The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline 1948 3/4 ton drifting when driving

I have a 1948 3/4 ton chevy with a 250 chevy engine stock 4spd tranny and stock 4.56 rear end with p215 16 inch new balanced radial tires on modular (trailer) steel rims.
The truck does pretty well at 45 to 48 mph, and ok at 55, the problem in that when i get on a section of asphalt that is a little uneven the truck tends to drift and follow the contour of the road. the truck does not pull to either side and my mechanic says the steering box is tight. I can't put wider tires on it because of the tight clearance with the tie rods. I guess I just need to keep it in the 45mph range. any ideas? Thanks for all the help in the past charles

My '51 1/2 ton did that until I replaced the springs. New springs raised the front about 2.5 inches which put the steering geometry where it should be. When the front sags because of tired springs, the steering box is not centered when you are going down the road because the drag link is not at the proper angle,

My steering wheel rotated about 180 degrees from where it would sit in the straight ahead position after I put the new springs on. That shows you how much it was off.

Anyway You might check out your springs and see if they are looking flat. Fairly easy job to replace and not too expensive either. Check out SDtrucksprings.com.

1947-1955 truck springs

Replacing these springs was the best thing I ever did for drivability and steering.

Kurt

thanks kurt, I'll check it out this weekend

charles