So, some of you may have seen my other recent thread seeking opinions on whether to repair or replace my 2002 F150 due to severe rod knock.

The upside to the truck issue is it forced me to unearth my 73 Nova from the garage and get it running and registered and insured. 9 years ago I parked it and it really hasn't moved since.

The engine is a ZZ4 crate with about 60k. We pulled the Holley 750 and stripped it all the way down, soaked it in ChemDip, and rebuilt with a renew kit. Before long term storage I ran the tank and fuel lines dry. So we replaced all the rubber fuel lines under the hood. Old girl took some cranking to get gas from the tank to the Holley but one it was there she fired right up. We adjusted float levels, mixture, and idle speeds and it's running pretty well.

But there are some issues. There is a a serious "bounce" coming from the drivers rear. This bounce seems worse in the mornings than the hot afternoons. Are my tires imbaianced, out of round, or are the shocks done? I've had the car since 2002. Maybe 30k miles in that time (none since 2008). I know I never replaced shocks. The tires have a lot of tread and seem to be in good shape, but maybe it had a flat spot?

Any thoughts?

The front rotors also appear to be warped. I used to drive this thing.... poorly. I'm trying not to spend any more money on this since the truck is going to be buckets of cash, but the bounce is pretty bad and the rotors need to be done.

Any thoughts on what's causing the bounce?

Rotate the tires and see if the problem follows.

For the bounce.

Parked for nine years on the tires? Could be a flat spot. How many miles have you driven on the tires since?

Did you keep pressure in the tires? If they went flat the rims might have damaged the sidewall.

The shock might have lost fluid, or a bushing could be disintegrated.

Tires developed a flat spot.

I have a 1985 Monte Carlo SS I bought new and now it's my Summer Fun car. Back when I was using it as a daily driver I used to use Goodyear Eagle GT's on it.

After a complete refinish and new powertrain I started parking it during the fall winter and early spring. BTW, my crate motor is the GMPP HT383 which provides enough power to get me into some real trouble if I don't watch out. Every year when I got it out in the spring I had the EXACT SAME ISSUE you are reporting. PRoblem was those Goodyear tires would "take a set" that took at least 1/2 the summer to work out.

Back when they were available I replace those Goodyears with Hoosier street GT's and they NEVER took a set. Unfortunately Hoosier stopped offering these tires so today it has BF Goodrich tires mounted and when I took the car out of storage in May it rode nice and smooth.

Since your Nova has been sitting for 9 years I don't think you'll ever work the flat spots out of that set of tires so my suggestion would be to just bite the bullet and purchase a new set of tires.

PS: I replaced my last set of Hoosiers not because they were showing too much wear but because they were about 10 years old and since I used the Monte Carlo to tow a 24 foot boat I didn't want to take a chance with dried out old rubber. BTW, used a weight transfer hitch to tow that boat and it was a very stable setup.

We need pics

Was it sitting for all those years on the tires or was it on blocks. If it was sitting on the tires for that time you will see flat spots. If that's the case I can not see you getting around without new tires.

Wrapped front rotors cause vibration/shake in the steering wheel when braking. Not an overall shaking when going done the road.

9 year old tires are done. They are waiting till your in a bad place them they pop! The seals in the shocks might be done too.

quote:

Originally posted by Tommydogg:
9 year old tires are done. They are waiting till your in a bad place them they pop! The seals in the shocks might be done too.

I concur

quote:

Originally posted by thumperfbc:
There is a a serious "bounce" coming from the drivers rear.

Start working out and incorporate squats into your routine.



.

I agree with Tommydogg, nine year old tires even with full tread are aged out. I RV and have to change out my $700 tires after 6-7 years even with much of the tread left.

I was afraid the tires would just be done. The date code on them is 2006, I believe. It's been garaged this whole time and it doesn't get all that cold here. In the garage the temperature range for the entire year is probably 40 at coldest to 100 at hottest.

It was sitting on the tires, not stands/blocks. The tires got low but not flat. The car drove about 5 blocks during a move in 2011, and it made it around the block in 2014 or so, but that's it.

It's gone probably 100 miles this week.

I do realize the difference in feel between the bounce coming from the back and the "surging" from thevrotors that I can feel in the pedal while braking. For sure there are two different issues.

Darn. I don't want to buy a set of tires now.

I bought a 90 Crown Vic wagon that tires with only a couple hundred miles on them. Problem was, they were about the same age as yours. All I wanted to do was get the car home. I had a blow out on the Florida turn pike around dusk. I pilled over to change it and wouldn't you know, I stepped in a dog gone fire ant mound! I was lucky though, spare worked and I nursed it the rest of the way. The next day I bought 4 new shoes. I was lucky the car drove fine on 3 for a few seconds to get it over and lucky some more I didn't get hit while changing it.

I concur about the tires. I'd love to see pics of the car. I have a 1970

The brake fluid needs to be completely flushed out of the system and you still could have some seals go bad.
The tires should be replaced. Even if they were new when you parked it nine years ago they are likely to fail.

On the positive side, once you've done all these things (and check all bushings when lubing), you'll be cruising in a 73 Nova!

Tell you right now[from experience] the tires a done.
I bought an 89 econiline van that sat for ten years,tires shed parts of the threads before I got it home, only six mile

Could be all four tires, and you feel the fronts only with the weight transfer under braking.

Start with fresh rubber, the sooner the better.

Tires are toast. The rubber compounds last no more than 6-7 years now, regardless of miles.

Replace them before they blow on the road and cause a really bad thing to happen.

9 year old tires have probably dry rotted and are unsafe, regardless how they ride.

I would not trust them at any significant speed.