63 steering alignment problem

[Joel T.]

Hi, I'm doing some major restoration work on my '63 SWC and am now tackling the steering. When I got the car, the steering wheel had to be positioned roughly 1/4 turn off center for the car to go straight. One of the tie rods was essentially frozen, not adjustable. I replaced both tie rods, completely, and re-installed last night. With both tie-rods at their shortest possible length and the steering wheel at center, the left wheel is essentially straight while the right wheel is off to the right (right turn). This can't be correct. I want to set the steering up so that when the wheel is centered, there is equal adjustment on both tie-rods. The question is, can I accomplish this by repositioning the steering shaft, or do I have to remove and reposition the pitman arm???

[Mac Peppers]

Re: 63 steering alignment problem

hey joel,
position the steering wheel last, get the toe-in adjusted correctly with the tie rods, then remove the steering wheel, center it, then reinstall.

[Tom S.]

Re: 63 steering alignment problem

Joel
I would take the car into a good alignment shop and get the rear axle done as well.I had a tough time finding someone who knew what they were doing on Corvete's but finally found one. I even took it to my local chevy dealer and they did not have a clue when it came to the rear axle shim's.That was a total waste of time and money.Ask some other Corvete guy's in your area where they go for alignment's. Tom

[Duke W.]

Re: 63 steering alignment problem

There are index marks on the steering wheel and shaft. If all is assembled properly and nothing up front is bent the steering wheel should be centered when the car is driving straight and the tie rods are adjusted to equal length to achieve the toe spec.

Bubba reindexed the steering wheel to compensate for the frozen tie rod, bent steering arm,...

See the 1963 Corvette Shop Manual and AIM.

Duke

[John H.]

Re: 63 steering alignment problem

Joel -

As Duke said, START with the index mark on the steering wheel hub properly aligned to the index mark on the end of the steering shaft; when Bubba re-indexes the hub to the shaft, it screws up the turn signal cancelling. The rag joint is also indexed to the input shaft on the steering gear, and the pitman arm is also indexed to the sector shaft. From there to the steering arms on the knuckles, with the steering wheel held straight ahead (index marks on the hub and shaft at 12 o'clock), the tech on the rack will adjust the tie rod sleeves for straight-ahead and correct toe-in. That's the ONLY way to do it correctly.

[Joel T.]

Thanks All!!!

Guys,

I followed your collective advice and got the problem straightened out! Did not take but 1/2 hour. The steering wheel to steering shaft alignment was spot on. The shaft alignment with the steering box input shaft was off by almost 1/4 turn. I aligned this and PERFECTO, we are back in business!

I can't thank you guys enough!

Joel