Front End Pull & Play
 

I just purchased a 73 911 Targa. The car is solid and drives nicely. The car pulls to the right (passenger side) and at higher speeds the right front has noticable play and bounce. I checked under the car and it has not been hit. Is it time for new tie rods?

The car also has the wide body fenders (front and rear). Where can I purschase just the rocker panels and front end to finish the car.

Thanks for any assistance.
Greg

The pulling to the right is probably an alignment problem. Sounds like you need to go through the suspension to resolve the bouncing (possibly struts) and play (bushings/steering)

Steering is sound with no vibration or slop in the steering wheel. I can see the right front quarter panel bounce, while the left is very solid.

I will check the alignment and see if that helps.

Thanks,
Greg

'73 911 Targa

Do you mean the right front corner bounces up and down as the car goes over bumps? Perhaps the right strut insert is no longer doing its damping job. That may mean simply replacing the inserts, unless you have a way to check them. The old trick of pushing down on the bumper and counting the bounces doesn't seem to work with these cars.

Or do you mean the right front corner bounces up and down all the time, even on a smooth flat road?

If the suspension components are old, I would look to refresh with new strut inserts, ball joints, bearings if needed, and turbo tie rods. I would then re-evaluate after refreshing the basics. Alignment and corner balancing should be performed after your suspension issues are sorted.

IMHO, the suspension and handling of the car would be more of a priority than fininshing the look.

check for sticking brake caliper
 

My '72 does this due to a sticky RH brake caliper. jack up the car and check if the wheel turns without too much resistance. it is not a consistent pull on mine, it tends to jerk the car sometimes. I plan to fix it in next week or 2.

Will A.
Atlanta, GA

I've been away the last several days and not near a computer. Thanks for the information.

John L. the right front bounces all the time even on a smooth road.

Nine9six I am concentrating on mechanicals, and they are few. I was just interested to see if there might be some input I might use in the future.

Will A. my pull in the right front is constant - not an occasional jerk.

The car will be on jack stands this week and I will use the info provided to help resolve the problem.

Thanks again.
Greg

'73 911 Targa

The R front wheel and tire could be unbalanced too. Why don't you swap front tires L to R and see what happens?