I have a '67 Galaxie 500 with front end problems. The other day I took it out for a spin for the first time in 2 mo. and everything went horribly wrong. At the first corner I pulled away, getting on it pretty good, and before I knew what was happening I was shot up on to the curb. It has an open rear end so I know that throttle and tire spin was not an issue. Halfway through the corner I lost control and the car pulled strongly to the left. As a result the tie rods were bent. But, I really want to know what happened to cause this. Could it be the idler arm? Worn tie rod ends? Ball joint failure? Old bushings?

Anyone with any insight please let me know what you think.

 

Some older vehicles had NO sway bars. If you're not used to handling it - it will much more easily get away from you. Maybe if you don't have one you could contact a company like PST and get an aftermarket bolt on deal. Another problem - if you mounted or hit the curb improper that would account for the torqued up parts. To start any wear or looseness in your steering should be immediately tracked down and repaired. Unless you hit a little slick of oil on the pavement or something - in which case you never had a chance. Natural oil pulls up from paving especially when it first begins raining (oil floats on water) - that's why I always remember to shut it down a little in the rain. Also older metal-making processes for all companies allowed a largeroccurance of the unversally-hated air bubble in the metal (weakening or even leading to breakage). Last - never underestimate the importance of replacing the worn-out rubber bushing on an A-arm you thought was no big deal. When losing control remember : never jam on the brakes hard and don't throttle the gas - it's only asking for trouble.