Im in a Jam, wondering if anyone has any info on a steering box that will work on a 1950 ford sedan with a 302 v8 c4 tranny... Ive looked for a Volvo box that Ive read about in many articles but its been hard to come by..if anyone know any other box that can be used I would greatly be in your debt...
Sorry, when I first looked your post just said, In a jam. Try the stock steering box, they work great.
No the stock steering box doesn't work great or else it would still be in the car. Thanks I'll try the shoebox club.
Hey Lowlife - I might have some info to help you out. I picked up a 68' Volvo 140 box from a guy in Washington about a month ago for a pretty decent price. The guy does strictly Volvo stuff, so he knows his shit. He mentioned he had a couple more 140 boxes at home that were for sale. If you PM me, I will try to find his number and hook you up. Now for some Volvo box info. The reason steering box selection is so limited on these Shoebox cars is the reverse drive sector. The 68-74 year Volvo 140 box is a reverse drive manual steering box which matches the ford box in size and steer direction. The best part about these boxes is they use needle bearing internals and are fully rebuildable. I included a website below called IPD, and they sell the Volvo box rebuild kits if you find one that needs rebuilding. The box itself will bolt up to your shoebox with the Fatman adapter for around 70 bucks. There are 2 different spline patterns for these boxes - 1 is a 11/16 40-spline output shaft - the other is a 3/4 inch 48-spline output shaft. Borgeson makes several joints that will help adapt you from the 140 box to a steering shaft of your choosing. I believe the stock shoebox steering shaft is a 3/4" straight. For my car I am installing a Flaming River column with a 1" Double D end - so the Borgeson joint I am using is a 48-spline 3/4" to a 1" Double D. If I were using my stock column, the Borgeson joint would be a 3/4" 48-spline to 3/4" straight shaft. There is some debate over weather you can use your stock pitman arm or modify a Volvo 140 pitman arm to match your idler arm setup. If you use the Volvo pitman, you will need to modify the arm shape and ream the tie rod hole to proper size. If you use the stock ford arm, you will need to grind out the key-way from the box side of the arm to mate up to the Volvo unit. Here is some additional info that might help you further along with getting better steering. First, check and replace your kingpins if you even suspect they are binding up. 2nd - upgrade to the Fatman trick tie rod set. This will give you a better idler arm set-up and modern tie rod ends. Lastly, check your column bearings/bushings to be sure all is smooth there. With a combination of the Volvo box and these 3 things, you should be steering much better. http://www.ipdusa.com/
I have a question on this to so other then getting a rebuilt kit for the volvo box easy. What's the difference I got the stock box with a 302 c4 and I got no problems but when I got the car it came with a Volvo box so what would be the advantages of me using the Volvo box thanks in advance ..... Hopefully this helps u as well
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