In a recent thread ( I guess it was deleted) someone posted that the real name for the Vega box was a Saginaw ???. Does anyone remember that number? I can see where it might be useful down the road if you were looking in a Hollander interchange manual for one.
Cool . Thanks! I did notice they were out of stock on both the 140 and the reversed 140....so you still need to keep an eye out in the junkyard if you need one.
Depending on your build and available space you might consider a Saginaw 525 same bolt pattern just a little bigger but a lot easier to find.
Saginaw was the GM division that made stuff like steering gearboxes, and some transmissions. As far as I know, pretty much every GM steering gear from the 1920s to the 1990s was made by them.
Ford used some Saginaw power boxes also. From what I've read. not much interchanges with GM stuff in them though. I think maybe AMC used some Saginaw boxes, too. I believe the AMC ones are the same as GM.
Thanks. I didnt realize they made most of the steering boxes.I remember seeing that "S" quite a bit on different stuff. I used the transmissions when I raced dirt, and they were pretty good. I guess they werent popular with the drag racers, they were yanking them out to put in Muncies. The popular opinion was the Saginaws broke because of the shock load, but a dirt car didnt really have that problem. It made it cheaper on me.. I did have a Muncie later on, because it had an aluminum case, and 1st and 2nd were taken out to cut down on the rotating weight. Is the 525 steering box the one that came from the Metric cars? Monte Carlos, Cutlasses, Malibus, etc..
an older buddy bought a 80's built roadster....was having steering issues - non- power with the Vega box.....he went with a longer pit-man arm from one of the know re-builders.....saw him today....seems to work a little better....no room for mods on the early build without some total rework....just fyi...
What ratio is the stock Vega box? Mine steers a little hard when parking and I've considered a 525. I've already broken one Vega box while parking and the replacement had a click in it when turning left. They were both offshore boxes though. Never again! Looking for good ole' Made in the USA this time!
No, the 525 fits Camaro - Firebird 1967-1969, Nova 1968-1979, and Impala 1965-1970 according to this... http://www.classicindustries.com/product/camaro/parts/525161.html
Thanks Mr. Mike. I know this thread is about Vega boxes, but I didn't know that 525's were on so many different vehicles. I just assumed that you always put a Vega box on an early Ford. Now I see we have options.
There are two versions of the 525, a 24:1 (which is slightly slower than a Vega 22:1, and will feel more like power steering) and 16:1 which is quite fast and will take some beefy forearms in your basic Early Ford steering set up! There is also the 122 box which is nearly identical to the 525, I think the only real difference is the 122 uses a 3/4-36 input shaft spline and the 525 uses a 3/4-30. These boxes have been around in GM cars since the 50's through about 84. They were also used in AMC/JEEP from early 60's through 88 in the Jeep Wrangler. Plus even some Interenational Scout from 72-75, so there are TONS of them out there.
I already typed a post like that but deleted it. Well, mine was a little more sarcastic, but you get the idea!
not as a bolt in, but you could probably do some serious modification to the car, and be able to do so.
I grew up in a house on Saginaw Bay. My dad was a poor, hard-working Saginaw fisherman Too many times he came home with too little pay..... OK, so it's an older post revived, but I can't help but respond to these two quotes. I personally like the Leo Kottke version better than the original that Lefty Frizzell did.
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