How to deal with convertible shimmy

[yellowdog]

While I have had my car for 3 years now, it was only a few weeks ago that I finally took off my hard top for the first time. Been driving around with the soft top up and loving it.

Except for one issue.

There is a fair amount of body flex creaking that wasn't there before. Since this is my first convertible, it made me pretty nervous at first thinking that perhaps the car was about to fold up on itself. Now I've grown kind of used to it.

Still, it would be nice to reduce the noise.

So I went back into the forums to see what people have done in the past to deal with this like getting new shocks, swaybars, and/or panhards. Since my funds are limited, I cannot do all at once. My thinking is try one thing at a time and see how well it does before moving on to the next.

So I'm looking for feedback on what worked and what didn't for others.

TIA for the advice.

[Guest Jim_McNally]

Make sure the door hinges are in good shape, and that the door latch pins are properly adjusted and not worn - the plastic inserts go bad after a while. The pins are cheap, and making the doors tight can eliminate some of the flexing. Made a big difference in my 8V when I replaced the pins.

Jim

[Guest My TC Toy]

If you are not used to a convertible, you will notice a lot of body flex or cowl shimmy in the cars. You have to realize that there is no roof structure to aid in the vehicles rigidity, although the floor pan has been strengthened, so all the body strength has th be in the floor pan. So, it is normal for the car to feel loose around you. I really do not think that the hardtop offers any structural support, but it may make you feel better.

Like Jim said, make sure the car is in good mechanical condition, a loose ball joint or faulty shock will certainly add to the problem, and that the door posts and hinge pins are tight and secure. Other than that there is not much else you can do.

As you know these are great little cars, despite what some people might think, so enjoy the ride.

Edited June 15, 2012 by My TC Toy (see edit history)

[Guest TCBucky89]

Just found this post. My '68 Imperial Crown convertible has a certain amount of body flex, so it can happen to any of them, I think. That car weighs about 5000 pounds! The TC hardtop having six latch points may help keep the rattling down some, sort of like holding it all together. I found out the rattle coming from the back of my TC is actually from the spare tire not being screwed down properly!!