How do you mount a 1951 ford steering column on a flaming column? I know they make grant adapters but not for gm to 51 ford any ideas?
I have a 49, but it is probably real close to a 51. I had to bore out the steering wheel hole, and make an adapter with the flaming river spline pattern. Luckily my father-in-law works at a tool and die company, so he could have the piece made for me. Here is a picture (not a good one).
I'm contemplating doing this in my '49 Merc. Issue I see is that I would be modifying a accessory steering wheel which is not something I want to do. How hard would it be to modify the actual column shaft? Maybe machine a keyway so it would accept the Mercury Wheel. Any suggestions? Anyone perform this modification before?
What I've done is pretty involved and requires some equipment or a machinest. Find a GM wheel and cut the center out of the hub. Take an old steering shaft with the same spline and cut it about 12" long for an arbor. Put the 2 together and spin the center to about 1.125 and make a weld prep on both ends. Now take the 51 wheel and boar out the center to a nice press fit and a weld prep on both sides. Tig weld is a must and probably by a better than average welder. That's just the over view of the complete job. You also need to time the wheel to center with the new spline and up and down for fit to the mast jacket. You also need to decide what it takes for the turn signal canselor to work. Not a job for a Novis but not difficult for the right guy. Some times I've cut the complete center out of both wheels and welded the spokes to the new complete ccenter un-modifyed. You also need to know an 18" wheel on power or rack steering is going to be different. Some times you need to put a smaller rim on the center to be able to relax going down the road. The Wizzard
Wizzard, So taking out the splined shaft of a "flamingriver" column for example, and then have that sent to a machine shop and have them turn it into a 49-51 Merc shaft is out of the question? I would rather not modify a accessory wheel...because if I was to modify it I would also make the diameter smaller by a few inches.
Most commonly a Flaming river column is a tilt. I don't have the tools to take them apart. If your working with a non tilt by all means changing the shaft is less involved. Generally speaking if your not going tilt then I'd modify the stock 51 Ford unit to connect to the new steering box such as I did in my Vicky. When looking at my car most don't ever know the Stock looking unit is connected to a 700-R4 and a Saginaw steering box or that the wheel rim is 1.5" smaller than stock. The Wizzard
since I dont have access to a splined column I will just run the stock column now. In fact my builder and good friend is going to fab a way to use the stock shifter to shift the auto trans.
the column is the original '49 Mercury 3 on the tree. I have 2 levers under the hood that control the toploader trans via some metal rods... The plan is to convert those levers to shift the automatic trans. I'm sure this has been done, Just wondering how and if anyone had a tutorial on accomplishing it.
Hooking the 2nd 3rd arm to an automatic has been done countless times. It will get you down the road but your counting on just the Valve body detent spring to hold you in gear. There is also a safety issue you should know about. When in park a good whack of the gas pedal could result in a sudden shift into reverse. Not a big problem if your setting in the car, now if your leaning over the fender it can get real Exciting. Also while driving down the road and hitting a good Pot Hole you could end up dropping a shift into Low Gear. Not a big deal if your doing 20 mph but at 70mph you could end up getting a 360 degree view of your surroundings. I think I'd shop around and find a stock 51 automatic mast jacket for the Car. The Wizzard
I'm not even sure 49-51 Mercs came in Automatic... Wizzard, these are the issues I'm not familiar with: How the trans is shifted and what locks it into gear so that it does not jump out of gear. Doesn't Lokar or B&M make something to attach to your column that shifts your trans via a cable. What could or has been fabricated to ensure its 100% safe on the road.
51 was the first automatic for both Ford and Merc. They were also just a 2 speed ******. The good thing is most all steering shafts were .750 od prior to tilt columns and even some of the tilt stuff was .750. Not sure what gear box your running but you can mix and match mast jackets with a little home work. A lot of 60's ford and Gm vans had steering columns with just a indicator crown on them and used top bearings in the jacket. They will adapt to your stock steering gear and shaft pretty easily. If your running a Hydro-matic look into early Lincoln's 51-53 they had hydro's in them and Fomoco steering parts. They are easy change over. The Wizzard
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