Swapping on a new power steering box on a '54 GMC Ambulance and the new Cardone box is a couple millimeters too long due to a larger front plug/cap, and it hits the bumper bracket -- yea, it was already too close when the truck was originally built, and the Cardone's extra 2-3mm creates an interference. Even if I ground down the bumper bracket, the square tubing coming off the frame is still too close, so it'd all have to get refabricated to use the steering box without any changes. Can this cap be swapped with the original or can it be dented with block of wood to flatten it? There are external differences, at the input shaft side primarily with a totally different seal/flange design (note in images below), so I wonder if there's internal differences too that move the guts forward and necessitate the taller front plug/cap -- or if it's just a typical random change on a re-man part? There's not likely any local rebuilders near me to rebuild the OG steering box (very rural region), and I'm not comfortable learning how to rebuild a steering box on a friend's vehicle -- though I'm sure it's straight forward, that's honestly something I'd rather do on my on vehicles first.
The Jalopy Journal
