Lowest buck steering

Hi Guys,

I need to get moving on the steering column for my truck project(32 ford cab on 55 Studebaker frame). I really don't want to go out and buy a custom column because I don't like the style. I just want to fabricate a simple column like what you find in a race car. I'm 6'3" so space is a premium. Smaller is better for me.

I currently have no column at all. The steering box end has the rag jount style coupling like I've seen on some 60's cars.

Anyone have any suggestions to keep it low buck/no frills?

 

Did you do a search? I think someone did a tech on this.

32 pickup cab on a 55 studebaker frame.....

 

I did search... might have missed it. I'll look again.

I bought a lot of trucks and extra parts from a guy that had two full frame/body 32-34 trucks. He also had two extra cabs that were pretty ragged. This is one of the extra cabs I'm using on a ch***is that I couldn't sell. Perfect candidates for a bunch of mods as the frames are similar widths at the front and rear of the cab. A bonus is that the Studebaker running gear all works and is roadworthy.

 

Search " Cheap and easy steering column" .Pretty good tech. Scott

 

Here ya go!

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11850

Do a search on member "C9" as well. Jay Carnine has made a few columns and always does a nice job. Extremely helpful guy too.
I'm SURE he posted a how-to on the job as well.

 

Thanks guys. I looked those up and they have some great ideas and very practical and nice completed units.

I guess I'm thinking more along the lines of a bearing mounted to the "dash" and a bearing mounted to the firewall. There rest just open. Really a stripped down race car idea rather than a finished unit.

Anybody on here done that?

Lack of a lathe and nice finishing tools prevents the craftsman from truly coming out in me This truck is meant to be really raw. I'm planning to have the master cylinder inside the cab as well.

 

Lathe? "Finishing tools"???? For a column!?!?
Anyone could build an acceptable steering column with a hacksaw, a piece of exhaust tube and some flange bearings or even bushings...and it would be stronger than a length of shafting hung between the sheetmetal dash and the floor!

To each his own I guess....but why ask about building a "column" if you don't really want one???

 

Wtf?

 

If you really want "one like in a race car" with just the shaft and bearings pick up a copy of Stock Car Racing" magazine. Lots of advertisers offering the parts you need.

 

MoRoddin-post a pic of your project-sounds different.

 

As is typically the case, I seem to be doing my own thing. Sorry if I mistakenly considered all mechanisms that operate the steering gearbox to be "steering columns". I was just looking to see if anyone else went a really simple way. I understand that what I'm talking about is not the most elegant solution or even acceptable to many people. That's okay. I've seen lots of great examples here... they are just more than what I am looking for.

My concept is really to use whatever old parts I have. Anything missing will be fabricated in the most simple and lightweight manner... like a race car. It's not an original concept and I expected it was already employed by a member here. I was hoping to be lucky enough to see some examples outside my own imagination.

Heres a couple of pics...

Like I mentioned... I had the frame and flathead six sitting around. Why not use it in an unusual way? I know the front suspension is not what most people would like but it looks surprisingly "not horrible" to me. I can't wait to get it back on the road. It will have a 5 1/2 ft wooden flatbed, too. A working hotrod with minimal cash outlay.

 

That cab doesn't look all that rough. Why not just build the Studebaker for now and save the Ford cab for a proper ch***is later?

 

Yep, I'd build that Stude and put the Ford on a Ford or home made ch***is. Those Studes are cool.

On the column. Check out one of the speedway parts dealers, but an apprpriately splined shaft, some bearings and you're done. What more is there?

 

I've got 4 Ford truck cabs... the best two are set aside for "proper builds" or sale. The other two are for fun. While I wait for the economy to pick up I wanted to build something with the parts that would not sell. I have lots of parts laying around... but without the ability to roll some over into new parts I'm stuck waiting. I want a truck to run this summer... so here it is. The stude ch***is is not strong enough for the blower combo but it was plenty strong to run a lighter weight truck combo on.

Besides... ugly/unconventional rods are good for trying things out. I know a couple things I'll do on the next one and several things I'll never do again (putting a ford on a stude ch***is is not necessarily a bad thing though!).

This ch***is has had approximately 28 inches removed from the front and rear overhangs, the wheel base stretched 2 inches, its Z'd 6 inches, the engine moved back 4 inches and lowered 4 inches, with an offset of 1.75 inches to the p***enger side to allow extra room for a big footed driver, the cab has been moved back about 6 inches, the rear rails are c-notched, the Ford cab is also channelled 6 inches. And it still has space for a functional truck bed.

And it appears it may be safe forever as no one wants a ****rel of a truck with questionable lineage I could probably leave the keys in it when its done

 

It looks to me that you have sufficient technical skills , a sense of proportion, plenty of 'raw' material and a good idea of what you want to achieve.

There isn't much to be made with a lathe, that can't be produced with other equipment and other methods, if necessary.

Carry on.

 

This is about as simple as it gets.


In your case you may want to run a 1" square tubing piece across the dash from side to side - like this:


A bearing mount on the cross-bar and one on the floor or toeboard where the shaft goes through should do it.
Lots of bearing types to choose from so it should be easy.


I recommend strongly you tie the dash cross bar into the cowl bar - cowl bar being like a roll bar that goes from floor just inside the firewall and side to side.
Tie it to the cowl bar with tabs on the bar and bolts to the firewall and floor.

It will strengthen the area, give you a place to hang pedals and stop "roadster cowl shake" when you hit a bump.


Regardless of what you do, plan the ergonomics carefully so the car is a pleasure to drive and not a half-hour wonder....

 

I've built several low buck old time looking steering columns with nothing more sophisticated than a torch for welding and a tubing cutter. Just like we use a donor car for parts, I use donor columns for parts. I always save the mast and cut off the shaft of any junk steering boxes that I come across. I like the Fords from the 50s because I have them and most of the parts interchange both cars and trucks.



This one is from a mid 50s P/U. It's a rare truck automatic mast.The lower bearing on this column started life as an upper bearing on a 57 car. A tubing cutter cut the top 2" off of the junk car column and I simply welded it on the bottom of the truck mast. Now it has the same bearing top and bottom. Since almost all cars and trucks use a 3/4" shaft, I'm not sure what the harvested shaft came from. I always harvest the shaft before junking a wasted steering box. No special home made adapters. Simply a Grant wheel adapter on the factory spined shaft. BTW 1 1/2" exhaust tubing makes a nice mast if your donor is all dented up. Again cut the bearing off the top and weld it to the new tubing.

Without the talent or equipment to fabricate bearings and bushings, I'm always looking for parts that can be harvested and recycled. As you can tell, I have very little cash and not a great deal of time in it. No machine shop required.

 

One thing that may help in finding a trad style steering column is to take a look at Econolines and similar era Dodge and Ford pickups.

The columns with shifter - some stick, some automatic - look very much like the Ford column shift steering columns of the 40's.

 

I agree that cab dont look very rough

 

A large greasable Heim-style rod end makes a great pillow block for steering shafts at the frame or the dash. Simple and clean. AND often buyable cheap at surplus hardware stores.

 

Excellent point Mr. Pasadena.

Fwiw, you can get new and somewhat inexpensive Heim rod ends at Tractor Stores - seen em at Ford and John Deere.

Also found at Orchard Village Hardware and probably Home Depot as well.

Some of them not quite as good looking as a machined aircraft Heim, but not too bad.

If you're using it in an out of sight install....

 

Choppintops did a great tech on it for December 08 tech month.
but the tech part is gone, just the cheer-leading left
may be he'll chime in.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=317173

 

Kev, you are absolutly correct (from what I've seen lately).

If you want to have just a shaft and no mast jacket you should add a clamp somewhere on the shaft next to one of the bearings so that if whatever clamp/bolt/pin setup you have at the steering box starts to come loose you don't accidentally pull the steering shaft off the box (shaft coupler, universal, whatever it is you have).

A simple split colar is my prefered method, clean, tidy and inexpensive. It also doesn't have a tail to carve you up like a screw type hose calmp does (it's what I use till I get my preferred hardware).

You wouldn't belive how hard it really is to drive a vehicle after the steering is disconnected, till you see someone try it . I have seen that personally, and on TV with professional race drivers too (that's usually the QD wheel they pull off though ).

FWIW most of the race cl***es I have and am considering running in require something similar to what I'm talking about.

 

Just makes no sense to me to ruin a good Stude ch***is to produce a truck that you describe as ugly/unconventional (and from those pictures, I have to agree), but it's your build. I love Stude trucks, and it looks like you have a nice cab sitting there.
Oh, and Kev, thanks for pointing that out.

 

Looks Ok!
Might want to relocate the shocks a bit just for looks but not too bad actually.
You can make that work and look good with a bit of effort...should be fun....

 

I didn't think it was really hard to understand what is going on here. I have a blower engine sitting aside for the studebaker body project. The problem is that the studebaker ch***is is a wet noodle. In no way can it stand up to level of power the engine puts out. For example... the engine is a 402ci LS1 with a kenne bell 2.8 liter blower sitting on top. It generates enough power to run my previous project truck (2004 Hummer H2) to a 13.6 in the 1/4 mile. Thats a 6800 lb truck. That engine will not work in a flimsy ch***is like the stock studebaker. So... it waits for a real solid ch***is swap and a 4 link. I want a safe truck capable of 10's that looks old school outwardly. The Stude build is just on hold. A modern S-10 ch***is with mods will do fine.

I tried to sell the Stude running gear... but while everyone agrees Studes are cool... no one wants to pay for parts of one and this engine is only three years.

Likewise, no one seems to have any money for 32-34 ford truck parts. The plan was to sell all the spares and just build the two best ones. All my craigslist ads were a waste of time "in this economy".

So, in true Hot Rod fashion I'm building from what I have. WITHOUT investing a lot more money. Its not meant to be a **** bucket or rat turd. It's meant to be what it is. A good running Flathead powered truck that can work. The cab floor was already gone. Some one did a real hack of a channel cut on the back wall. The flat bed will be built as soon as I get the crossmembers modified for driveshaft clearance. Once that's done it will be time for paint. The doors are already cleaned up and almost rust free. The cab will be back off for blasting as soon as I can get some other mock up completed.

So you can try to corral me off and call me not traditional... a rat rodder... whatever. I'm building a truck with function and the lowest possible budget in mindl. As I'm 6'3" I'm sure I'll catch hell for the seats later, too... A Hot Rodder takes what he has and makes it faster. I certainly prefer the original look of a 32 front end... but I got what I got and I'm building it. Sitting around watching parts rust gives me no satisfaction. Driving a vehicle I built or significantly modified does.

 

That's what I thought. It looked like hell when the cab was still hanging high over the ch***is. Like I said... its got some disadvantages in the looks area... but I'm sure it'll do fine. I would like to redo the shocks some day. But I had two good shock out of the 4 and the front suspension was left intact.

I really wish the coker radials weren't so expensive. I hate the tires... but they are good tires and paid for. The 65 buick wheels aren't so bad.

 

By adding the stock Stude flatty?

 

I love the look of the studebaker and I plan to take full advantage of the closed engine bay for modern power.

I call the current project ugly because that is what many seem to think. I think it looks "gnarly" and very much a hot rod without being a rat rod with added foolishness. Its just a stripped down mean old ****rel truck. I like it enough to persist in building the monstrosity