Have my 62 convertible on the road now. New bushings/springs/shocks at the rear, new ball joints/fully cleaned and lubed tight bushings/new springs/shocks/sway bar bushings/good tie rod ends and drag link at front. Original steering box but it steers well without much of any play
I live in a rural area with bumpy roads and when hitting sharp bumps going slow or fast get a considerable rubbery jiggle in the car and steering.
Has no issue on smooth road, handles well.
Is this normal in the convertible?
If not, any real knowledge/experience of what the problem could be.
The obvious thought I have is the front subframe mounts but they seem to be in good original condition, Bolts are tight.
It’s called “cowl shake” and is common in convertibles, especially unibody ones. The 61-63 converts don’t have nearly as much additional stiffening as do new convertibles.
I have had convertibles in the past, including american cars, and have a ’62 Jag convertible now and none have the amount of Cowl Shake, which involves considerable steering wheel shake in this car, as is present here. And it is a really tight car in good condition. Too bad, disappointing.
Keep in mind that the Jag has a real frame. The Y-body cars (along with the Corvair) were GM’s first production unibody cars. They had a lot of learning to do. With the roof cut off, there isn’t a lot of structure between the firewall and the rear quarters – just the rocker panels and those two little “frame rails” that are spot welded to the bottom of the floor pan.
Yeah, I know, gotta accept the “vilntageness” I guess, still a little disappointing there’s so much shake. Had some early 60s Alfa converts that were unibody with frame stiffners and they were good as I recall. The Etype is a hybrid, full unibody with very deep sills firewall back with the front end a tube frame bolted to the firewall so I see your point. Too bad GM didn’t learn when the lessons were out there but that’s how the US lost the market to Japan in the 70s too.
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