front end "shimmy"

I just bought a 71 911 T and noticed that it has a pretty hefty "shimmy" in the front end (felt though the steering wheel). It only occurs at about 60-65 mph. I assume that it could be wheel balancing. However, I had it checked out in a pre-purchase check and the mechanic said the front shocks were "blown out". He demonstrated this by pushing up on the front wheels with ease while the car was up on the rack. I also noticed more wear on the inside of the front tires. However, the tie rods were replaced recently by the previous owner also. Could the allegedly blown out shocks be causing this shimmy? Or "cupped" tires?? Or out of balance tires???

Check your ball joints .
As far as Paul Weir I used him years ago in 1990 when I lived in Seattle for work on a 75 911S I had at the time just for basic stuff though alternators-
valve adjustments He told me he was an expert on 911s and at that time worked out of his home and had several 911 parts cars their. I had no complaints about his work and he seemed very competent,From what I've heard about MM I would trust him more but as with any shop when they see you have a specialty car watch your wallet.

I had the exact same problem, which occurred after I had my shop install turbo tie rods. It appeared as though the alignment was off... the geometry was not set up correctly and one tire, not wheel, was out of round. I took the car into an alignment shop and they shaved my right front tire down to make it round. They checked and adjusted the alignment and now the car is fine. Obviously, if a shock is bad, this could contribute to the condition, but the ball joints could be the problem. A good shop should be able to get to bottom of this problem fairly quickly. Good luck with your car.

A good shop will also recommend corner balancing (distribution of weight on all four corners with the driver in the car)as well as adjusting the camber, caster, and toe in.

[This message has been edited by michael (edited 04-28-99).]