1952-59 Ford Steering Question?

This might be crazy but tell me what you think. I got a hold of an 88 crown vic for cheap. Installed the front spindles on my 55,the balljoints seemed to fit and tighten up,now would putting a mustang r&p in it work since the 88 was a front steer? Thanks for any help.

 

i almost went there, had the spindles mounted and all . but when i looked at the space to put the rack . something was in the way . i think the sway bar for 1 thing. look at yours and you will see. and no you cant swap sides. i tried that too.

 

Thanks olm. Yea I was gonna use a different sway bar. If i can get it to clear the oil pan,i might go ahead and try it. What did you end up using?

 

Way too much fab work to get a R&P installed form a donor car . the you have to consider the turning radius before you grind your fender all up !
The conversion right now is the Jeep Grand Cherokee steering box swap . Power steering and not a lot of fab work .

Jim

 

i wound up using torino spindles. i had to make a thin spacer for the bottom ball joint. works good . stops real good . if you plan on doing torino / full size ford spindles . make sure you dont get them off a big block car. diffrent spindle and rotors, including bolt pattern. i used a booster set up off a 96-01 jeep little cherokee. and i got a jeep grand cherokee gear as my next big project. got lucky on it .

 

Thanks for the information ! We don't have any good salvage yards around here to find Torino spindles . Everything around here is a tuner **** mostly ! Still good to know .

Jim

 

Thanks for all the info guys! So what year Grand Cherokee am I looking for on the gearbox? Is it rear steer?

 

1999 to 2004 are the best ones to use .
You can also use 1992 to 1998 but need to make a bigger plate to bolt the box to .
You use the pitman arm too .

Jim

 

the cherokee is front steer, but all you have to do is turn the arm 180 deg. the plate is to adapt frome the ford box bolt patern to the delco/jeep box. they sell the kit on ebay. jim, make a post on craigs list wanting your parts or parts cars . youd be surprised. my local knoxville pull a part has a 78 tbird . i might be able to check and see if there right this weekend .there is a pull a part . in akron and indy .

 

I don't think the '92-'98 Jeep Grand Cherokee box will work, the sector shaft is much shorter than the '99-'04 box.

 

i think you are corect. it mounts diffrent too.

 

I just ordered my steering box and everything i need for the power steering set up for my 55.. the guy also sent me 46 pictures of the install in 2 different 55's and a 57 ford.. seems like Jeep grand cherokee is the way to go.. I'm going to do the install this winter and i'll take pictures and post all the TECH as i go. or should i share the pictures he sent me?

 

Yes you are corrected about the shaft . It's a much smaller box but will work if it's all you have . The 99 to 04 is the preferred one to use ! Much easier to mount and hook up to use .
There was a guy on ebay selling the entire kit but have lost his auction name . I think there was someone you could just buy the mounting bracket but not to sure about that one .
If someone remembers the person that was selling theses parts maybe they can post for all of us to use !

Jim

 

Rockabilly, please share the pictures he sent you. It would help the rest of us.

 

This is the current Ebay listing

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/52-5...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item23066f42cc

I'm not sure if this is the same guy that was selling them about a year ago on ebay, if it is he has changed the mounting plate. I saved the pictures from last years Ebay listing in my user profile and the mounting plate is definetely different from the current seller.

None of the Ebay sellers that I know of have been willing to sell just the mounting plate.

 

im going to make mine . it cant be that hard . ive not found anyone willing to sell it seprate . there is a guy here that makes stuff and i might try to work a deal with him . i provide the boxs tell him what to do he gets to add it to his site and i get mine free. then it would be on ebay .

 

well i'll be more than happy to share the pictures but like i said there's 46 of them so shoot me a private message with your email and i'll get them to you.. i'm also working on a way to get a copy of the bracket for you guys..the only thing is with these big delphi steering boxes is you have to cut a V-notch in your frame for it to sit properly. I'm going to call Borgesons tomorrow because they're supposed to carry the complete power steering conversion kit for our cars and i want to know if their bracket is the same..they don't have part #'s listed on the site yet but they do have everything available..

 

i seen what borgeson is working on . its a modified box they sell for the mustang. direct bolt on. they had it at a show i was at this year.

 

What is the purpose of this swap? Is it jsut to make some changes?

 

this swap is the cheapest way to add modern style power steering to a 52-56 Ford car.. I've spent the past 2 weeks researching this and found all the answers on how to do this here are the key items you need.. A Delphi Steering box from a 99-2004 Jeep grand cherokee,tahoo and some chevy's.. the part of the steering box can see in the vehicle will look like a smiley face.. you have your choice of what power steering pump depending on what engine you have..i have a 351w in mine so the pump will work with this steering box without oversteer at high speeds.. in any case grab the power steering pump and hoses from the jeep or chevy if you're at the junk yard. you'll need a bracket for your power steering pump. Delphi pumps use O ring fittings..so if you're using a ford pump you need adapters. YES we CAN use our stock pitman arms. but you'll need to grind the spindles down a little to fit the new box. or get a universal Saginaw pitman that's heat bendable and make a new one. YOU NEED A BRACKET for the Delphi box.. I have the bracket and i'm working on a template for you guys. since we're not messing with linkage to have everything line up correctly you WILL HAVE TO make a v-notch in your frame to fit the big delphi steering box there's NO way around it. while you're grabbing the steering box make sure to grab the Ragjoint you will need it. which also means you're shortening your steering column a little...no big deal..hook it all up and turn that steering wheel with one hand!

Part list
Delphi Steering box part # 26057628
Power steering pump (either from the vehicle you got it out of or from your late model engine make)
power steering hoses (steering box uses O ring fittings)
Hose adapters (if using ford pump to GM box)
power steering bracket and pulley
Ragjoint/Flex coupler - 18mm DD smooth either 3/4 or 1"
Support Bushing for lower steering column
Bracket for Steering box (i'll have available soon)
Optional new saginaw pitman arm (has to be the bendable kind. or just grind the spindles down a little on your original)

Depending on where you go to get this stuff you might get by with $100 worth of parts and have this done in a weekend

I HAVE NOT DONE THIS MODIFICATION YET. This information is from researching and buying the parts NEW from companys that specialize in this modification.. If you're looking for the easiest way out there are kits available from Borgeson and other manufacturers and will cost upwards to $800 but they are Direct bolt on..no modifications needed..

 

Thanks to Mark T and Retro Jim for getting me started on this..

 

heres the pics i loaded them into my photobucket after rockabillykat666 sent them to me http://s200.photobucket.com/albums/aa99/old_ladys_mad/55%20ford%20fairlane/delphi-jeep%20steering%20gear%20on%20a%20ford/

 

Those are 3 different cars.. 2 are 55's and i think the 1st set of pictures is a 57 ford..

 

Johnny , thanks for the pictures . After looking at them why can't you tilt the steering box more downward so you don't have to cut the frame up or maybe not as bad as the pictures show . Then heat and bend the pitman are and just use a universal connector to hook the column to the new steering box . Looks like it could be done and thus less cutting of the frame . I don't like cutting that much from a frame especially where the steering box is .
Just a thought after looking at all the good pictures . Still a very nice set up but I think I am going with the grand Cherokee steering box so I don't have to cut up the frame . I am sure you wouldn't find much difference between the 2 steering box when driving and turning .
When I do mine I have a 1984 Mustang power steering pump I an going to use on my 55 Ford or O might just take the Jeep pump and brackets alone with the steering box to have all matching parts to work with .
Looks like a few options to get a much better steering with a power steering set up ! Should make a big difference in the steering and handling of a 55/56 Ford . With the use of the Aerostar springs I hope to be driving in style !

Jim

 

this is the grand cherokee steering box.. there was another steering box that works but what i gathered was you could not use your pitman arm and some of the linkage was altered......

 

Borgeson has a direct bolt on box..but as was said before..it's a modified box.. and probably costs $400+ just for the steering box.

 

there was a guy on ebay selling the kits that the box didnt tilt that much . an looked like no frame cutting needed. i think thats the way im going to do it , or try.

 

I got power steering setup from abs power brakes works real good bolts right up to frame
slicks

 

http://www.abspowerbrake.com/maincatalog_frameset.html

this is there kit on page 96. some reason i cant copy the page and paste it.just scroll down the left side to pg96. the box looks alot like what borgeson was working on

 

Here's the email from borgesons:

Johnny,

We're working on this right now. We have boxes in a couple of test vehicles and will probably have them available in a few weeks. You'll be able to use the stock Pitman arm and will not have to notch the frame as far as I know. You probably will have to shorten the steering column, though. Check back with us in a few weeks and we should have a box for you.

Thanks,​

Gil Evans
Borgeson Universal Co.
91 Technology Park Dr.
Torrington, CT 06790
Tel. 860-482-8283
Fax 860-496-9320 gil@borgeson.com​