Hello everyone, I have several questions revolving around my 1953 F-100 project truck. Some are generic, some are specific. 1. I have a few bolts that are in weird places that I cannot break free, nor can I get at with a cut off tool, or angle grinder. Any ideas? Specifically the three (or four?) holding the front fenders to the cab, a****st others. 2. Specific to the F-100... is the steering column "safe" as in collapseable? I know, I know... it's not a true hot rod if it's safe ;D but I intend to drive this everyday to work, and my fiancee might drive it... I just don't want to get hurt/worse because I wanted to look cool... (if you have seen me, you know that an original steering column is definitely not going to help!) 3. driveshaft: I ***ume I'm going to need a custom driveshaft made. Is this something I can weld up, or will I need to go to a custom shop to do? Also, if I can do it, can someone explain how? If I can't can you give references (upper midwest/MN preferred). 4. where do you get your WWW tires? 5. gl***. The back window is cracked/broken. What's the best way to remove it while getting the least gl*** ****tered thoughout the interior, and floor? Sorry for the mess of unrelated questions... just trying to cover all my (current) bases with one post... Thanks, Ben
1. cutting torch. If you don't have one, find a local who does and bring him beer. 2. No, the columns are not "safe", although the steering gear is behind the axle so they're not as dangerous as, for example, a 58 chevy belair. It's probably more important to worry about the brakes, then the column won't kill you'all. 3. don't ***ume anything about the driveshaft till you know for sure what ****** and rearend you're gonna run...occasionally the original will work. Probably not in your case, but it does happen. You can weld it yourself, but it's probably worth spending a few $$$ to get a driveline shop to do it when the time comes. 4. I have a set of dry rotted WWWs I got from a friend, free, I have no use for them. Hey, you asked.... 5. Cut the rubber seal out. Welcome, and have fun!
First off, I had a 53 F100 and it was a nice project. You'll enjoy it. I am unsure of the bolts you are referring to on the fenders. Are you talking about the ones that are inside the kick panels? The steering is not collapsable. It's a solid shaft all the way to the gear box. Th back window can be covered in duct tape to keep it from falling out every where. Driveshaft. Why would you change it? Did you change the motor/******? If so you'll have to talk to a driveshaft shop for more specifics. You can get WWW tires from Coker's, Diamondback, and various others. Look up these items in the hamb search function. Tons of opinions. Hope this helps. Root
1) Nut splitter? 2) No. Direct shaft from box to wheel. 3)I've done them myself. There are driveshafts that NEED to be sent out due to yoke end configuration problems. IE...tapered where it enters the tube. If you need to ask...you should send it out just to be sure. Most people like to get it balanced again anyway. (I don't.) 4)---- 5)Just in with a gasket isn't it? (I'm NOT up on F100 so this is generic info!) If its cracked its safety gl*** as opposed to tempered gl***, which would have shattered and fallen out. I use a plastic wedge to push the inside of the gasket outward starting near a corner. Some vehicles have a "Lock" outside to keep the gasket tight. (Don't know if an F100 is one of those or not) If you have a lock strip right around the gasket pop it lose or remove it. If you have to do the gl*** removal by yourself, use some duct tape to hold the gl*** in place to the roof as you pop it out. Some gl*** cleaner or Spray 9 will work as a lubricant if you need it. Don't use oil or silicone based lube as it will cause painting problems later. hope thats some help to you! Lots of luck!
1. I have a few bolts that are in weird places that I cannot break free, nor can I get at with a cut off tool, or angle grinder. Any ideas? Specifically the three (or four?) holding the front fenders to the cab, a****st others. Have you tried soaking them with rust-breaker, or wd-40... letting them sit them hosing then down again? I've had almost "welded in" bumper bolts come off with a few good soakin's 2. Specific to the F-100... is the steering column "safe" as in collapseable? I know, I know... it's not a true hot rod if it's safe ;D but I intend to drive this everyday to work, and my fiancee might drive it... I just don't want to get hurt/worse because I wanted to look cool... (if you have seen me, you know that an original steering column is definitely not going to help!) Don't know **** about collapsable columns... had a headon collision a few years ago in a Thunderbird that was supposed to have one, still cracked my sternum 3. driveshaft: I ***ume I'm going to need a custom driveshaft made. Is this something I can weld up, or will I need to go to a custom shop to do? Also, if I can do it, can someone explain how? If I can't can you give references (upper midwest/MN preferred). Custom shop if you want a well-balanced one, do it yourself if you are just gonna cruise around under 40mph 4. where do you get your WWW tires? No friggin idea 5. gl***. The back window is cracked/broken. What's the best way to remove it while getting the least gl*** ****tered thoughout the interior, and floor? You can cover the whole thing with a layer of duct-tape before screwing with it... worked for me once
i have done it myself , but i have a lathe.....lot's of guys here have done it themselfs too....depends on your skill level and what you have for tools , but i'd recogmend take the driveshaft to a pro , it really dosen't cost too much , they can cut , balance , install a new slip yoke if needed or use a combination u-joint to get it done Catco in the twin cities can do a good job , they have several locations
1. In certain instances I have tack welded "extensions" on fasteners to aid in their removal. Heat of course is always a welcome tool when working with rusted fasteners. 2. I don't know your specific truck - but it if is you can usually tell from the "double D" cross section which is basically a round shaft with 2 flats slipped into a mating shaped tube. 3. Driveshafts CAN be done at home, but you're gonna need some lathe work to make certain you have everything dead nuts square. If you're patient you can also balance it at home as well. To balance at home you can block the vehicle up - start it and put it in drive. Accelerate until it starts to vibrate (don't over do it) now using some sort of steady rest - slide a sharpie marker until it just BARELY touches the END of the driveshaft that you welded. This is marking the HEAVY side of the drive shaft. You now can take 2 identical hose clamps and place them OPPOSITE the mark you made (you're using the weight of the worm gear side of the hose clamp to act as a temporary weight). Repeat test. If the high spot is in the same place you need MORE hose clamps (IE more balance weight) if the mark is on the OPPOSITE side you need LESS weight (this BTW is why you ALWAYS use PAIRS of clamps). You can get LESS EFFECTIVE weight by rotating the hose clamps AWAY from one another (the same amount of course). You can see this can be a slightly time consuming process! Anyways once you have placed the hose clamps in the right place you can then calculate the effective weight at the origional position. The effort of spreading the clamps is merely to allow you a way to infinitely adjust your weight without resorting to various test weights. In any event - you can see this might be a tad of effort which is why the vast majority of guys will just send it out!!! But if your local driveshaft place is like mine - you to may find yourself doing things the hard way!!!! BTW there are THREE things you MUST consider to PROPERLY shorten a driveshaft: A. The shaft must be balanced! B. The shaft must be in PHASE - which BTW is every 180* NOT every 90* C. The U-Joint angles MUST be COMPLIMENTARY - meaning that the INPUT (trans yoke) MUST be PARALLEL to the OUTPUT - the REAR AXLE PINION. Contrary to popular belief a drive shaft is NOT moving at constant speed (even though your trans yoke IS. Instead the driveshaft is actually speeding up and slowing down every 1/4 revolution. Obviously 1 revolution of the trans yoke MUST result in 1 revolution of the driveshaft but is you were to look at the drive shaft speed as a graph you 'd see it looks similar to a sine wave. The magnitude of the sine wave is dependent on the U-joint angle. Steeper angle - more variance & more power wasted. This is why a u-joint is sometimes called a "horsepower sponge" soaking up wasted power is not really the U-joints fault - it is because the angles are WRONG and you waste energy speeding up and slowing down the driveshaft all the time. This is why a pinion angle is typically pointing down a few degrees -so that when you drop the hammer it rises to become parallel with the trans yoke. 4. I don't even know what WWW is?? 5. 6. Tape BOTH sides. BTW don't apologize for building your ride as SAFE as possible. It'd be a miserable life if you got hurt or worst yet you hurt someone else. I for one admire your safety thinking.
Sometimes, at least with most every engine swap I have done, you can go to the junkyard and dig through their driveshaft pile. Measure before you go so you know how long it has to be. Get the correct yoke, and stay with driveshafts marked from the same make car you have. For instance don't use a ford on a mopar, etc, unless of course you put a ford in a mopar, at which point you should just get a 2X4 and whack yourself in the head with it at least 5 times. The reason you stay in the same family if you can, for example: Ma mopar used 2 basic U-Joints, a 7260 and another one that I can't think of. Anyway, you can buy a conversion U-joint that goes from one to the other. Half the parts stores are clueless when you ask for one, but they are there. Usually listed at the back of their books. I am ***uming ford and Chovey were similar, in that they didn't have 3 dozen different u-joints they used. There are numerous conversions that go from a ****er size to a chrysler. You pay for all that wonderful expertise at a shop, when you can figure it out on your own. Or... take your correct length shaft into a shop that does them, and ask them to help you. MOST will! You can use the type of vehicle the driveshaft is from and the rearend is from to help you figure out what you got or what you need. For example, in my 59 plymouth, I have a 72 Satellite Drivehsaft. The front U-joint is easy, as I got the Yoke for my 727 from that same shaft. I just asked for a 72 Satellite front U-joint and bingo. That back one was harder. The satellite had 2 options for rear u-joints. Small or big, i.e. the 7260 and the one I can't remember. My shaft had holes for the big one in it. so, I needed one that was the big kind on one side and the size for the 59 Plymouth (the small one) on the other. It is a common conversion U-joint. Hope you followed all that... I am not sure if I did.
If somebody put em in you can get them out just don't give up. you may have to buy some extra tools , but you'll need them sooner or later. good luck stafford
Thanks for all of the excellent info, I never would have thought about slapping some duct tape on the window to stop it from crumbling further! Simple but not obvious (to my dense head anyways!). On the bolt question, I don't really want to use a torch to cut these bolts, as they are so close to the cab wall that I would be afraid I'd either severely warp the metal, or cut right through it... I have been soaking these in WD-40 for about a week now but when I went to try and loosen them up, some wouldn't budge, and others would just spin, but not loosen, and I can't hold a wrench on both ends by myself... arms aren't long enough! Based on the responses, I am ***uming the steering column is un-safe... are there any options which would allow me to save it (i.e. shortening it, or adding some Borgeson joints), or should I just build a new one? Thanks for the advice, Ben
if you can a socket or something on them stubborn bolts/nuts just try and tighten them up til they break off
It's not a question of un-safe; it was how they were made back then. If you want a safer steering col. you will need to up-date it to something newer. Adding joints or shortening it - the stock one - won't make it any safer.
I have to respectfully disagree (to a point) with the above statement. My "take" on the origional concern was the desire to have a collapseable steering column. I ***ume the reason was to AVOID becoming impaled or pinned by the column in a front end collision. Seems to me, if you had 1 or 2 Ujoints in the mix the column would fold up before impaling the driver. I set up my Rambler this way for this reason (well there was also that big fat motor in the way too). If it were me and all else was golden I'd consider just changing it over to the Double D arrangement that the factory later used. This would be a relatively easy conversion - especially if you can find a factory rag joint that fit your box. Just thinking out loud......
Good point. I guess it's just the mentality that we're all supposed to walk around with helmets on 24x7 that makes a guy word things like this. What I meant, is that after reading the replies, I get the feeling that there could be some relatively simple, and substatial improvement to the safety of this steering column... I was just looking for suggestions. My understanding (from the little I have read) is that by adding some joints, it would be safer in a crash... maybe due to increased flexability? Any thoughts? Thanks again, Ben
on the Chevy pickups from that era, and I believe the Fords also, the steering shaft is one pice from the end of the gear to the top where the wheel bolts on. There's no rag joint, or spline connection, at the top of the box--it's all one piece.
Are you planning on using the stock steering box? If you are then you might look at a column from a late model FWD car or minivan. They end INSIDE the vehicle and rely on inside the cab reinforcement to hold them in place. The connection to the rack is via a collapsible double jointed shaft that may actually work to fit your box. (With mods of course!) Worth a look... OR you could cut your own column to fit inside the cab and use joints and DD shaft to create your own version that still looks factory. Internal cab bracing would be required to keep the column stiff.
From his original question; "2. Specific to the F-100... is the steering column "safe" as in collapseable? I know, I know... it's not a true hot rod if it's safe ;D but I intend to drive this everyday to work, and my fiancee might drive it... I just don't want to get hurt/worse because I wanted to look cool... (if you have seen me, you know that an original steering column is definitely not going to help!)" He asked, " .. is the steering col. "SAFE" as in collapsible?" And the answer is NO it isn't! Just adding a couple of U joints won't gaurentee they will FOLD in an accident. Even if they were properly installed they will still push the steering col. back. Newer steering cols. telescope under impact.
The Ford F-100's use a one piece shaft from the steering box to the steering wheel. Because the box is mounted on the side of the frame just forward of the cab, it would be the rare situation where the steering col. would be forced back into the driver in an accident. Newer vehicles - with front mounted rack and pinion or steering box - started the trend to telescoping steering cols. for safety.
Digger Dave, about what year did the factory start doing this? I would guess it was due to legislation, so all of the big three, etc would have changed over within a few years of each other? Thanks for any additional info you can give... Ben
I saw recently where one of the aftermarket steering column manufacturer's like Ididit or someone else was making a collapsible steering column. You can replace yours with one of these but they are pricey. Or you can look at the geometry of your truck. Collapsible columns came into the Federal safety requirements because of the geometry of late model cars in the '70's and the number of deaths caused by impalement of the drivers in front end collisions. Look at the location of your steering column in relation to the frame and the front of your truck. If your stock truck is involved in a front end collision, the front suspension will take the brunt of the crash, pushing the draglink back thus forcing the steering wheel to spin. The pitman arm (which is pointing DOWN) will also be pushed back and the loads on the steering box will force the steering box and its solidly attached column to rotate UP and Forward. Looking at the left side of the truck, the steering box and column will rotate, counterclockwise. A collapsible column will not do you any good. The geometry is all wrong. If the steering box sat lower and more forward in the truck and the steering column was more horizontal, the accident forces would be more along the centerline of the column and thus more horizontal, thus forcing itself into your chest. Thus the need for a collapsible column. I would NOT go to the expense of a collapsible column if you are maintaining the stock steering box. If you are going to a different front suspension like a Mustang II with a rack and pinion steering, look at the geometry of the steering shafts and the angle of the steering column and see if a front end collision will force the column to move along its centerline and impale the driver. I know this is a long-winded post; but, look at how your truck will be built and decide how accident forces will act on your vehicle BEFORE you decide to go to the expense of a collapsible column.
The 70's and 80's solid axle 4x4 Chevy pickups and the like had front mounted steering boxes and a draglink steering system. So did the early Toyota pickups. They all had collapsible columns and shaft. I think there is a second way to look at collapsible...that is the driver hitting the column WITHOUT the column moving towards him at all. Modern columns will collapse under a drivers impact. It doesn't need to be the column being pushed back into the driver! Look at how the column is mounted to the dash with captured slots. This allows the column to compress forward because the slip shaft was there to allow it.
"In 1966, p***age of the Highway Safety Act and the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act authorized the federal government to set and regulate standards for motor vehicles and highways, a mechanism necessary for effective prevention (2,3). Many changes in both vehicle and highway design followed this mandate. Vehicles (agent of injury) were built with new safety features, including head rests, energy-absorbing steering wheels, shatter-resistant windshields, and safety belts (3,4)." this is where it started
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