Bearing noise?

Just put on the hard top (parrish) last weekend. And now that I don't have the top down wind noise to contend with, I can hear several noises I don't remember hearing the car make. The most prominant is coming from the right side, kind of a "whop whop" that is tied into the drive train somehow. The reason I know this is that when the car speeds up, the noise speeds up along with it. I can't tell if it's coming from the front or rear, just that it seems to be coming from the right side of the car. It almost sounds like a tire or wheel out of round, but the tires are fairly new, and were balanced at purchase. The car is a 1980 LE with the LE wheels, so this is not wire wheel noise. Where's a good place to start? Wheel bearings? Universal joint(s)? Differential? Thanks to all,
Ken

I would jack the car up and check the front wheel bearings first. Check for excessive play by grabbing the top and bottom of the tire and jiggling it. The amount of play that you feel should be minimal. Spin the wheel too and listen for noises. If it's been more than 12K miles since the bearings have been packed then do that. If you haven't owned the car that long then pack them just as a matter of service. That will also give you an opportunity to visually check them. I had a front bearing explode in the first year of owning my first B and it scared the crap out of me.
If the wheel bearings are all right, then get it on a lift and check the universals and look for any leaks in the differential or the rear wheel backing plates. They should be dry looking. A differential that is low on oil will start to whine.

A zillion possibilities including a broken tranny mount, a wheel bearing, a brake hanging up, something trapped in a wheel well... Jack up the right side, peek under, remove both right wheels, hunt, inspect, find, repair. Spin the wheels by hand and listen. if there's no noise, it's probably not a wheel bearing. U-joint is possible. look at the tranny mounts and shake things a bit. You'll find it and it'll be something simple :-)

Take it for a drive.Do a fairly fast curve of 30 to 40 MPH.if the noise increases it is the wheel bearing on the opposite side of which You turned.
Left curve = right wheel bearing, right hand curve = left hand wheel bearing.Now You need to determine if it is front or rear which should`nt be too tough.

I have seen Martin's description be correct, but I have also seen the UNLOADED wheel be the culprit. If you suspect a wheel bearing do both sides.

Tires? Swap the wheels/tires left to right, front first, and see if that moves the noise origin to the other side. If not do the rears and see if there is a change.

Jack

"whop, whop"....ooooohhhh I won't go there.