6 Adjustments You Forgot About on Your Vintage Car

Cameron Neveu

Cars, especially vintage ones, were built with a certain amount of regular maintenance in mind. As our daily drivers slip further and further into the black hole that is things like “lifetime transmission fluid” and items that require more calibration than actual maintaining, it gets easier to forget all the items that should be kept up on our fun-to-drive cars. Always on the look out for you, we took a moment to make a quick reminder list of items worth checking … especially if you can’t remember the last time.

Door Strikers

1987-Jeep-Grand-Wagoneer-Flex-Track-Install pipe insulators
Benjamin Hunting

Look, we aren’t going to get into a long-winded discussion about how gravity seems to get stronger as we age, instead we are just pointing out that the same forces are applied to our cars, too. Doors can sag a bit with use even with perfect, well-adjusted hinges. Taking a minute to properly align the striker and latch on your doors will pay back tenfold every time you get in and out. If the striker and latch just won’t line up like they should, be sure to check the condition of the hinges and pins prior to modifying the striker or latch to make it work; the latch can only compensate for so much sag from the hinges.

Clutch Pedal

mini race car manual testing
Brandan Gillogly

There are several methods of transferring and multiplying the driver’s left-leg force to connect and disconnect the engine from the transmission. Whether cable, hydraulic, or rod linkage, there is likely an adjustment that can be done to ensure that the clutch is being operated as designed. In addition to helping ensure those parts have long lives, this will also allow the pedal to do its job by putting the engagement point in a nice place and making the car easier to drive. Take a moment to grease or lubricate any pivots, and don’t be surprised if you have to re-learn how to drive your own car.

Shift Linkage

Carrera shifter linkage internals
Brad Phillips

Driving a manual transmission can be so rewarding and fun, but those feelings rarely come from shifters that have all the tactility of a knife in a jar of peanut butter. Is that third? Fifth? I didn’t even think this car had a fifth gear?

Shifter adjustment and maintenance is often a little finicky due to having to deal with the center console, but it’s worth the effort. New bushings go a long way for most shifters, but an old rod-actuated transmission might need nothing more than just double checking the rods are the correct length, clean, and not binding. You might not think your shifter is so bad, but this is one of those circumstances where the parts wear slowly and we often don’t notice it fading over time. Also worth noting: Check forums or clubs for potential shifter upgrades. There always seems to be someone re-engineering a shifter and selling kits to improve the feel or durability.

Steering Box

Keeping a bias-ply-shod car between the lines can be tough enough at times, and slop in the steering box can only make things worse. The steering gearbox is a relatively simple part of a car, but like every other piece there is wear that adds up over time. Often the resulting “slop” in the steering feel is just chalked up to “old car feel” rather than dealt with appropriately.

There are a lot of types of steering boxes and arrangements, so unfortunately we can’t give a short how-to here. Refer to your favorite service manual or marque expert for the process and potential common pitfalls before attempting a DIY adjustment. Steering boxes are precision and are often adjusted as such. If in doubt, take it to a pro.

Headlights

For fear of late-night animal crossings, or just the numbers of bugs that accumulate across a delicate chrome grill, it seems most vintage rides rarely stay out past dusk. Even if you plan to stick to a curfew for your old car’s entire life, being prepared to brake it is still a good practice and that means you need to be able to see. Well-aimed headlights can make a huge difference in overall effectiveness and visibility—both the good and the bad kind: Your light should be showing you the road rather than potentially blinding oncoming traffic. We want to been seen while driving, but a headlight pointed right at other drivers isn’t the best way to go about it.

Hood Latch

checking hood latch pins
Matthew Anderson

While you’re up by the front taking care of those headlights, be sure to take a moment and pop the hood to check the latch is in good shape and holds properly. A hood flying up and over is not a situation that anyone wants to be in while driving, especially not in their vintage car. And that’s before we talk about repairs.

Instead, double check that the mechanism moves freely, and that the latch attached to the hood is both secure and hitting the appropriate place when closing. Use lubrication appropriate for the situation and drive a little easier knowing your hood will be staying right where you put it.

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Comments

    The problem with adjusting steering boxes is the majority of the wear tends to occur in the center position. When you take the slack out of the center, it tends to get tight at the ends, which can damage the box. Any time I’ve had to resort to adjusting the box, a replacement was on the horizon

    I agree. Once there’s a need to adjust the steering gear box, it’s usually too late. I’ve adjusted many of them and if your lucky, you might see a tinge of improvement. Most often its replacement time.

    What I learned about adjusting them is you don’t want to take all the play out, because that will make it tend to stay in an off-center position when trying to track straight. What I’ve been able to do is count the turns in, then back it out by half that amount. It will tighten it up to be more drivable, but not be too tight.

    I agree. I learned this one in high school. It sounds like many people did not. You never, ever take up all of the slack.

    Ditto on the steering box. If you tighten up the center, you run the risk of binding at the ends. The best adjustments are to the tie rods and alignment. If you have a Hurst shifter, you can still buy bushing and clip kits to adjust the rod length. If you’ve forgotten, there are plenty of You Tube videos. Also, make sure to adjust the stops and check the mounting bolts, especially if you tend to shift hard.

    Especially if you have a 73 to 87 Chevrolet PU as those hoods are well known to buckle if the hinges are dry.

    Dribble some lube down the hood latch release cable if your car has one. Not as serious as the hood flying up at speed, but not being able to open it can tie up an afternoon. I’m qualified to rank them having experienced both.

    Today the most over look adjustment is the emergency brake.

    Due to the way many are set up they leave you with an E brake that fails yo work and a low brake pedal.

    Most just need to be used as the ratchet up as they get used.

    Sounds like you have never driven a Little British Car from the 1950’s with single circuit hydraulic brakes.

    When I was in high school (and college) I loved doing “Bat Turns” in my 55 VW Bug in snowy parking lots. Great use of the e-brake and a rear engined car!

    The brakes don’t work on my 1942 Ford, but the e-brake at the back of the transmission works fine. (don’t worry, I haven’t driven it in years, and fixing the brakes will happen before I drive it again)

    Unfortunately many ebrakes on collectors are disconnected. A fortune is spent on bodywork only to have it damaged by a slow roll into your other collector due to brake failure or someone took it out of gear.

    the correct name, endorsed by the legal world, is ‘parking brake’. its specific use is to keep the vehicle from rolling when parked. putting an a/t equipped vehicle in ‘p’ is usually good enough, but not designed to do all the work. but then there’s the corvair – all years & models. no parking pawl in their a/t, but instead have a more robust parking brake.

    also, if the parking brake handle works by applying the rear brakes, the rear brakes should be adjusted before adjusting the parking brake. in a lot of cases, adjusting the rear brakes will also tighten up/adjust the parking brake

    I always check the blinker fluid! It’s basic maintenance that I do ever time I put the winter air in the tires 😉

    Don’t forget to check your cross drilled stainless steel brake lines!

    Muffler bearings are an assumed check at this point.

    Muffler bearings are real. That’s a term used by Euro makes for exhaust hangers. I learned that the 3rd week I was working in an import auto parts store. A carer I had for 16 years….

    yup, agreed, but with a different part. 2nd year turning wrenches at a datsun/nissan dealer, i was replacing under warranty the piping that connected the manifold and catalyst (the braided hose section was noisy). the p/n label also had the part’s name – ‘brg-muffler’. nobody believed me until i showed the label. made me think somebody probably made a tool and named it ‘sky hook’…

    The problem with most old manual steering boxes is that no one checks and maintains the oil in them, Most of them took either a semifluid grease or 90 gear oil. I have also used SAE 250 gear oil in boxes that the seals tend to leak. I check the oil in all of my manual steering boxes once a year.

    Have barely scratched the surface. My small collection requires:
    Valve adjustments, drum brake adjustment, hand brake adjustment, brake fluid flush at regular intervals (especially if it isn’t driven much), packing wheel bearings, lube the generator, chassis lubrication, replenish steering box lube if leaking, check SU carb dashpot damper fluid level and much shorter oil change intervals.

    Interesting that you would use the picture of a Studebaker when mentioning the hood latch. Since acquiring my 1956 Studebaker Skyhawk, I have been told that faulty latches on the Studebakers have been the cause of hoods flying up while under way. Good choice of images!

    Yeah, I been there with my ’53 and ’55 Studebakers. Driver error was the proximate cause but the ’53 perhaps was misaligned a bit. I added a Golden Hawk safety latch on my Sky Hawk and breathed easier.

    The Citroen D model had a cable operated latch and a backup click-in-place latch on each front corner. Unfortunately the backup didn’t work that well as I found out “at speed”. The aluminum hood wrapped itself over the roof, but the safety minded French had anticipated that event and the hinges worked in such a way that the bottom of the hood went high enough that the (bozo) driver could still see the road ahead. I got a crappy replacement from a junk yard but always made sure that the cable operated latches were engaged after that mild disaster.

    My dad never bought a pickup made by Dodge. The one time he test drove one, the hood flew up and wrapped over the cab. The dealer later told him there had been too much grease put on the hood latch. But it was too late to change dad’s mind…

    The general consensus is that tires should be replaced at 6 years, regardless of mileage (especially if exposed to sun). Rotating and closely inspecting tires is a must! Also, remember that tires have 2 sides, we tend to just walk around the car and look at what we can see….

    I finally replaced my tires three years ago, the second replacement in 58 years of ownership. I got away with it but I don’t recommend it. There is something to be said for slow driving; the fun lasts longer and you save the adrenaline for other adventures.

    Good point. Felt a wobble in a 1979 Dodge D100 when driving at 40 mph. Thought balance weight fell off. Just happened to feel backside of older tires and one had a bubble about to burst. Caught it just in time!

    If your door is sagging enough to need a door striker adjustment, then it is also no longer aligned with the rest of the body panels. Adjusting the striker is not the proper course of action. Rather, at the very least, the hinges should be adjusted instead so that the striker is aligned again. More drastic measures may involve rebuilding the hinges. I look at this way; if the door was aligned properly at the factory and the striker adjusted accordingly, there should be no need to ever adjust the striker. Adjusting the striker just makes a bad situation worse.

    I agree. Why adjust it out of place, when it’s a good indicator for where the door should come back to after you fix or adjust the hinges?

    For years I saved a classified advert (remember those?) from the SFO Chroniclein 1963 that someone dumped a good deal of cash to spoof the Bay Area:
    Automobiles For Sale: “1956 Chevy Super-Sports; dual-louvered oil pans, chrome reversed dip-stick, four on the column,heavy-duty valve covers, full race wiper motor, etc. Best time: 13.99 and 78-mph at Freemont. Call xxx-xxxx” Didn’t seem worth the long-distance charges, but who knows… ?

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