I am in need of a manual steering box that has a 7" span from the steering column shaft to the pitman arm. Similar to the F100 style. Problem is I need a reverse rotation. Pitman arm sitting outside the chassis. I tried to create cowl steering with a 39 Chevy box and failed miserably. Now I am in a tight spot. Can a steering box be used upside down? HELP!!!
You need to read Pete Eastwoods advice on cowl steering. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/cowl-steering-just-stop.1101046/
Thank you for your reply. This is obviously getting ripped out. I will read prior to coming up with plan B. I do have room at outside of firewall for a box where the original column cutout is. Now that engine and body sit well. I would appreciate other steering options. Money is an issue.
Maybe you could post a picture or a diagram of the two locations that you are considering mounting the steering box. Also if the pitman arm will point up or down as that plays into rotation requirements.
This is a Chris Craft steering box that really is a Gremmer 48 Ford design. It takes an old Ford steering wheel, and pitman arm. The pitman would need to point up, to make the wheels turn the right direction when the steering wheel is rotated. PM me if interested.
I used a late 60's Mustang box for cowl steering (gasp!). I wanted the pitman to point down so I reversed the box, which involved plugging the original worm shaft hole with a welch plug and boring another hole out the other end. I got fancy and had my machinist buddy turn me a collar that held a seal and allowed the old Ford style column tube to be clamped to it.
Found a 60’s Chevy truck box that has a horizontal pitman shaft. If I turn the box so it’s vertical, will it work?
Fit Right hand drive worm drive in the left hand drive box that give reverse turn or vice versa. I could be wrong but I'm sure I read that somewhere. Anyone wants to correct me fire away. Thanks Stephen.
@35joe Those boxes are super easy to reverse. I did one when I was running cowl steering in my RPU. It's just sitting on the bench now. Here's a link to the process with all the part numbers but it looks like the pictures are blown out https://www.killbillet.com/forum/th...ch/12608-reversing-gear-box-for-cowl-steering
@DOCTOR SATAN It wasn't bad. I had to lengthen my pitman arm which made the steering a little too quick, but it wasn't that big of a deal. Drove a couple thousand miles with it over a year. Switched to a traditional setup using an F1 box because somebody gave me the box.
Why did you have to lengthen the pitman arm? How'd ya do it? And why does that make the steering "quicker"?
I think you probably should do a bit of learning before you do some assembling. The basic concepts of geometry play a huge part in how a steering system works. Think about it for a bit, and make some models from pop-sickle sticks and pins if need be. Try different length arms (pop-sickle sticks) and watch how the driven arm moves faster when the driving arm is longer.
@35joe My box was mounted pretty high in the cowl. Like @alchemy said, just draw a little doodle or get some sticks. The box is turning the regular amount but with a longer pitman arm the end is moving farther than stock. That means when you turn the wheel a little the steering is moving faster than before. I had to lengthen my arm due to where I had the box mounted. If you place it lower in the cowl, then you might not have too. There's pics in my build thread if you're interested, but I did just switch it all out.
I mis-read the post, thinking the pitman arm shaft was lengthened. Duh. All of my steering is removed. I am in persuit of the F100 box thinking that that one has the greatest distance between the steering shaft and pitman arm. I need 7". Thx.
Found the pitman arm. Reversed a 79 F150 box. Works great, easy to get parts (except pitman arm) and reverse. Thanks all!
There are only 2-1/2 turns from stop to stop on this F100 box. Compared to 4-1/2 on my previous box. The pitman is shorter. So now the turning radius will be 3 football fields. Any ideas?
Shorten the steering arm. Easier than modifying the pitman arm. Brutal truth is none of it looks that great. What you're trying to do can be done on paper with a measuring tape before you weld and bolt it up and find it still doesn't work.
See those useless holes in your steering arm? Pop the tie rod out and just place it in the hole closest to the original spot and turn the wheel. You will see it turns further. Go to the next inner hole and you'll see it turns further yet again. Based on this test you can see where to mount the tie rod permanently to get your desired steering. You are past the paper and measuring point.
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