Steering System Installation - Homebuilt Hot Rod: Part VI

This image shows the new steering arm (installed) versus the homemade arm that was previously used (don't forget, the '40 Ford brakes, wheels, and tires were part of the original $2,000 used-parts purchase that started this whole project).

The 45-inch tie-rod kit fit perfectly between the '40 Ford drums, and the steering arms were luckily positioned in such a way that I didn't have to bend them to allow clearance between the hairpins and the tie rod.

The aforementioned steering box (a Flaming River stock rotation Corvair unit, PN FR1542) was mounted slightly inboard and below the left framerail. I fashioned the bracket using 1/4-inch steel plate I'd first worked out in cardboard. Hanging the stock-rotation box upside down like this positioned the pitman shaft in the correct position for side steering while making the steering box much less prominent than it would have been if I'd set a reversed box on top of the framerail.

This close-up shot not only shows my homemade, spatter-covered mounting bracket, but how the hung standard rotation box locates the pitman arm in the perfect location for my side-steer needs. Though it may not appear so here, there is adequate clearance between the pitman arm and the hairpin radius rod.

The draglink, in this case anyway, needed to be shortened up a bit. The original length was 25 1/2 inches and I needed 22 1/2 inches; luckily the tube from Speedway is threaded quite deeply so I was able to trim 1 1/2 inches off each end while still maintaining at least 2 1/2 inches of thread in the tube.

We're getting close. Here's the installed tie rod, steering box, and draglink; I was sure to run the steering box lock to lock, making sure the pitman arm didn't hit the hairpin when I did so.

Now that the box was in and the draglink and tie rod were in place, the next order of business was to install the column. As I mentioned earlier, my planning isn't always up to snuff, and this was a good example. When I'd fabricated and installed my brake and clutch pedal assembly (a modified Chassis Engineering Inc. brake pedal kit), I located it in such a way that it kind of blocked the lower section of the firewall where I normally would have had the column exit. Because of this, I was forced to exit the column much higher on the firewall than originally planned. Not a big deal, except for the fact that it greatly decreased the mounting angle of the column. In turn, it made the column protrude much farther into the cockpit than planned. Now, between you and me, I got around this by taking this perfectly good column and whackin' a good 9 inches out of its length (don't tell the folks at Flaming River). At 23 inches, the column fit fine, but I did have to have the original 36-spline internal shaft ground into a double-D configuration.

Inside the cab, I ended up not being able to use the 2-inch column drop (another past swap meet find) that I'd intended to use because it would have positioned the column almost completely horizontally if I had. A trip to the local hardware store garnered me a 1 3/4-inch stainless U-bolt that I used in place of the drop-not real pretty, but, for $2.99, it did the job and provided enough of a column angle to solve that particular self-inflicted problem.

Since I converted the steering shaft from 36-spline to double-D, I ran over to my pal Gary Dagel's shop, Dagel's Street Rods, and picked up an 18-inch length of 3/4-inch double-D shaft and another Flaming River steering joint (an FR1716DD, 3/4 DDx3/4 DD) to connect the column to the steering shaft. Then, with the column, column joint, steering box, and box joint installed, I measured out the correct length I'd need for the steering shaft between both. I then cut the shaft to length using my bandsaw and chamfered the edge of the freshly trimmed shaft.

With the section of steering shaft trimmed to length, I then loosened the column and pulled it back into the cockpit. Next, I slipped the shaft into place in the lower universal joint and then slipped the column back into place while inserting the shaft into the column joint-this setup ain't coming apart unless either the steering box or the column fall out! One thing I need to mention is that you always want to make sure the steering universal joints are in phase to prevent binding, and to use a high-quality thread-locking compound on the joint set screws and nuts. Take my word for it-you'll be sorry if you don't.

Here's where I left off. Actually, I installed the front Panhard bar but didn't photograph that. Anyway, it looks as though all I have left is to install my front shock mounts and then it'll be time to strip it down to the bare frame, do my finish welding, sand and paint, and start the final chassis assembly. Heck, this thing should start coming together rather quickly from here on, so keep your eyes open for a few more installments before the maiden voyage.