Hello all, I am restoring a 1941 Chassis but have found that my original '41 steering box is toast. Rusted beyond restoration. I was reading about possible alternates such as the vega, Saginaw 525 and the Mustang. I was going down the path of the Mustang manual box but my original pitman will not fit due to differences in the splines. The Mustang pitman has a curve to it so it probably would not have the correct alignment with my otherwise standard front end. Not sure if the geometry would be messed up trying to make it work. Have also considered cutting and welding my original pitman shaft to the end of the Mustang pitman (with the correct splines) to fit the Mustang box. Not sure if a welded part in my steering lifeline is a good idea or not. I read the Mustang box has been a common swap for a long time. Is there someone who makes a period correct pitman arm for my '41 Ford that has the correct spline count for the Mustang manual steering box? Any other suggestions? I sincerely appreciate your input. Thanks, Jeff
Have you seen something like this made for the Mustang manual steering box? I have not had luck yet finding one . .
Flat straight pitman arms for Mustang boxes are easy enough to find. I do not have any way of knowing how long it would need to be.
If '41 pitman arms are similar to '40..... I installed a '68 Mustang manual box in a '40 Ford years ago, and found the '40 pitman used the same Mustang spline and thread size, except for the 4 "wide" teeth that were convex, verses the Mustang's are that were concave, or "outies verses Innies"! A machine shop simply broached (?) the '40 arm, and it fit and positioned on the Mustang box exactly like the '40.
The Mustang box is a recirculating ball design, instead of the old Ford spinning worm on the sector. The Mustang will have a lot less resistance. I also agree that there are many new steel arms out there for the Mustang box, and they could be bent slightly if needed to put the drag link at the correct height.
Agree^^^ Plus they were plentiful and reasonable in price back in the '80s/'90s, and were available in at least two ratios, 4:1 and 5:1 (same a the '40) lock to lock.
I think there are two different sector diameters on the Mustang, so that may be why your original arm won't go on. I have a Mustang box in an old Ford that uses an ancient arm from who-knows-what. The key may be finding the other size box and your 41 arm might fit right on.
Weedetr make a frame mount that allows a GM box to bolt right up and use OEM cross steering. Not sure what pitman arm they use or if GM used same bolt pattern as Ford. Mustang ratios were 16:1 or 19:1. There was a long shaft early version without coupling and later short version with coupling and no shaft.
Mustang boxes started using rag joints in '67-'68 which made column connections easy with rags or u-joints.
One thing you can do, and it is WAY safer than but welding pitman arms, is you cut off the splined end on your pitman arm, machine it to a circle, cut a piman arm blank that the spined piece fits into, then you can completely weld around it.
Thanks a bunch for all the good input. I appreciate it. Sorry for the delay on getting back - my old '41 pitman arm is 6" from center hole to center hole and 7 1/2 inches in total length. Gimpyshotrods had asked about the length. Can anyone tell me a good source to check for what I am looking for??? Thanks for the info on the two different Mustang sector diameters. I'll have to check on that now too.
Pete and Jake's has flat, bendable arms to fit either sector shaft size. They do not, however, publish the length. Might be worth a call or email. https://www.peteandjakes.com/?s=mustang+pitman
Before you explore the replacement pitman arms any more, I'd measure the mustang sector size and see if that original 41 arm might go on after you file those four locating teeth out of the splines. I did it with a small triangle profile file. If you have the wrong diameter sector, the right box is probably kinda easy to find.
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