When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I have a 69 convertible that gets a noticeable vibration between 45 - 60 MPH. Once over 60 MPH or below 45 the car runs smooth. I had the tires checked and they were already balanced, but the tech thinks that three of the wheels are slightly warped. He put each wheel on the wheel balancing machine and then placed a flat-head screwdriver on the inside part of the wheel. As the wheel spun the screwdriver would stop touching the wheel at different times. I'm not sure how accurate that test was, but would warped wheels explain the vibration? If one or more wheels were warped would that cause a vibration only at certain speeds?
On my 73, I stated greeting a vibration in the front above 45MPH that got worse as the speed increased. Turned out a front wheel got out of round. I must have hit a pothole, although I do not remember doing so. Replaced the wheel and vibration disappeared.
Had this issue with the CragarS/S wheels. Went to a guy that's been balancing tires since the early 60's (he owns a Goodyear tire shop). He told me Cragars are notorious for being out of round. He balanced them using both static and dynamic method, never had a vibration issue since.
Are these the stock steel wheels? have you tried moving the rear set to the front?
Yes, these are the stock steel wheels. We did move the two best wheels to the front and there may have been a slight decrease in the vibration, but it's difficult to tell.
I am going to throw this out there since I used to work in a tire shop for a few years. The test is accurate on bent wheels and we used to use the a tool to measure the out of round steel wheels built into the balancer. We would also hold our hand over the tire wearing a leather glove to feel it's travel and out of round. Before OSHA banned we would just hold the hand over the tire while it spun on the balancer with a leather glove.
We could see bent wheels without this test back in the late 1980s early 1990s I did tire repair from 1989 till 1992. I used to bang on rims with a 3 pound hammer after using tire chalk to see where the bend was on aluminum and steel wheels. Some tires are out of round but it is mostly the rims. If the rim was slightly out of round we could spin the tire on it and remount it till we found the sweet spot to reduce vibrations. They can be striaghtened with a little hammer work but replacement is the best option
There are probably shops out there still if your car is so rare it needs the orginal wheels to striaghten them. Depends on what you want to do. Anything is possible these days with restorations I am finding out depends on how much money and time you want to spend on the car to keep it all original.
Had a problem back in the 60's. Horrible vibration. turned out one wheel had loose rivets at the rim but didn't react until the weight of the car was placed on it. Drove me crazy. Mechanic found it when he noticed a "haze" where the hub and rim met.
Wheel problems will make you nutty!
I thought I would close out this old thread. After much procrastination I finally pulled the trigger on a set of 17" Coy C5 wheels.
While waiting on the wheels to arrive I tried the following:
had driveshaft balanced. no change in vibration
replace driveshaft u-joints as one of them felt a little rough. no change in vibration
adjusted driveline angle. Went from transmission down 4 degrees/diff down 1 degree to transaction down 3 degrees/diff at 0 degrees. No noticeable change in vibration
Replaced all tie-rod ends as the drivers side had some play. Slight improvement in vibration
Borgeson conversion - I knew this wouldn't affect the vibration I was having, but the original steering box had a tremendous amount of slop in it and needed to be fixed.
I'm happy to report that 90% of the vibration has been eliminated with the new wheels. There is still a slight vibration between 45 and 60, but not enough to ruin the driving experience.
I have a 69 convertible that gets a noticeable vibration between 45 - 60 MPH. Once over 60 MPH or below 45 the car runs smooth. I had the tires checked and they were already balanced, but the tech thinks that three of the wheels are slightly warped. He put each wheel on the wheel balancing machine and then placed a flat-head screwdriver on the inside part of the wheel. As the wheel spun the screwdriver would stop touching the wheel at different times. I'm not sure how accurate that test was, but would warped wheels explain the vibration? If one or more wheels were warped would that cause a vibration only at certain speeds?
I'd have the alignment checked and I doubt your wheels would be 'warped" unless they have been hit in a collision. It takes a heck of a force to bend a steel wheel...............
Vibration caused by warped wheel?
