Technical Vega steering Box

Installed Speedway steering box with their bracket. Pitman arm points down at about 30% which makes it very low to ground with 4” dropped axle. Any help appreciated.

 

Pete& Jake's sells a stepped steering arm for the Vega. I've used a few. Just make sure to tell them you want to raise the drag link not lower it.

 

IF its a forged arm , heat & bend ..

 

If you have a forged steel pitman you can heat and bend it.

 

Heat & bend. HRP

 

If it's a Speedway pitman it might not be forged?

 

Pete and Jakes has several options to pick from so read closely You searched for Vega pitman arm - Pete & Jakes Hot Rod Parts (peteandjakes.com)

 

Decided to get Speedway 2” offset pitman arm cut and reverse the spline end. Thanks to all for help in making decision, checked with Pete and Jake’s, think heat and bending a 6” shaft unwise.

 

I have put my faith and reputation in Pete & Jake's parts since I became a dealer when they started. Can't say the same for Speedway. Pete & Jake's arms are laser cut steel and cold bent in a press. Dam sure safer than cutting and re welding a Speedway arm.

 

Well there's those that can & more those that shouldn't
What 6" shaft ,you bend the steering arm ,no " shaft" involved....

 

I’m not suggesting that a flame cut and cold bent pitman would be inferior to a steel forging but I do question why a forging should not be heated and bent? Guys have done that for decades to pitman arms and steering arms and if done properly the forging isn't compromised in any way. My big concern is the Speedway steering box, and correct me if I'm wrong but I believe you are putting that in a '40 Ford. The Borgesen 525 box would be a better choice, or even the Borgesen Vega box in a '40 for that matter.

 

This may seem pedantic, but some things irritate me, so I have to say: Speedway do not make steering boxes, they sell them.

And I agree with @Fordors about the steering boxes.

 

Read this guys post. He's talking about cutting a reversing the splined end. Not a fan of anything welded on the steering.

 

I’ve been wondering about the need to cut and weld, the Speedway pitman has a two inch drop, sounds like he wants to raise the drag link?

 

I have read the posts on this thread repeatedly and cannot believe what I read. I have used 100's of P&J's Vega steering arms in the 40+ years I built chassis with no problems. To compare the quality of their USA made arms to the Chinese shit that Speedway sells is an insult. Same with the steering boxes. Chinese made steering box versus American made Borgeson Vega boxes baffles me. I know some of you are on a tight budget but steering is no place to sacrifice quality. When I started back in the 80's I couldn't get a Mullins dealership so I sold probably 50-75 Vega boxes sold by an a American company but made overseas. That didn't take long to bite me in the ass. Box failures, leaks, rapid wear, no adjustment. The company I bought the boxes had the standard response (never had those problems before) I did my best to help the customer and finally got a Mullins dealership and began using his rebuilt GM Vega boxes and eventually Borgenson. Cutting and welding steering components is a risky business. Different story, heating bending steering arms on Henry Ford spindles, even that should be done by an experienced fabricator and always magnafluxed for cracks after they're bent. I may get a little carried away but I've seen steering failure and the consequences.

 

This can be a lesson that is sometimes learned the real hard way.......

 

Steering box mounting plate not properly /welded in correct angle , the Spline side for steering column should be parallel,
Pitman side shaft vertical,,
Pitman / cross steer should be @ close to same plain as steer tube @ ride height

 

Wow!