› Forums › General Counties Cars Discussion › Advice sought for late 1953 Austin Hereford with heavy/very heavy steering › Reply To: Advice sought for late 1953 Austin Hereford with heavy/very heavy steering

February 12, 2024 at 1:38 pm #8479
number5
Participant

Hi from Aussie,

I have one Austin Atlantic convertible and coupe, as well a Hampshire.  The steering on all is not heavy, though when moving slowly could be considered a tad on the heavy side. Of the three, it has the lightest.  It also is the 5th prototype made, made in 1948.  I acquired in 1998, and the steering box still has the original lubricant, with the box not requiring any attention when I undertook its rebuilding.  I had it out on Sunday jast gone for a short 3-1/2 run each way from Sydney to Orange to attend a car meet, which required driving over our Blue Mountains and the steering was very responsive on the winding mountain roads.  The total mileage travelled thus far is 85101.  The Hampshire has the next lightest, followed by the Atlantic coupe.  Having driven my previous convertible for 475,000 miles, and the coupe I stll have for 300,000 miles, I do not consider them heavy, though when stepping out of my power steerimg modern car, I do notice the difference for a short period of time.

I have a colleague who has a set of the upper steering bearings in a BN1 100/4, who said it made a big difference to his stated heavy steering, yet on my BN1   when I had it, it was extremely light, as it should be, being nominally 950Kg to the A70/90 at over 1300kg.

I inflate to 32psi on the 3 cars, so the suggested 35 will assist. I have a colleague who uses 40 on his Atlantics, and has never mentioned any abnormalities with tyre wear.  Something that made me grin recently was that when I took possession of the Hampshire I acquired to fulfill my late wifes wishes to acquire another car like the one I had when I was 16, On the way home, I was really amazed at the lightness of its steering. The following day, I checked the tyre pressure—–50 PSI.  No wonder its steering was so light.  There was a reason, for the owner who had it was still driving it, at 92 years of age last December, and it made it a tad easier for him.

I would suggest you try the higher 35 pressure mentioned, and also th 40 that one of my colleagues here uses. He has done this for many years,  driving all over Australia in his convertible, often doing club runs of many thousands of miles.

Enjoy your car