When I'm driving my 2004 minivan and I pull slightly on the wheel left or right then let go, the car will make a slight movement in the direction I turned the steering wheel then immediatly the steering wheel will move back to center and the car will continue going straight.

Now when I do this in the 1969 it does not return back to center put will keep moving in the direction I moved the steering wheel. My question is, what about the suspension causes this? Is it the caster or lack of? The 1969 has a completely rebuilt suspension, everything is stock but Hotchkis springs and larger sway bar. It also has a 1991 power gm fast ratio steering box, its a little worn but not too bad, could this be the cause? Other then this I'm very happy with the way the car handles and steers, its just at highway speeds, I have to focus a little more on the steering inputs.

Not enough caster.
Is the rear end jacked up any?
Present alignment specs are for a level, if not 'uphill' appearring, set. And wth the centerline of the car.


One thing you can do for troubleshooting purposes, get four 1/8 inch shims and place one per side on the rear bolt of the upper control arm. Go for a drive, if the steering improves, add the other shim to the same bolt per side.

Make an appointment to have the car Thrust-Angle Aligned with all accessories added, spare tire & jack included, fluids full, and full tank of gas, and with 34-36 PSI tire pressure. This process will aligned the front axle centerline to the rear axle centerline, whether the car is crabbing or not. The idea is to get the most steering axis inclination without destroying/rapidly wearing a tire. It will be money well spent.

ok, thanks for the reply, I was kinda affraid that'd be the answer. The camaro does sit level, it has the Hotchkis rear springs as well. I'll try adding the shims. The front and rear seem to be fairly aligned, at least as well as orginal, the car tracks very straight when I let go of the steering wheel and just coast for a bit. Just doesn't seem to react like our newer car especailly at highway speeds, around town its fine.

thanks again

As mentioned, it sounds like low caster. Did you do the g-mod or use after market upper arms? Both (depending on the arm company/design) will improve caster as well. I get the impression that the stock setup will not allow for much caster.

the standard caster setting is very loe, 1/2 or 1 degree maybe?
Tell your alignment shop to crank in as much caster as they can get. 3 1/4 - 4 is nice, but anything is better than 1.

Use as much caster as you can get, but the first gen spindle has less kingpin angle than later cars do so return won't ever be as strong.

thanks all for the help, the a-arms are stock with a stock alignment, I will try to get as much caster as possible but this is what I was affraid of:

the first gen spindle has less kingpin angle than later cars do so return won't ever be as strong.

I've owned the car for 20 yrs now and it drives the same as it always has and I am happy with it(ie its not a newly developed problem). But, I just completed the LS1/T56 conversion and I'm able to cruise with traffic 70-75 mph very easy, where as before 60-65 mph was about the max cruising speed and the higher speeds really seem to accentuate the issue. Again I'm comparing it to the mini van where I can drive with one finger on the wheel, where as with the camaro, I don't dare do this at highway speeds with this issue and the bump steer it has.

So from your advice and other threads it does seem to be about as good as it gonna get without geometry changes.

I will try the caster change, thanks

Again I'm comparing it to the mini van where I can drive with one finger on the wheel, where as with the camaro, I don't dare do this at highway speeds with this issue
Guldstrand mod and thirdgen steering box will fix

I'm not trying to hijack this post but I do have a question, Where would one find info on the "G-Mod and 3rd Gen steering box conversion mentioned here.
Thanks
Jerry

Another problem with first gen Camaros is, the combination of soft front springs and no front spoiler can cause the front end to get light at freeway and higher speeds. Stiffer coils alone can greatly reduce this aero front lift and resulting front end "float" feeling.

Hot 67,
check my website for info, also Brian has a great PS install page:
Brian Lewis how to install 3rd gen power steering.
http://69camaro.nextmill.net/steering.html