Why do some T Buckets have a vertical steering column?

What kind of steering box do they have? Is the vertical column a styling thing, or is it for more interior room, or is it because it works well with a desirable box? Or none of the above?

 

I'd say its just the builders choice

 

probably more foot room.

 

I bought one years ago with a vertical column. I can't picture it exactly, but I know it used a steering rack in a side delivery steering setup. Only one end of the rack was needed if you can picture that.

 

It took the steering box out of the engine area. Then you feet went around it to work the pedals, so more room for pedals

 

Norm Grabowski had the first (magazine-published) version of the 'vertical steering' later copied by 'Fad car builders'. He found a Milk truck Ross steering box in a wrecking yard when he was building his 'Lightnin' Bug', (first version of his T rdstr pickup)
Norm had a Model A Ford box mounted conventionally when he first installed the Cad engine in the 'A' frame.
But when they shortened the frame, (cutting off the front horns and more) and added the rear cutoffs to the front, the steering was too long, wrong angle, etc.

He came back with this milk truck box, which sat 10* back from vertical, as mounted in the milk truck (with the pitman arm attached) so he moved the box back with that angle, straddling the column.
The short confines of the '22 Touring front made the steering placement ideal.
Ask Tommy Ivo: when he built his version, his steering was on the same angle...albeit shorter at the mast. Tom used a Gemmer box...

 

What Mike said. ^^^^^^^I was lucky enough to find an old chrome Ross for my T roadster. It is surprisingly comfortable. Think big truck or bus.

 

I used an Econoline box and had a tilt column so it could be flat or angled for cruzin'.

 

Many straight up colums still use corvair boxes, but IMHO it puts the pitman arm too low to the ground (scrub line).

 

Milk Truck... schmilk truck! I can't see where the source of the box matters as long as the sector shaft comes out the side. Mounting the column/box in a more verticle position only requires "reclocking" the pitman arm accordingly. And, quite likely, shortening the steering shaft and column jacket.

 

If I remember right the pitman arm was only about 3" long and didn't hang down much below the frame. You can see it exiting the lower edge of the body. The body was channeled about 4" (hey...cut me some slack! I built it in'72 and had never seen a real hot rod before).

 

My bucket years ago had a column out of an Econoline, and this is exactly what was done on it. It wasn't perfectly up and down, maybe 10 degrees off.