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Maybe you noticed that your T-Bird doesn't handle the way it did once upon a time. There can be a lot of reasons for that. Here are a few comments on some of the things that may be at the root of the problem.
As a result of wear caused by use and neglect, your car may develop looseness in the steering assembly. Some of that "slack" may be found in the drag link and tie rod portion of this critical part of your car. If your Bird is equipped with power steering you should expect to have 1/8" of slack in the control valve when the engine is not running. When the engine is running this will not be evident because the energized control valve and steering ram cylinder adjust for this travel. A greater amount of slack can usually be attributed to worn tie rod ends, steering boxes, idler arms and rarely, ball joints.
But don't replace the ball joints on your Bird just because they are 46 years or so, old. They almost never wear out and just may be the best ball joints ever used on any type of automobile. The very same parts were used on cars made by the Checker Motor Corporation from the mid fifties through the end of production. Even the Yellow Cabs couldn't wear them out. Checkers may also be a source for good used ball joints if you really need them and have exhausted other sources. I have only seen two bad examples in my long experience with the Birds. It is possible that these particular joints were never greased, thus causing premature failure. If your car's ball joints have ever been serviced they are probably still fine. Look elsewhere for worn out parts.
Front end alignment or the lack of it makes a huge difference in the handling and drivability of your car. Tire choice will determine how your T -Bird should be aligned. Toe-in should be set at zero inches for radial tires. Biased ply tires should have toe-in set at about 1/8 to 3/16 inches. Radial tires are the single best improvement I ever made on my Thunderbirds. I have been using Michelin X's since 1962 and I bought the first set of whitewall Michelins sold in Dallas, Texas. They were special ordered by my Firestone dealer at the time. I recommend the 205 size on all three years models; I use them on my '56 and '57, mounted on Kelsey Hayes wire wheels from the later model T -Bird's.
Now looking at the other end of the car for answers, a common handling problem is caused by loose U-bolts that fasten the axle housing to the leaf spring stack. You may notice telltale symptoms of this condition when the car darts in one direction upon acceleration and then heads in the opposite direction when braking hard. These U-bolts must be very tight. When you check them or attempt to tighten them down, don't use an impact wrench. There is a lot of rubber in this assembly that will absorb the energy supplied by the wrench and the nuts won't tighten the way you have seen nuts tighten in other applications. I use a 3 foot long cheater bar, take them up to about 75 ft-Ibs and apply it evenly. When you do, you may break out in a sweat.
The above is by no means an exhaustive list of the causes for handling problems in your T -Bird or any other car. However, these are some common causes; you might get lucky and find one or more of the above hints to be just what you needed to put your Bird back on track.
Taken from the notes (but editorially embellished) of Walt Nuckles
Reprinted from "Big D Little Birds" newsletter-Volume 30, No. 6-June, 2001
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