Borgeson power steering conversion in a 56 victoria

doctor chip · Aug 18, 2012

Im writing this because I could not find any good instructions or description on doing this upgrade and I ran into a lot of issues I did not expect. Hopefully this will help out others contemplating this swap. My car was a stock 56 Vicky 292 fordomatic .
First of all, I am not an auto technician - Im a retired veterinarian/ hotrod enthusiast/backyard mechanic. This is just a description of my experience and the problems and solutions I came up with. There well may be better methods than those I used and hopefully more knowledgeable people will offer their suggestions.
Begin the project by jacking up the front end, jack stands and remove left front tire. Disconnect speedo cable from dash, remove horn ring by twisting counterclockwise, remove nut and pull steering wheel with a puller. Remove turn signal lever. Measure how far shaft sticks above column mine was 2 inches. Also measure how far the column end is from the dash. Disconnect and label wires leaving column. Pull back carpet and remove the 2 floor pan covers and seal. Probably about now you see the rubber floor seal looks pretty tired good luck finding one, you may have to make one. My car was an automatic remove shift indicator and disconnect linkage. My understanding is a stick column shift is a lot more involved. Disconnect left tie rod and remove oil filter (for clearance in removing the box). Then remove pitman arm , disconnect horn wire, and remove clamp from end of column.. Remove the 2 bolts that hold the column to the dash now you should be able to pull the column off the steering shaft. The shaft is integrated into the box and has to be pulled out as a unit from under the car after you remove the 3 bolts holding the box to the frame. You will find that you also need to pull the radiator so the damper pulley add on can be installed and, since you will find out that your stock fan wont clear the new pulley, you will have to replace fan with either an electric or narrower one. If you still have the steady rest, it will need to be removed for belt clearance.
Now the fun starts. My exhaust manifold would not clear the new box. I had to disconnect the motor mounts on the driver side and pick up that side of the engine to get the new box in position. I had to add two washers between block and mounts to get about 1/8 inch clearance to the exhaust. I would have liked more, but the more spacers you use , the more difficult it is to get bolts to line up with block holes. In addition, I shimmed the lower mounting bolt on the box out. Once the new box is mounted , cut the shaft off the old box. Stick the column back in and figure how much you need to cut off to get it to original measurements. Next surprise the column wont fit over the boss on the new box. My solution was to get a 1 ½ to 1 ¾ exhaust adapter to fix this . You will need to cut about an inch off the adapter. You will need to cut of about 3 inches from column about flush with firewall. This is about where the trans. linkage is. I used the u bolt that holds the linkage to clamp the small end of the adapter to the column. Verify that the column is correct length . Now you can figure how much of the shaft has to be cut off (with the coupler attached) to get the right length protruding out for the steering wheel. Note that the set screw on the coupler will position it about 5/8 inch from the steering box when figuring how much to cut off. My shaft with coupler was 29 ¾ in. After the cut is made and length verified, weld the coupler on. The set screw in the coupler needs to be 3/8 inch to clear column. And even with that, the lock nut rubbed the inside of the column. I sanded the 2 outside edges of the nut down and then felt no drag. The next issue is the horn. Since the new box doesnt allow for the wire to run through it, I used the solution I found on the H.A.M.B. (link) using the 41-49 Jeep brass bushing and brush (part# A-302 and A-302B). I found the cheapest place to be Walcks 4 wheel drive . I followed the technique described so I wont go into that. Reinstall shaft and column. Mount the pump and pulley and connect the hoses. You will note that the return line wants to run smack into the exhaust. Best clearance is when the pump is out near the end of the adjustment slot. Belt is trial and error mine was NAPA#7450. Reinstall radiator and check clearance.

PARTS TO ORDER:
Steering box, steering pump, hose kit, coupler, add on 2 groove pulley from Borgenson.
Rubber floor seal if needed.
1 ½ to 1 ¾ exhaust adapter, 1 ¾ clamp
1 ¼ in. wide fan
Horn kit
Belt - NAPA7450

fordsbyjay · Aug 18, 2012

I am subscribed. I asked in the 52-59 group and there was a little feedback there but not in the detail you have. I just bought the borgeson box yesterday so it sounds interesting. I am expecting to have steering box/header issues so we will see. Do you have any pics?

doctor chip · Aug 19, 2012

Sorry, took quite a few pics on my phone but when I switched phones they didnt transfer. If I can figure out how to retrieve them I'll post 'em.
The horn thread I referred to is titled "Save that sweet horn"

This conversion was not the relatively simple bolt in I expected, but is doable.

doctor chip · Aug 21, 2012

got a few pics on 52-59 group

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Borgeson power steering conversion in a 56 victoria

doctor chip
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doctor chip
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doctor chip
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