Does anyone use a panhard bar or steering damper on your car(s). I have a panhard on a speedster where I have removed springs from the pack. I found it greatly improved stability. I have not used a damper and wondering of its improvements to the cars driving stability.
Frank Fenton's steering damper (Lang's) is on my tour car, adds a friendly feel to the wheel. All the stock Ford stuff is in good shape, added this only for the 'un-toward rebound' that can happen when you hit an unexpected rough spot or chuck-hole in the road.
When on tours, un-known roads present such hazards, esp. when you are sightseeing a little or concentrating on traffic or upcoming turns.
Gives a bit of relieve to not have to do the death grip on the steering wheel all the time
I like it. Only thing, be sure to check bolts/nuts just like any other part of your steering. One time the clamp on the spindle rod got loose and lost some left turn radius, as the piston arm got off whack. Easy fix, but now I check prior to every tour along with all other nuts and bolts in high-concern parts on the T.
Barely shows from the front.
Clamped on axle underside
I have a steering damper like Dan's and I really like the way it smooths out the bumps. All of my steering gear is in good shape and honestly you can't tell whether the damper is there or not during normal driving and turning. Like Dan said, it just really makes a big difference when you hit a hole or bump you weren't expecting.
I believe Clayton has a panhard bar on his speedster as well as friction shocks.
Joel young has a Panhard rod between the front axle and the chassis. It uses standard Model T parts, really neat, wish I had a picture. Can someone get one?
thank you Tony. all T parts
I have a steering damper on mine. I think it does make a difference.
I added one of the Lang's dampers to my car right after I bought it because the car had a low speed shimmy problem. It worked and got me through my first summer and fall driving season.
When winter set in, I replaced the front spindle bushings and shimmed the tie rod ball. I then took the damper off and so far the car's handling has been fine, no shimmy.
I have a low speed shimmy when there are two people in the back seat.All I do is release my grip on the wheel and it quits
IMHO the UGLY modern shock absorber stabilizer detracts from the statement of a Model T, and looks like modern slapped on crap! There are plenty of different period correct stabilizers still around that would keep your T period correct if you feel you need to have one installed.
While I am on a roll, A stabilizer shouldn't be used as a band-aid for worn out steering. These things were designed for used on the collection of pot holes called roads in the Model T era.
Would love to see more details of that or other panhard bar installations.
Got a VW stabilizer off Ebay and made the brackets. Installed it on the speedster. Need it or not, I like the feeling of it. Reduces white knuckle syndrome on rough roads. Must be of some use or manufactures would not have gone to the expense to put them on new cars. Puritans do as you like as will I.
Check Clayton Paddison's build thread before we left for Bonneville. He has Panhard bars front and rear of his 26 roadster. All made from T parts.
Here's links to three of 5 different period correct stabilizer's I have. These won't detract from the period look of your T, and in my opinion, do just as good a job as the modern hot rod looking alternative does.
http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/257047/317683.html?1350551010
http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/331880/338284.html
http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/80257/116309.html
Tyrone,
Nice picture of an igloo in a snow storm
Well I guess I'd better apologize...the first time I opened the thread there was nothing but blank white space where Tyrone's photo now appears.
Darn Dennis, the photo was suppose to be an igloo in a snow storm. I just can't do anything right.