Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

I mostly fixed it.

I ran into somebody at work a few days ago who used to have a 1955 Clipper. I told him about my power steering and he said his was the same way unless he kept the drive belt unbelievably tight. He said the belt would slip on the pulley without making any obvious noise to alert him that it was slipping.

So, I went home and tightened my belt.

90% improvement. You can steer it with one finger while the car is sitting stationary...if you have a strong finger. I wouldn't call it "feather light" steering, but it's a whole lot better. I have some other old cars with Saginaw integral power steering that you can parallel park with nothing more than your pinky, so perhaps I'm a bit spoiled.

In any case...I've never seen a belt slip like that without making some kind of noise.

Yeah especially on asphalt it won't truly be "1 finger" steering when not moving but your system sounds like it's working properly now.

Packard claimed it was an 80% reduction of force and considering that it's pretty darn difficult to turn still tires without PS, I think that level of performance is correct.

Keeping the belt bowstring tight helped quite a bit, but it was still a pain to park. With the engine at 450-500 rpm and the vehicle barely moving, most of the work to pivot those tires came from your arms.

So, out come the bias plies.

Coker was backordered on all 8.00-15's, so I went one size up to 8.20-15. I got some US Royals in 3.5" white wall. I repainted my wheels and made sure they were straight, too. I had the tire shop do a nice road force balance job because I hate shake and vibration.

SOOOOO MUCH BETTER.

It steers so nice now. Parking this car is a one-handed affair now. I can hopefully back off the tension on the power steering belt before I wear out bearings and crack mounts.

It rides so much smoother and quieter, too. Like a cloud. I hear noises I never could hear before, because the car is so much quieter. Patches and cracks in the pavement go completely unnoticed. The radials always felt harsh on those small bumps and imperfections.

Surprisingly tracks very nice. Hardly catches in grooves at all and it is responsive to small movements of the steering wheel. Some of my other cars on bias ply tires really stick in grooves and require lots of steering correction for road crown or crosswinds, but not this one. It pretty much just goes where you point it.

Speedometer is accurate now too, which is nice.

And it looks better.

Corners worse, obviously. Classic bias ply tire groan and mush if you take a turn too hot. Easy solution: slow down.

Overall, I am happy.

Your power steering belt should not need to be any tighter than spec.


I've had a great many older cars and pickups that rode and handled very well on bias ply tires.


I'd start with factory recommended tire pressure, using an ACCURATE gauge.

Stay with, or close to, original tire sizes.

Experiment with different tire pressures, always at with AT LEAST the factory recommended pressure, NEVER less.

Most cars will handle better with the cold tire pressure somewhat higher than factory recommendations.

As little as 2 PSI can make a significant difference in ride and handling, so you must use an accurate gauge.

For example, the factory recommended 22 PSI, cold, for my '37 120 conv. coupe.

On specified 7 X 16 Denman bias tires, it certainly rides well at that pressure, but handling is marginal and the tires scrub on turns.

Adding 2 PSI cold made a very noticeable difference in handling, with almost no loss in ride quality on bad dirt roads.

I moved up to 26 PSI with yet more improvement, then to 28 PSI. 28 works very well. I'm currently trying 30 PSI. It looks as if 28 to 30 PSI, cold, is going to give the best results. Since I have to use rough dirt roads for several miles each trip, I'm not going over 30 PSI.

I check tire pressure carefully, with a good, dial-type gauge, and I check tires in the morning after the car has sat overnight in a barn.

If the car is parked outdoors, check tires early in the mnorning to avoid having uneven pressure readings from the sun heating tires on one side more than the other. It can make a difference.

Most 1950s and 60s cars came with a very low factory tire pressure recommendations. Adding 10 to 15 per cent to that figure is usually beneficial.

NEVER bleed off the normal increased pressure that results from the tires warming up while on the road. Always check tire pressure before starting out.