ok I'm trying to come up with a good reliable safe steering system in a couple of my past posts I had cut off my stock steering shaft from the box (1949 f1 truck), now in order for me to do a real good job with rag joints, U joints, etc, my steering column would be about brow level and I've got about the shortest column I can find from an s10 I was wondering if any of you guys had tried to convert a solid front axle type suspension to a rack and pinion one and if so how'd you do it? will a gm pump hoses fit on a ford rack? (due to tie rod ends) can I drill holes in my axle to mount the rack on without weakening the axle, or weld a couple brackets on? I had to scrap the original column and shaft because I think its out of a 53-56 ford truck and it was to short only about 1" or so clearance between the dash and wheel I do have another stock 48 truck column and box but it locks up if you turn it all the way to the right thanks again for any help
have you ever considered a column out of a mid 80's-90's Buick Park Ave or Olds 88. They are about 12" shorter than a S-10 column. The joint on the column is actually up inside the car.
Please do not try and put a rack on a beam axle suspension If you were totaly unsatisfied with the stock gear box, I certanly hope you sold it or donated it to someone here in need of a buildable F1 gearbox. Toyota 4X4 boxes are real popular for power steering conversions on early F series trucks. Classic Perfomance makes some conversion parts for the 53-56 truck but can be modified and used in your application. Ulitmately I would like to see you install one of my kits that use Dodge Dakota suspension parts, Industrial Chassis Inc. But I am sure you have $0 to play with and want to do it yourself,,,,blahhh. [ QUOTE ] ok I'm trying to come up with a good reliable safe steering system [/ QUOTE ] join the Ford Truck enthusiast group, CLICK HERE and learn what works well there. More specificaly Direct link to the truck group of interest.
[ QUOTE ] have you ever considered a column out of a mid 80's-90's Buick Park Ave or Olds 88. They are about 12" shorter than a S-10 column. The joint on the column is actually up inside the car. [/ QUOTE ] no I hadn't, I thought beings an s10 was small it had a small column, I am gonna take my tape measure down to the junkyard tomorrow before work and poke around a bit getting one that much shorter would sure be a big help and leave some room to play with and do it right the first time cause this is something I don't want to revisit down the road thanks for the tip on shorter columns!
[ QUOTE ] Please do not try and put a rack on a beam axle suspension If you were totaly unsatisfied with the stock gear box, I certanly hope you sold it or donated it to someone here in need of a buildable F1 gearbox. Toyota 4X4 boxes are real popular for power steering conversions on early F series trucks. Classic Perfomance makes some conversion parts for the 53-56 truck but can be modified and used in your application. [/ QUOTE ] thanks for the links, I had heard about them toyota boxes and looked at a couple on the internet how they were done and I am considering it if the rack and pinion thing is a bad way to go,I already cut the shaft off the stock box so I still have it yes you guessed correctly on no $$$ for a kit
You can't really use gm pump hoses that well but you can use some ford mustang hoses and ford ranger stuff to adapt it to the gm pump. I used an 86 ford ranger high pressure hose on my 54 the end had the same threads as the rack that was in my car so all I did was change the other end that bolted into the pump. I used a pump from a 68 chevelle, that pump just uses regular flared type fittings like brake lines and such so I just cut off the end of the new hose. Then I bought a tool to flare the end of the powersteering hose with the gm style fitting. then I bolted it all together and it works great. Clear as mud???
Rack and pinion yuk yuk yuk you should have just rebult the stock stuff.I hate rack and pinion..........Marq
If you use a GM pump, and a Ford rack (like a Mustang II), I think that you need to use a pressure reduction valve, otherwise the steering my be "twitchy".
Don't hack another F1 column. I'd be interested in the one you chopped, its remains and the virgin you spoke of.
[ QUOTE ] Don't hack another F1 column. I'd be interested in the one you chopped, its remains and the virgin you spoke of. [/ QUOTE ] I wasn't gonna hack up the other one and the one I did cut I think is from a later model cause it doesn't have a big nut holding the pitman arm on and its more squared looking than the one in the parts truck I think I'm gonna keep the virgin one and if I find a solution to my predicament I'll holler your way about the one I did cut, cheaper shipping on the little one anyways huh?
seriously man, do not do a rack on your beam axle. I have seen it done and driven before and all of them were bad. I will break them down to two types of installation because naming individual accounts and the atrocities of installation would flat wear me out. Worst way; mounting the rack to the frame and attaching the tie rods to the spindles. This*****s because as the axle travels up and down the rack does not and therefore changes the angle on the rack and thus toe in creating some serious bump steer. Second worst way; mount the rack to the axle and then fabricate some sort of slip shaft arangement to connect to the steering column. This arrangement solves the bumpsteer problem between the rack and axle but creates a whole new problem with the relation of steering column to rack. Any movement in the axle can adversly effect the steering making it difficult to do minor corrections in the steering durring cornering or traversing rough uneven pavement. Not to mention if the steering shaft were to ever bind or if travel of your axle exceeded your slip shafts abilities you could be in for a world of hurt. Other problems I have seen "hacks" try and conquer like a front steer rack with rear steer spindles. Easy right? Just flip the spindles side for side and your home free, right? Wrongo, you just created negative ackerman and some serious tire scrubing. Next up, a rack with insufficient travel to turn the car. I had a 1955 F100 here with a Volare' front and a later model K car power rack on it. It needed a rather long extender to eliminate a bumpsteer problem but it lost the compound steering that MOPAR spent lots of money engineering wich resulted in tire scrub from improper ackerman. But worst of all he lost half of his turning angle because the rack would not travel far enough. There are other ways to accomplish drag link steering like the Toyota box or a Mustang box. I have even seen cross steer set ups work well. If you decide that cross steer is your solution, use a panhard rod mounted on the same plane as your drag link with similar anchor points to your drag links tie rod ends.
[ QUOTE ] seriously man, do not do a rack on your beam axle. [/ QUOTE ] the rack and pinion option is dead, thanks for letting me know about its problems, I'm going to follow up on that toyota box, I didn't know about the mustang box does it bolt in similar to the toyota or the stock one?
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If you need a really short column - look at FWD GM cars. Their columns only go as far as the firewall and are mounted almost horizontally. They even have u-joints. The ones with auto shifters have a cable hookup that can be used to shift a RWD automatic.
I'm gonna look into one of them short columns, somebody else said something along that line to about what cars to check out I am gonna use an auto shifter from a ford aerostar minivan for my truck cause it has a tall handle and its cable hookup as well for now I am just going to extend my old hacked up box and shaft 3" til I get the steering sorted out and parts rounded up is there any reason I can't use a GM power box in front of the axle and just hook the pitman arm up 90 degrees for a 49 "stock" connection rather than the cross steer job? I've got all the stuff for that except a modification to the draglink would have to be done
P.S. This might help... http://hotrodders.com/forums/journal.php?action=view&journalid=2439&page=7&perpage=5&reverse=
thanks rewire, I studied that one up a few days ago and another one that has the pitman arm connection going thru the frame with one of them toyota boxes, looks like thats probably the way I am going to go
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