Bump Steer Kit?

[pitts64]

Looking at the picts of my 69 el Camino at ride height, do you guys think a bump steer kit would help. My car is a little skittish at high speed.

-I have the SC&C Stage three kit with .9 and .5 tall ball joints..

-Stock front sway bar, no rear bar..

Not sure what the alignment is. I had it set to 5 + caster, .5 - camber and 1/32" toe in. I've since tuned it and added more caster on the right to help with drift.. More negative camber, my crude measurements say I'm at 1 on both sides. Sometimes I think I'm toed out but my measurements say I'm very slightly in..

Thank you..

[FlyDoc]

your suspension looks like you have lowered it with just springs.
your lower control arms should be parallel to the ground.
the outer tie rods look bent.
I would fix the "sketchy" at speed with new stock high springs to get the geometry back to where it is designed to be.
if you want to lower the front, put drop spindles on it.

[arriusone]

Chunk that **** in the trash and give ridetech a call !! That will fix your bump steering problems.

[rickpaw]

Looking at the picts of my 69 el Camino at ride height, do you guys think a bump steer kit would help. My car is a little skittish at high speed.

-I have the SC&C Stage three kit with .9 and .5 tall ball joints..

-Stock front sway bar, no rear bar..

Not sure what the alignment is. I had it set to 5 + caster, .5 - camber and 1/32" toe in. I've since tuned it and added more caster on the right to help with drift.. More negative camber, my crude measurements say I'm at 1 on both sides. Sometimes I think I'm toed out but my measurements say I'm very slightly in..

Thank you..

You'll need to double check your alignment, and check the tie rods. They look bent to me as well.

How do you mean "skittish at high speed"? Skittish when you hit a bump, or just unstable at high speed on smooth road? If unstable, then you'll probably need to add more positive caster. My 67 Firebird has 7 degrees of positive casters, 1 deg pos camber, 0 toe.

What did Mark at SC&C recommend for alignment setting?

[pitts64]

Thanks Rick.

Skiddish at speed on a smooth road. If I raise caster to 8 or 9, I seem to end up with bumpsteer. I have no bump steer now and was thinking with a kit I could add a little more caster. My Lee 14:1 box is almost like a manual box while going down the road (I like that) so adding caster makes the steering a little too hard.. I love how fast and positive the steering wheel snaps back to center after making a turn..

Mark recommends no more then 5.5 positive caster.. I wish I could set the toe at home like the Hunter Hawk Eye rack can..


I'm going to have to tune the alignment a little more. I'm at that point where it handles so well I don't want to loose what I already have but I keep thinking it could always be a little better, maybe its time to accept and just be happy..

[rickpaw]

Here’s a thought. Do you have a front spoiler? It’s possible you have front end lift at highway speed.

I drove mine at highway speed without the front spoiler, and the steering got light. I put the front spoiler on and it settled down.

[pitts64]

Its a 69 el Camino so no spoiler.. But you got me thinking because the car handles excellently around town.. It has a 454 with 2:73s and I like to take it up to speed on a few of my favorite stretch's of road .. I'm going to try putting the tailgate down next time.. I never thought of body drag, your post has me going in a whole new direction...

They make spoilers for the 69.. I'd paint it silver maybe even paint my beat up front bumper silver to give it a race car look..

[CSG]

Are you measuring for bumpsteer or just guessing off of how it drives?

[CA B4C]

What you have described sounds like you're running a lot of toe out. Upwards of 1/4" of toe out cars start to get darty at higher speeds.

[rickpaw]

What you have described sounds like you're running a lot of toe out. Upwards of 1/4" of toe out cars start to get darty at higher speeds.

Yeah, that's why I suggested him double checking the alignment.

[rallystyle]

might want to check this as well

http://www.globalwest.net/a-body-196...bumpsteer.html

[pitts64]

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might want to check this as well

http://www.globalwest.net/a-body-196...bumpsteer.html

Thanks for the tip. I wonder if they make the turning wider? I live in Pittsburgh and need that deep turning circle that the A bodies have..

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Are you measuring for bumpsteer or just guessing off of how it drives?

Just guessing by how it drives. When I jack the car up, the toe doesn't change until it's almost off the ground.. I have SPC uppers and lowers with .9 and .5 tall ball joints.

I noticed the inner tie rod end on the right side has a bend in it.. I'm thinking all new ties rods and that bump steer kit from GW might be a start..

[krom]

are the tie rod ends bent from hitting the sway bar?? Kinda looks like they are both bent in that direction.

[79T/Aman]

tie rods should not hit the sway bar they move in unison with the suspension.

[oleyeller]

Looks like the adjusters are out of threads, so maybe they bent the tie rod to set toe.

[David Pozzi]

Have you checked your idler arm and pitman for play? How are the ball joints? Wheel bearings?
Lack of a front spoiler is going to be unstable at high speeds.

[pitts64]

Idler arm and linkage are old, one of the tie rods on the passenger side is bent! I noticed this when tuning toe, I initially thought is was designed that way. The rest is new SPC with Howe tall ball joints and Delrin bushings. The rear is all new Spohn with Delrin Del Sphere bushings..

I went down a bumpy road yesterday that there in the middle of resurfacing. I paid attention to the steering wheel as the car went over the bumps, I think my issue is loose linkage and not bump steer. This is my first front steer car, they are so different, I miss the super fast turning on the rear steer but front steer seems more stable..

They used to make an idler arm with adjustable bearings, I used to buy them for my rear steer cars, the idler arm is super sensitive on rear steer, I wonder if they make them for the A body?

[rickpaw]

Idler arm and linkage are old, one of the tie rods on the passenger side is bent! I noticed this when tuning toe, I initially thought is was designed that way. The rest is new SPC with Howe tall ball joints and Delrin bushings. The rear is all new Spohn with Delrin Del Sphere bushings..

I went down a bumpy road yesterday that there in the middle of resurfacing. I paid attention to the steering wheel as the car went over the bumps, I think my issue is loose linkage and not bump steer. This is my first front steer car, they are so different, I miss the super fast turning on the rear steer but front steer seems more stable..

They used to make an idler arm with adjustable bearings, I used to buy them for my rear steer cars, the idler arm is super sensitive on rear steer, I wonder if they make them for the A body?

Yup, so before buying bump steer kits, let's make sure all the tie rods are new, and you don't have play in the steering linkage.