QuestionI have Coker radials on my 66 Corvette and the car tends to wander at speeds above 50 mph. I have replaced all steering components with poly bushing; replaced shocks; replaced front and rear springs; replaced front sway bar with larger one and added one to the rear; added a Poly Smart Strut kit to the rear; replaced the steering box with a rebuilt, and had the alignment checked on the car last year, and they tell me that everything is good. I owned Corvettes back in the 60's and don't remember having such an issue at any speed, but with bias ply tires. Your thoughts?
AnswerI had both a 64 (small block) and a 67 (427) Vette (the 67 bought new) and I don't recall any wandering problem. However, car design has advanced immensely since those days. While I enjoy driving my old cars (I have quite a few of them, almost all of them fitted with radial tires), I don't expect them to feel like a modern car.
If there is nothing to be found wrong with your car's condition, and your alignment tech is aware of the different settings required when using radial tires, you are probably just going to have to get used to the way the car feels. If your alignment shop gives you a blank stare when you tell him you heard that the factory specs are not correct for radial tires, find another alignment shop!
Since you have done some suspension mods, it is possible that what you have done is not compatible with the design done by the General Motors engineers 45 years ago - it might be wise to take the car back to the original configuration, unless you are qualified to work on the design of suspensions, which I am certainly not. You don't mention any changes to the wheels, but if you have changed the wheels from factory stock, that could be part of the problem.
If you happen to be in the Southern California area, post a follow up to me and I will tell you about an alignment shop in Temecula which is very good - I think if the car can be helped, they can do it.
Dick
