Building '23t with early style FED torsion bar front end , I have about 13 degrees negative caster with drag not installed and the weight of the car on it the tires turn in { narrow in front wide to the rear, does this seem normal. I know the torsion bar front end is not normal , tired of everything looking the same, thanks, Ed
Yes, get the tie rod on it and it should be OK. Beautiful looking front axle assembly for a FED, but are you sure the components and the sizing of them are good for the street? Or is this just a test to see if we are paying attention? Good Luck with your project and show us more Pics!
that would be fine for Drag Racing, but on the street will be difficult. Nearly impossible to back up.
Running tires with a rounded crown you need more caster or the car will push in the turns. Need more info, race? Wheelbase? Locked or open diff? Current front race tires have a flat crown and the caster is reduced
You ever try to ride your bicycle as a kid with the fork turned backwards ? Not so easy ! Same effects as negative caster on your front axle . Simplest way for me to explain caster
You're right this is no test , thanks for paying attention , I'll keep going and only go back to springs if I have to, had a Mark Williams Anglia spindles and axle, replaced the early Ford axle and spindles, thanks for your input,
I guess I'll have to see how it goes now and change it later , I didn't think about backing up , thanks for the info,,
With my rounded crown tires I will need more negative caster?,,, No race about 120 inch wheelbase with Ford 9 inch posi, thanks
The springing medium has nothing to do with the effect that the caster has on the steering. With no tie rod in place the wheels will toe in due to the relationship between the king pin axis and the tire contact patch. The comments re "negative caster" are correct--you have positive. If you did have negative caster the wheels would have a tendency to toe out If your "no race" comment means that you are planning to drive this on the street the caster needs to be reduced to 7-8 degrees at the most or you will have the backing up issues mentioned by Boyd. You will be able to do it but it will take a tighter grip on the steering wheel. You will also need to be careful in tight turns as the wheels will have a tendency to fall into the turn--not as bad as a dragster with 30 degrees caster but it will happen. The early Ford spindles are definitely a better deal for a street driven car but I an with Fedman in that the torsion bar tube (and the front frame rails) look a little undersize for the rigors of street use which is way harder on a car than any drag strip. Roo
What type of steering box?? The more caster what effect it has is a balencing act on a tightrope. as you can see by your first pic is the wheels falling over, if the caster is "0" the wheels would not flop and with caster you are constantly trying to keep the wheels from falling over, and lifting the front end weight coming out of a turn at slow speed. Compounding this is that the wheel center is far out from the king pin so the whole thing acts as leverage. Dragsters get away with more caster because the front end weight is around 400# and you are more into the 7-800# range and thats a lot to lift up. No more than 9* and any more you will need power steering assist
The Jalopy Journal
