Hi all,

Well, I finally got my historic plates for my elky today in the good ol mail. Was finally able to take the car out for a ride legally on the road and I was driving around pretty good until I made a left turn and heard almost like a flapping noise coming from my left front wheel.

The noise can probably be best described as if you would put a playing card in the spokes of a bicycle when the tire was moving on the bike.

It only makes this noise when I am making a left turn but does not do it when I make a right turn. I pulled the left front wheel off and checked for anything that might be loose ( I.E.- loose dust shield for the disc brakes) but everything was solid.

The car is a 1970 El Camino SS 396 (TRUE SS) with power disc front brakes, 12 bolt posi rear, power steering, TH 400 trans with console shift, power bucket seats, power windows, power locks, and pretty much every other option that was ever made except for the speed minder to tell you you were going too fast over your set limit.

Would someone please be able to help me as this noise is really driving me nuts to the point where I almost dont want to drive my elky.

Thank you all in advance for your insights on this problem.

:? Well...without hearing it or seeing the Elky in person...I'll take a guess. Is there a plastic wheelwell shield? Mabye it's lose & when you turn, the wheel slightly hit's it to make that noise! Is the tire hitting the wheelwell moulding or wheel opening itself? You can jack up the left side of the front end, spin the tire when you have it turned all the way left & see if it make's the noise...One problem is that "NOISE TRAVEL'S"...if that don't find your answer, take it to a Reliable Tire or Mechanic & let them have a look! Wish I could help more...mabye someone here in "El Camino Land" know's what it might be!!! "SKULL" :-(

Have you checked to see if everything is bolted in good in the fender well?
Have you looked at the inside edge of the tire to see if it is rubbing on the inside frame?
Check the balances on the wheels, could be the inside is just big enough to fit over your rotors so when the wheel balance weights come along they rub. If your wheels are balanced by hanging weights on the outside of the rim this wouldn't be something to look at.

Behind the spindles, on the frame, there are stops. Over time those get worn and bent. That will allow the tire on one side or another to start rubbing on the frame, or wear real bad only on one side. I am sure that it does other stuff to the steering and what have you. The only way to restore the alignment is to build it back up to where it was new. I would guess weld it.

I have seen this happen to some cars over the years. Not a lot.

Anyway it is just a thought.

Well, I believe I have found the problem. It seems that the plastic fan shroud on the radiator was just barely clearing the fan on the driver side of the radiator. Seems that when I would make a left turn, the body would flex causing the fan shroud to make contact with the fan. I moved the shroud over as much as I could and the problem seems to have been solved.

Thanks to everyone for their help.