Working on fitting the F1 box in my 29 coupe. Seems to fit good, but it is too close to where the header will be. If I want to shorten the the box up does anyone have pictures of doing this. I know guys cut the flanges off and put the A one on but I want to shorten it up by like a inch so I have more header room. But There are bushings inside of the box. Anyone help me out on where to cut it or how to go about doing this.
I used the F1 box with A flange and used the original A mounting holes. To line up the Colum inside the car and center the Colum between the peddles there was only one spot it would fit. Made header tubes to fit. It gets very tight.. P M me your email and I will forward you numerous pictures. Walter
Shortening the sector housing part of the box is not an issue and the bushings are just thin bronze,also easy to shorten.If you don't have a lathe make friends with someone who does.It will make the job easier and the finished product will have a factory appearance.I would shorten it the minimum necessary to avoid having too much of the sector shaft unsupported.You may be able to mill off the flange and turn the od of the sector housing so you can pass the housing through the frame,then fit a flange to the inside eliminating the need to shorten the box.I did this on my current 32 project and it worked nice.I wll try to get a pic of it posted.Bob
Here's what I did: I machined the mounting flange off the steering box and then machined it up further inward round. Then I took a 2x4x1 1/2 ( used a 2x4 for a model) and had a hole drilled the same size as the box was turned down to. Next I cut this block horizontally through that hole. I then drilled two holes from the bottom of the block into the top so that the lower holes were through and the upper half were tapped. I then drilled two holes into the side of the block that would match the spacing on the chassis and these were tapped. I now had a clamp to hold the steering box and would allow the box to be lowered a bit yet allow the column angle to be adjusted. Once I had it all figured out, I filled the original holes in the chassis and made new holes to match my clamp. Two bolts up through the bottom of the chassis serve to hold the clamp in place and apply the clamping pressure. Two bolts from the chassis side also keep the clamp in place. Solved some clearance and alignment problems for me and looks pretty stock.
No to high-jack this thread but what are the benefits of the F1 box compared with a stock '32 steering box. I have both and am wondering if converting the F1 to fit my '32 frame is worth the work.
The sector gear on the Model A rubs against the worm gear. On the F1 (and all Ford boxes beginning in 1937) the end of the sector is mounted in a roller that turns as the car is turned. This design is a major improvement. It is common to replace the steering in a 1936 with one from a 1937 to get this improvement. The F1 is a common upgrade to the Model A. Charlie Stephens
I cut off the flange with part of the bearing, and turned it around. That way you still have all the bearing surface but the flange is closer to the box/column. Pics and description are here: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/t-v8-build-thread.1011604/ Scroll down about halfway, it's a long post.
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