Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

Shock absorbers?

I am fairly sure that your rut sensitivity is caused by your tire tread. Tires whose tread has only (or mostly) circumferential grooves tend to track with grooves in the road. It can be quite disconcerting. Here is a copy of a post by 32Pontiac6 from the AACA forums:

"One thing about tires is to look at the tread pattern.  I have three cars with three different tread patterns.  One that has the tread that only has grooves parallel to the road can track badly on concrete roads with grooves cut in them.  I have that problem here in CA with the tires on my '32 Pontiac with a wide tread pattern in the direction of travel."

If your chassis is in good condition, most available tires should give good handling and tracking. An exception might be tires that are worn beyond about 80% of original tread depth, or worn irregularly.

If the entire chassis/suspension is in good working order, including all steering linkage, all 4 shocks, the steering box, as well as the rear springs and shackles and sway bars, etc, it might be of benefit to have the front end aligned by a person who has the correct specs on hand and who understands the Packard suspension system. I would suggest setting the caster and camber to the upper limit of the specification, and be sure the caster is the same on both sides, unless the specs call for a difference.

If you run the very low tire pressures reccommended for most older cars of the 30s through the 60s, try adding about 5 PSI to the recommended pressure. Avoid 6 ply tires or oversize tires. Any binding anywhere in the steering system can make driving straight very difficult. Be sure all working parts are properly lubricated, including the steering box, and be sure the various adjustments on the steering box are not too tight. Sometimes a car's body will settle slightly on the body mounts, and this can put the steering column in a bind. Loosening the column clamp at the dash will uusally relieve any bind. Loosen, then wiggle and bump the wheel, then retighten. Check for any indication of misalignment or binding where the column passes through the firewall.

Malfunctioning shocks on a soft-sprung car with independent suspension can make the car wallow like a drunken hippopotamus. Make certain that your shocks are all fully-functional and properly filled with the correct fluid, iof they are of the older type. Any shock bushings or links must be in place and in good condition.

The garage fitted new tires today. They are exactly the same model as they were before. The problem is completely solved. The only cause was that the old tires had become too hard. There was hardly any visible ageing on the outside. Even the tire dealer couldn't find anything unusual on the rubber. But the tires were already about 20 years old.
What torque should be used to tighten the wheel nuts?

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85 ft/lbs

Thank you very much, these are 115 Nm.

Greetings to Bavaria from Schwabenland. In a few years I'll need new tires for my clipper. Did you order your white wall tires from the US, or from a local place here in Germany?
Danke!
Mike

Hello to Schwabenland, my tire dealer has procured the tires. The total cost was around 1,400 euros.
Viele Grüße

Gero