| Mustangman | -- 05-20-2015 @ 11:03 AM |
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When I drive my 40 Sedan in a cross wind, the car gets real squirrely. It sways from side to side. Is this normal for the fat fender ford? My friend has the same problem with his 36 Ford Sedan. Skip
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| Old Henry | -- 05-20-2015 @ 2:37 PM |
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Yeah, that's how my 47 fordor is too. And then you add the "bias ply boogie" that I get on the grooved concrete freeway and it's quite a ride!
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| len47merc | -- 05-20-2015 @ 3:30 PM |
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'47 Merc Fordor - same. And I love my Firestone bias plys and, as well, Old Henry's description of the '...bias ply boogie...'! It all adds to the enjoyment. Props to the moonshiners that (successfully) drove these beasts on bias plys at 100+ mph here in the foothills of NC in the early-to-mid '50s! Crosswinds or no... Steve
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| joe b | -- 05-20-2015 @ 3:31 PM |
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My '41 Coupe does the same. Gotta hold the wheel tight and don't take my eyes off to road for more than a second or I am in a different part of the road. Henry I love the Bias ply boogie.
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| TomO | -- 05-21-2015 @ 7:32 AM |
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Good shock absorbers and good stabilizer swivels help reduce the side to side sway. The stabilizer bar bushings should also be firm. If you have the original lever type shocks, disconnect the arm and move it up and down. There should be considerable resistance in both directions. The tube type shocks are tested the same way. The stabilizer swivels should be very stiff when you try to move them. All of these help, but will not eliminate the crosswind sway. Just drive slower on windy days. Tom
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| Stroker | -- 05-21-2015 @ 3:00 PM |
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You haven't really lived until you have "tooled" a 38 Woodie in a cross-wind. All early Fords suffer from being cross-wind "challenged".
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| TomO | -- 05-22-2015 @ 6:45 AM |
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The stabilizer bar in the front of the 1940 and later cars does help in a crosswind. The most help is from a very stiff settings on the shocks. Back in 1950, I was driving my 34 Ford from Chicago to Springfield, IL and got caught in a crosswind near Joliet. It rocked so bad that the tires were coming off of the road. I had to slow down to 30 mph in order to control the car. When I got to Springfield, my uncle suggested replacing the shocks and setting them to the stiffest setting. We went to Western Auto and bought a set of reconditioned shocks and put them on. After that I could drive at 50 mph in the cross wind. The car did not rock much, but the wind would move it around the road like it had a sail on the roof. Tom
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| Stroker | -- 05-22-2015 @ 12:24 PM |
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Years ago, a "mass dampener" called the "Gyro Skid Control" was sold to gullible folks. It apparently attached to a rear cross-member and consisted of a tube containing a sliding weight that was centered with coil springs. I've never seen one installed; only in contemporary advertising and I considered Gyro Skid Controls to be a product of "junk science". I've changed my thinking on this since the 1940's. Today, mass-dampeners are commonly used in high-rise buildings to control sway from seismic and wind loads. Modern cars accomplish the same thing via their "nervous systems" [A/K/A On Board Computer(s)] that control brakes, shock resistance and a host of stuff that is very difficult for some of us to analyse without a scanner. No car is immune to lateral wind buffeting. Management can take many forms.
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