Technical Av8 build with cross steer question . clearance?

Hi guys. Question to some of ya fellows out there who have done this. Im mocking up my AV8. Just tak'ing things in place to see if it all jives. So I have my ride height all set. Caster set. Steering box clamped in. So I know from my home work reading through other threads its best to have my tie rod and drag link parallel to maybe 2 degrees open a bit. The heights are all really close to being level with each other.
My split wish bones are just split now. And At the correct distance away from the frame to give me my caster. As of now I will have only about 1/2 in of clearance between the bottom of the wish bone and top of the tie rod. I will be pie cutting my wish bones to bring them a bit closer to the frame. So I will gain a bit more distance too doing that. I was thinking of using the 1.5" ford drop tie rod ends to give me good clearance. My question is. If I use the drop tie rod ends on the tie rod, do I need to use them on both side of the drag link. My gut tells me yes to keep things parallel. I also have some distance thought in my head about some not good things with dropped tie rod ends that I read on a thread years back. Another option is a Minor Z in my wish bones instead of the pie cut.

 

Another pic

 

Last one

 

If you've got a half inch clearance,why do you want more? And why isn't your tie rod straight?

 

I've got one of the lowest with cross steer. And I wouldn't worry about the vertical clearance between your bones and the links as much, but looking at your steering box sitting at almost 45 degrees it creates the issues somewhat. If the steering box was level or less angle there wouldn't be any need for more clearance, but working with what you got there. I would do the drop steering arms on the back of your spindles. That steering box mounted at high angle like that will be the main issue for having to do more geometry for the front links to clear. Here is how mine was done for reference, you can see how close I am to the bones, 1/2" -3/4" clearance there. Hope this helps bud.
I would get your measurements and buy them now for your cross link and drag link and get them on so you can see the arc of rotation for the pitman arm vs the steering arm and the straight cross link will also help.

 

Tie rod is old. Just using it to mock things up. With body roll and suspension travel is .5 really enough? I figured I might need a bit more

 

want you to remember the axle is fixed point, wishbones don't pivot on axle... Now frame clearance vs the links is where I have over 2.5" of clearance.
So suspension articulation and travel have no effect on the links to wishbone clearance, except for your drag link from your box to your steering arm, and due to the angle of it, it will need more room for sure. By my estimate your going to see .75" to 1.25" of vertical travel with it in that setup that's in there. So the 1.5" drop arms will be perfect for your application in all honesty.

 

I have seen lots of boxes mounted like your stubs..but that box and column almost in the stock angle of the ford it came out of

 

I wasn't even going to mess with the pitman arm. It's an and angle yes...but the stock set up in the 39???( I forget the exact year of it) had the same angle I believe +/- a few degrees. Is there a bigger advantage to having the hold of the pitman arm perpendicular to the ground link my spindle arms

 

The only benefit I have in keeping my pitman arm parallel is the non changing arc of rotation. But honestly I think if you pull your spring and cycle your suspension with the steering link hooked up you may be surprised. the only thing on yours that's different than stock of those years is the axle is dropped. So your 2 options are dropped steering arms, or if on a budget then dropped tie rod ends, if for some reason you do have a clearance issue for the steering link. But other than that with the drag link in your pics I think its fine and should be great as is. One of these for your steering link where it attaches to the steering arm will fix any issues you could ever have. http://www.speedwaymotors.com/1948-64-Ford-Pickup-Tie-Rod-End-Drops,50152.html

 

If it's good enough for a 39 ford it's good enough for a hot rod! Looks good,run it! I wouldn't worry about drop rod ends,it'll be fine.

 

I think if you weld your box's mount in that position you will be fine. As long as the drag link is mounted from the bottom side of the pitman arm. Your spring will settle a bit after driving the car and you will have even more clearance.

And, if you find out your arm is too low after driving the car for a 1,000 miles, you can always heat and bend the pitman up a little.

 

^^^that,or the spindle arms down,for another 1/2 clearance,but if your not going rock crawling you'll be fine.

 

I'm going to tag along here because I just recently came to the conclusion that a cross-steer setup was the best way to go on my build, so I'm behind on all this cross-steer stuff and I need to figure out where the box needs to go.

So let me see if I'm understanding what I'm reading here (and elsewhere),
Pitman should be level to the ground (?) [assuming it has a bent pitman arm]
Drag link should be on the same plane as the tie rod ideally (?)
Drag link should be parallel to a few degrees out from the tie rod (?)
Steering box should be oriented 90° to the front crossmember (?)

 

Drag link should be parallel to tie rod. Max 2 or 3 degree open. That number is found on the threads I have been reading. . pitman arm level?? Explain late 30s fords then. My steering box is mounted in my A frame not much different than its original home. Not seeing why the angle would not work. If I go flat my fill plug for the box would be off on an angle..thus hard to fill. Maybe not even liberating things as designed?? I'm just looking at my set up and not seeing

 

Why the pitman arm could not be at an angle. For the record.. I plan to use a dead perch or pan hard bar too.

 

No rock climbing on this roadster, but there's an idea for my four door

 

Sorry, I was more referring to the eye on the pitman than the whole arm. I'm just trying to figure out how to orient the box and what room for play there is, if any.

 

Things can be parallel and not on the same plane. IE the cross link and the tie rod can be stacked and still be parallel the crosslink above or below the tie rod. The idea is that you want them to be swinging equal arcs.

 

Pitmarn arm angle can be anything you want it to be. As long as the steering link is pretty parallel to drag link, your golden, too much either way will give you bad steering issues and require dead perch or panhard bar, Mine has been golden up to 120 mph with no bump steer, no cycling in the front end, and runs straight and true. Cross steer when set up right is a beautiful thing. Beaner hit the nail on the head by the way!

 

I would think for sure you need a dead perch or panhard bar.

 

Some good info on steering in this thread I found
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/steering-vintage-c9-bump-steer.8223/

 

Great info! Thanks!

 

Ok. So I'm going to high jack my own thread here. This is my steering box . is this a 35?? My pitman arm has some play. Probably .010/.015 at the shaft.... .040 at the end of pitman arm where the tie rod goes into. What ideal for this year ? Box. I believe just like a model A box I crack the 4 bolts on the side and turn the one nut that will tightened things up a bit. What's the nut on the top for. Also..I need to add 3 inches to the shaft. Sleeve , pin, and tig should be safe correct. Or is there a better way and I'm going over kill?

 

You'd probably do better to seek out a 37-48 box. Even in the best of condition, the 35 box won't be as good as a 37 up. It's all down to friction and the switch to a rolling element sector made a fantastic improvement.
Mart.

 

Check out Dennis lacys thread about the 32 pickup rebuild,good info on setting up the steering box.

 

I'll check out the thread...still insure what year this box is

 

this is a 35,same as yours?

 

Thanks bader2.