[rotorwrench]

The steering knuckle with king pin was new for Ford in 1949. It is, by design, still somewhat antiquated due to the use of king pins instead of more modern ball joints. In its stock form, it has always functioned normally for me as long as it is all in good condition. In poor condition, it's a whole other beast. My Pop had a tie rod break on him while cruising down a country road (clay/gravel) out by the farm. The car went off the road into a the neighbor's front yard barely missing their rail road tie supported mail box. He considered himself lucky. He had a good run of luck surviving the war and all but he had the whole front end rebuilt after that just for better insurance. The Mercs have a relatively heavy duty front end but it ain't bullet proof.

If modifications are done to lower it or if different components are installed then it's anyone's guess about bump steer or stable operation. So many old Mercs have been modified with bags and all sorts of other ball joint conversions and such. It was only in recent years that the center links even became available again. The quality of some may be questionable but the ones I've purchased were decent.