and when following you can see part of both sides. Creates an optical illusion. I always thought every shoe box I saw had the front tires toed-out because of that illusion. If the car is indeed dog tracking, the most common reason is a broken rear spring center bolt. That bolt locates the rear axle and if broken, the axle will slide up and down the leaf spring, steering the rear wheels. At 65 years old, the center bolts have accumulated a bunch of rust and they'll break.. Not a big fix and costs less than 5 bux for a new center bolt.......hell, I just grind the head on a common 5/16ths bolt.
we also call it dog tracking in north of the border.a possibility if spring on one side was replaced and center bolt is in different spot(off center)lot of good ideas on finding your perceived problem.if to much work ask her to stop looking at your rear.
I am originally from Missouri, where the story I related took place.....The Midwest has some great expressions, this is just one of 'em! Ray
Thanks for all the input, when I am driving the car and let go of the wheel the car goes straight, also the tires are wearing even. I going to put it in the shop for a disc brake conversion maybe we can figure something out.