Several years back I purchased a T bucket kit from Total Performance. I built it with a tube dropped front axel and a chevy Vega steering box that pushes or pulls a rod that connects to a bracket on the left front wheel and then out in front of the front axel I have a rod going from the left fron wheel to the right front wheel. I have always gotten a lot of shake steer, with the wheels going from right to left untill I slow down to about 5 mph. I have lived with this since I only drive it a few times each summer but now the roads around here are real bad and I have just retired and I want to drive it more often. I have been thinking that I could put longer bolts through the brackets on both front wheels, ( the brackets that the tie rod is part of,) and fabricate a steel plate that would go down low enough for me to attach a rod through it and then go under my frame and attach to someting like a pitman arm. Does anyone know if this would work or if there is something like this available?
Pictures might help. The steering you have is similar to a traditional steering as opposed to cross steering. One big draw back to the the traditional steering set up is that it does wonder and vibrate. I'm not postitive but a panhard bar might fix your problem.
Sir, two things, first the condition you describe is better known as the " Death Wobble ". If you use the " SEARCH button on top of the threads, you will find hundreds of pages of information on the subject. The next best thing you can do is post some pictures of the front end set up, hope that helps, I'm on the other coast,or I would be glad to come over and look see, TR
Hit up So Cal Speed Shop, they have a steering dampner(sp?) that will most likely help. It connects to your front axle and I believe steering arm similar to a rear panhard bar.
I can't, for the life of me, understand your post. First you need to learn the correct names for all of your components so things are a bit easier to envision. Your, proposed, fix is also very muddy and impossible to picture. The standard "T" bucket steering setup is simple and has been done a zillion times with good results. Most of the time it is a matter of dialing in all of the angles to eliminate shimmy, bump steer and to set the proper Ackerman
Agreed, if the shake starts at slow speed it's death wobble. Check your caster, 5 degrees. Check your toe in, 1/16 or 1/8 inch in. Sometimes even zero or a tad toe out on a T bucket. These are easy to measure at home in your garage. Angle finder and tape measure. Don't use a steering damper until you have got the front end alignment proper.
Yes I thought a Vega box was for cross steer, but it sounds like he has side steer with the drag link going to the left side. But in any case sounds like death wobble, I had it bad until I corrected my toe.
Nine times out of ten death wobble is caused by the front wheel/tire combination, but you must have the front end geometry correct before before you can even start to troubleshoot anything else... If I remember correctly, Total Performance used a reversed Corvair box on their T bucket kits???
I bet it also has friction shocks on the front. They are also probably not adjusted correctly and is causing the issue. And yes pictures would be a huge help.
search "death wobble" and go buy a socal steering dampner, or some people use VW ones too.. its a real inexpensive fix. I had the same problem on my T. People will also tell you to check everything is tight on your front end, and check your castor etc..
I have a T bucket and the only time I experienced what you describe was when my toe-inwas off. Mine is set at 1/8". That may not seem like much, but it matters. Check that before dropping money.
Set it up with 5 degrees of caster, and 1/8" tow in, and it will drive just fine. it's not rocket science.
My T had cross steering, but still had an annoying wobble. Truing the tires (to make sure they're round) and fiddling with tire pressures fixed it.
Sorry, I tried to resist, but couldn't... Probably one of the best humorous/actually helpful threads on the HAMB on the subject of "deth wobbel" is this thread... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=470139 I apologize in advance....
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