In the old days when you asked a rodder what the steering in his rod was from, you would very often get "1956 Ford pickup" as the answer. I found that finding a 1956 Ford 1/2 ton pickup in a wrecking yard, and having sound steering intact is quite difficult, so its good to know that the desirable F-100 steering packages were available in more years than 1956. What is the range of years that the Ford pickups had this steering, and wouldn't the 3/'4 pickups also have it (or equally good steering)? What prompts this question is --- a guy in my town is parting out a 1953 Ford 3/4 ton pickup and he says the steering is still in it and available for a real reasonable price. I know lots of guys are using the F-1 steering (1948-1952 pickup) today in their traditional rides, but I'm NOT talking about F-1 steering --- just the F-100 steering that seems to work so well.
That's good to know. Thanks! The common reference to "56 pickup" seemed to suggest that Ford didn't start using them until '56, and that from then on all the F-100 pickups got them.
All the way up to '60.... That's what I'm using. got pics if you need em. They are basically the same as the early ford boxes, only the flange is a little larger, also the tube/shaft are on the top of the box instead of the bottom (if that makes sense?).
'56 column is a little shorter due to the deep dish steering wheel, otherwise it's the same box. Another good box to use in a push-pull drag link setup is the '64-'69 Dodge A-100 van (the ones with the big aluminum rings around the headlights and the engine doghouse between the seats).
I prefer the F-1 box because it has a splined sector shaft and pitman arm rather than the ball end arm and clamp feature that the F-100's have. If I recall right, the F-1 shaft is the same as 39 pas. which is a bit cheaper to replace in a rebuild. I ***ume the worm gear on an F-1 would also be the same as a 39 Ford pas. also. The worm being above verses below might make them unique. Some guys cut the ball off of the F100 pitman and weld a standard tapered end on. I've also used a VW bus steering and frame clamp mounted to the bottom of the rail with the pitman arm pointing up with a level drag link. Through the years the haze gets thicker but thats the way I remember it. Hope this helps.
Back in the day when these trucks were everywhere, the 56 was preferred because it was shorter. With the popular flat Bell wheel it gave you more belly room when sliding in and out of your roadster. There is a difference and with plenty of them around back then, guys would hold out for the 56. Some claim that the F-1 box more closely matches the angle of the the original box with the different shaft location. Unless you are a stickler for the details most all Ford truck boxes from 48 to the early 60s can be made to work well. What you need to modify will depend on the year of the box that you find.
The 53-56 and 57-60 boxes are the same, except the pitman arm on the 53-56 has the ball end, and the 57-60 has the tapered hole tie rod end style. You can shorten the column length pretty easy.
Nope Fidg.... the 53-6 box is splined all the way around the sector, the 57-60 is splined on the bottom and theres a big bolt that runs across the top of the sector that tightens the pitman arm. Here's mine, 57 box...
Mine is off a 55 F100 with the ball end pitman arm. What I'm going to do is cut the drag link to approx. tie rod length and thread the end 11/16". I personally like the look of the ball end pitman arm.
Are you sure? I'm at work now, but I'm certain the earlier ones are only partially splined - the arm will only go on in one position, and has the clamp bolt at the top. Maybe '48-'52 F1s are fully splined? I have a '55 F-250. That came with a spare 'rebuilt' box as well as the original one. A mate had a '56 F-100 box for his '32, so we pressed his worm gear onto a '32 shaft to get a taper and keyway for his early steering wheel, and I used his '56 shaft in my steering box. The '56 column and shaft are a couple of inches shorter than the '54-'55 (and I ***ume the '53?), as 38fordpickup says, and use the dished steering wheel. I can check the parts book tonight to see if it confirms that all F-250 ones are the same as their F-100 counterparts.
The F1 (48-52) boxes are fully splined - I'm pretty sure the later ones (53-56 and perhaps later) were splined at the bottom only with a pinch bolt at the top.
I have an F1 box, and I replaced the ball end pitman arm with(I believe) a '32 pitman arm. Vern Tardel's book tells how to replace the flange on the F1/F100 box with a Model A flange.
That is incorrect. The 53-56 box has the same style sector shaft with about 6 splines at the bottom and the large pinch bolt at the top. Just like the 57-60. The difference is the drag link end, the 53-56 have the ball end, the 57-60 have the tapered tie rod style end. 48-52 boxes are splined all the way around and use a large nut threads on the sector shaft to hold the pitman arm on.
I put the 1956 F600 larger steering column and box in my 1956 F100S. Works like a charm,and almost gives you power steering(almost). Only thing is you must use the f600 yblock oil-filter 90 degree or so-adapter so oil filter will work. Bill
How about a 61-62? they still had a beam axle,looks like a '48-'60. Also what did they use in the Econolines?
I have the f350 box in mine, just changed the pitman arm. "thats all" Any one need a f350 pitman? I'm for the birds...cheep!
Picked this up today, someone upgraded their Street Rod. Column length is 38 1/2. ....Wow, those are crummy photos, but at least the computer photo posting problem is fixed.
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