<VV> Need advice on 65 Corsa convertible shimmy

[Carlton Smith]

Hi Bill and All,

Yes my Corsa has the Dampers in the fenders. However, I have not though to
drive it with the top up and see if the problem does not occur. The car is a
solid as a late model convertible can be. No rust is evident and the doors
work fine with the usual standing in the back seat test.

If I come up with the fix I will certainly report back to the list.

Thanks to all!

Carlton Smith    

-----Original Message-----
From: Chris & Bill Strickland [mailto:lechevrier at earthlink.net] 
Sent: Monday, March 23, 2009 3:53 PM
To: virtualvairs at corvair.org; jimster1 at earthlink.net; carlton55 at comcast.net
Subject: Re: <VV> Need advice on 65 Corsa convertible shimmy

Would certainly be nice if  Carlton Smith and/or Jimster could report 
back to VV on whether their convertible corner dampers are in place or 
not. Especially if nether of them is experiencing any problems at speeds 
over 55. 

One must remember that tires and wheels aren't the only things spinning 
around -- brake drums come to mind.  Badly worn king pins, ala solid 
front axles, used to contribute to shimmy problems, but generally 
shimmies are not caused by worn suspension parts or misalignment of 
"modern" vehicles.  Misbalanced tires, defective tires, bent wheels, and 
the occasional brake drum -- the problems they cause are greatly 
amplified in open cars.  I have a hardtop cabriolet, that feels fine 
with the top on, but with the top off, if feels like there is something 
wrong (there is, I took the top off) -- same car, just much less rigid 
when topless  (just like people, before someone else says it -- maybe 
that's where the "cocktail" part comes in).

Bill Strickland