My Son’s car needs help! Handling is horrible!

I should add that you'll need to remove the master cylinder to get the old rod out. As suggested, you may want to just buy a new master cylinder anyway since you'll already have gone that far, and they are not expensive.

 

Everything on this thread has been good advice. When dealing with steering issues always look at alignment, suspension and steering box. Sounds like your alignment is food. Next move to the suspension. If it hasn’t been rebuilt you will need new shocks, new bushings, new strut rod bushing etc... once that is done then check the steering box for play. If it is really loose you can tighten it up a bit or get a new box. Do you have power steering or manual?

 

Yeah, I should have mentioned the steering box as well. It could have play after 45+ years. It is adjustable to a certain extent.

 

Yep, if they are a little loose tightening them up will help. But if they are worn out they have to be replaced.

 

Caster is a good bit of advice. Modern tires like a lot more caster, a little less camber, and just slightly less toe in than the bias ply tires these cars were designed around.

 

It really isn't that new(radial) tires require additional caster, it helps any older car. When I bought first set of radials in the late '70s, I though WoW these are better than the old bias tires. Car was aligned to factory spec. Fast forward 40 years, modern cars with 5 to 8* degree of positive caster, really bring to light how lacking older vehicles that spec around ½-1* positive caster are.

Biggest issue is older front-end designs usually have problem adjusting in the amount of caster necessary. For these cars, I crank in everything possible, then reduce side with most caster till it matches opposite side. Of course camber & defiantly toe-in will have to be adjusted as well.

 

Thanks for all the responses.

I stopped by to see how the Maverick was doing at the shop my son took the car to. I happened to notice that the bar that runs from the LCA to the front of the frame was not tight at all. It has new bushings on that bar but the nut wasn’t even all the way up to the washer and you could move them by hand. So perhaps that will fix it.

I’m wondering if the Ford dealership did that when they “aligned” it or if they just worked loose because they maybe weren’t on tight enough.

I also noticed that the sway bar bushings are new and the end links are new on the sway bar and they have new white bushings. I don’t know the material they are made of.

Also the vacuum advance on the stock distributor is shot. Mechanic said there is zero vacuum being drawn from it. So he’s going to replace that tomorrow and tighten the bushings on that bar in the morning. So we will see. He also said he had to unhook the aftermarket tach my son put in the car because it was causing the engine to cut out.

The shocks on it I believe are blue Monroe stock ones. When I get the car back I may switch those to the KYB gas adjust ones.

My son has had several shops work on it so there is no telling what else is loose or jacked up on this car.

 

Pretty scary. That is a strut rod you're talking about, and you don't want that coming off while you're going down the road. If you get KYB shocks, get the monotube version. If you get the twin tube version, they ride no different from the Monroes.

 

"I happened to notice that the bar that runs from the LCA to the front of the frame was not tight at all. It has new bushings on that bar but the nut wasn’t even all the way up to the washer and you could move them by hand."

Well, there's your problem.

As long as you've lost your wheel alignment, you might consider looking for a shop which will align to your specs. The Ford dealer probably won't. Use the specs shown in this link, they'll work on all Falcon-chassis cars. https://opentrackerracing.com/technical/

"Also the vacuum advance on the stock distributor is shot. Mechanic said there is zero vacuum being drawn from it."

Your mechanic could be on to something. https://www.liveabout.com/testing-vacuum-advance-distributors-classic-cars-726193