Ok, so I started my "mild" customization for my 1949 mercury 4dr sedan and I guess I jumped in without doing enough homework. What I've found, read, bought and beat my head on. I decided after seeing some posts about an "easy" conversion using the 99-04 Jeep Grand Cherokee steering box, I went and bought a box. It looked like a pretty similar fit to the original one with a little frame bracket/drilling etc. Then I started to take the original column and box out... OK I am a really new to customizing or even working on this old of a car, but not completely inept, but after scratching my head and finally buying a shop manual I found out how the steering column shaft is connected to the worm gear inside the steering box. Woohoo I can get it out... maybe... still working on that. Now I've started to look at the shift linkage for the 3 on the tree manual ****** I have. I thought I saw aftermarket columns I could get with this type of linkage. So much for my thinking, now I'm still searching for a solution to the problem of attempting to modify the original column, finding an aftermarket (hoping for help from here) or some other solution to connecting my new power steering box to whatever steering ***embly comes out of this whole project/mess. I've seen several mentions of Limeworks and I will be calling them when I can get out of work long enough. Has anybody done this mod before and have any suggetions on where to go from here? Is my column going to have to be rebuilt or is there a possible aftermarket I can buy keeping the 3 on the tree? Thanks in advance replies.
you need to pull your steering wheel off, after its removed the column tube will slide up and down. pull the tube off. then take a grinder with a cut off wheel and cut the shaft about 1" from the box. then you need to get a coupler or a u-joint from Borgeson or whoever, so you can mate the two together.. you will need a 3/4" weld (to mate to the column side) and whatever size and spline the jeep box is..i think its a 3/4 36 spline..i just did this this week, i ended up using a F100 box over the Jeep for my application. the stock column needs to be shortened unless you like the thing in your face...
Thanks for the quick reply slddnmatt, I was thinking really wanted to shorten the column and get a little smaller steering wheel. Right now I have to shift almost doing the splits and knee in the door. I was thinking they might make an aftermarket column with tilt wheel too but haven't found such a thing yet. I've never chopped a column down before is there a good guide somewhere or is it pretty easy to figure out?
its not that hard to do, ill be doing it to the one i have for a customer here shortly, ill take some pics when im doing it..i havent seen any tilts that are the three speed shift..ya the wheels are pretty big, 18" and if you chop the top it makes it a lot more fun with that thing in your face, you pretty much look through steering wheel.. if you can lower your seat springs some it will help out with the wheel diameter and the tight clearance, these are always the fun factors on the chopped tops..
What year power steering box did you get? The Jeep one I picked up seems to be a little too large and I'm not sure I will be able to use it.
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