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Mike,
Please
help!
I have a 1932 Packard 902 Club Sedan
body style 506. I think the odometer is correct at about 53,000 miles.
It has 19 inch wire wheels with modern WW tires. We got it last January
and have almost everything working now. We drive it a lot when we go to
Packard activities and tours. We trailer it to these events and then
drive it in the event usually about 400 miles each time. It has a 4:56
rear so it can’t be driven over 60 or so. We have no history on the car
nor do we know by who and when it was restored. However it had to be 12
to 15 years ago and it sat most of that time, probably on display.
I am having trouble with shimmy. It will
shimmy severely when you hit a RR crossing or large pot hole. It is
completely stock and I want to keep it that way, but I do need to fix
the shimmy. It is so bad you have to stop the car to get the shimmy to
stop. The steering is a little loose (feels like a side ways
instantaneous shift once in a while) on modern highways but not bad. But
it scares me when on old secondary roads that have dips and bumps. It
feels like it might shimmy at any moment and send me into the ditch. The
springs don’t look bad and I can’t see any play in them but I suspect
there may be some. And there is the possibility that the springs need to
be re-arched or replaced. How would I tell that? Do you have springs for
this application? I did not find any in your web page for products.
I found very little fluid In the shock
absorbers and so filled them with jack oil. They show no signs of
leaking so I assume they have been rebuilt. I tried to check them by
hand for stiff action but I can’t get the bolts out to disconnect them
from the suspension. I need to buy a special very large straight slot
screwdriver that fits my rattle wrench!
This car has the old Bijur chassis
oiling system and I have cleaned it up and it mostly works! So I have
oil on my garage floor all the time, but the springs are getting oil, so
I don’t feel like it is likely that there is excessive wear on the
spring shackles and bolts. I should probably remove a few bolts to check
for wear. These springs also have a metal cover that is made with
several sections that taper the length of the spring from the axle perch
to the shackle eye holes at each end. I could probably remove them and
install them on a new set of springs.
I am looking for advice on how to cure
the shimmy problem and possibly make it drive better. The steering box
adjusts well and so there is no plan in it. New springs might make a big
difference but I need somebody with experience in this matter to
recommend an effective approach for fixing it. I can’t think of anything
else I could tell you...
Can you guys please advise me...
Thanks for your help,
Bill
P.S. I saw your write up in Hot Rod
Magazine Test & Tune, that’s how I found you! |
