How Does Your Steering Work?

[joltesvig]

My 31 Coupe has been running real well the past several weeks so I've been driving it into town and around. The more I drive it, the more it seems like the steering seems, how should I describe it, a little sloppy. When it finds a little ridge in the road it shifts a bit to the left or right, I counter steer slightly to offset the pull. The she'll go straight down the road straight until we come up on another ridge which pulls the "aim" slightly off course again. I this because there is a generous amount of "play" in the steering, that is, because the steering wheel has about 1/8 turn of "slop" or free-play in there? Is this how your Model A steering feels going down the road, that is, "sloppy"?

Then, I would also ask a second question. When I turn a corner left or right, I "crank" the wheel around sufficiently to make the turn then the steering wheel stays at that position if I take my hands off the wheel, the wheel "stays put" until I force it back to the straight ahead position when I finish the turn and want to go straight ahead again. Is this the way all Model A's steer? Is this similar to how your Model A steers? The only other cars I can remember driving with manual steering was the 59 Plymouth I learned on 50 years ago and also a 1966 VW Beetle which I drove for seven years. With these cars the steering always wanted to "self-center", that is, return to the straight ahead position all by themselves, without me "pushing" the wheel back to the straight-ahead position as is required on my Model A Couple. How should my Model A steering feel going down the road, what is "normal" for a Model A?

Maybe I just should consider my steering normal for a Model A? If you think my Model A has a steering problem as I have described it, can you please tell me what I might try to make it steer "normally"? Any of your thoughts will be appreciated!