Technical F1 RHD Steering box

For our pommy, Aussie, Kiwi and other mates that drive on the left side of the road. All the cars I owned in Aus were RHD Vega or HQ box. Is a RHD F1 Steering box possible, if so where did you source parts? Going in a A coupe.

 

A right hand Gemmer box from a a 50's or 60's boat, ( Chris Craft, Carver, etc. ) would work in your case. Best of all, it's a two bolt mount that allows you to set the steering column angle where you want.

 

The RHD F1 steering boxes are not so easy to find, but do exist. New parts can be sourced from a number of vendors. Here is an example.

https://www.macsautoparts.com/ford_...r-for-right-hand-drive-only-f1-f2-and-f3.html

 

Thanks fellas. Interesting idea re the boat!

 

Just a thought.....If you turn a left hand drive box up side down,and mount it on the right hand side will the pitman swing in the right direction when you turn the wheel? If it did you could drill a new oil fill hole on what was the bottom.Just a thought for the down under guys.

 

Jeep U.S.mail cars had Saginaw RH boxes. see them in older junkyards occasionally

 

There is no shortage of RHD Saginaw boxes here.
F1's aren't in wrecking yards anymore...hence the shortage. But they are out there if anyone wants to make the effort. Another HAMBer here drummed one up pretty quickly a couple of months back.

 

That's what I did.
Flipped it over, plugged the OEM fill/breather hole with a specially made threaded plug and machined another hole on the opposite side ...... steering direction is the same with the pitman arm facing downwards.
Later '53> F100 boxes are orientated that way as standard.
If it's for Aussie rego you'll also need to make it collapsible with a telescopic tube and shaft. PM me if you'd like any info.

 

Just a thought I wonder if a left hand drive cross steering box from like a 1940 Ford would work in your application. Ive actually tossed the idea of building a right hand drive car around before just to be different here.

 

and would make driving and vision more difficult, just as left hand drive cars do here.

to OP:
they come up occasionally on trademe here, but some of our models were called by different names/ badge, eg Ford Bonus, not F1.
(I bought one in June, listing title was - 1948 - ‘52 ford truck.
.

 

This is how a guy over here used a LH box in a RH drive car.

 

Good point. The F1 was called the Freighter in Australia. A lot of old guys and non hot rodder types don't know what I'm talking about if I say F1. "Oh, you mean a Freighter, why didn't you say so!"
From F100 on they were F100. It was about the late 80's they stopped making F trucks here in Brisbane.

 

Yes, that's the Saginaw Vega box. We have plenty of our own RHD Saginaw boxes as mentioned above.
The OP is talking F1.

 

Not a Ford box but you might be able to find the steering box off a 49 / 54 Chevy car that someone has changed to right hand drive.
The sector shaft turns so that a down pointing Pitman arm pulls back on left hand turns and pushes forward on right hand turns. It would put the sector shaft above the frame rail but a simple plate with three holes drilled in it on the inside of the frame rail would mount it.
Measures right at 2-3/8 inches from the end of the sector shaft housing to the flange mounting surface. Some diligent trimming could probably get them to work in other chassis for RHD with a proper mounting flange or clamp.

 

Thanks all so far, much appreciated! Yep no shortage of new/used options for Vega/HQ boxes

Thanks so much, this sounds like quite a simple solution. Whilst I dont need the collapsible column for rego here in Japan building safety into the build is not a bad idea. Do you have any pics etc of how you did yours?

 

Having had to help peel the first dead guy I ever saw that wasn't in a casket off the steering column of a 65 Mustang he hit a VW head on with in the fog when I was 19 I am a bit of a believer in collapsible columns.
That and when my son totaled his 79 Elkie a mile and a half from the house the shoulder harness and collapsible column worked to save his life.

What are the steering box options for RHD 4x4 trucks over there?

 

Sorry I don't and the project is in hiatus at the moment ..... here's a rough breakdown of how it was done.
You'll see that most USA F1 box conversions into Model A's require machining off the original mounting flange and welding a new one on with a compound angle to suit the chassis geometry etc.
The welding of any steering components is heavily frowned upon down here and because I'm using deuce rails I took a different approach to mounting it. I made a ~1/2" thick triangular "shaped" steel plate that is a slightly larger than the F1 flange profile and machined the mounting and centre holes in it. Once the box's position was established I cut a matching triangular hole in the rail. The plate's thickness provided the angular mounting with it protruding equally each side of the rail. When it was TIG welded in and detailed with blending radii it looked like it was factory pressed profile.
The collapsible part is a whole new story using a diverse mixture of Aussie car column components. You'll really need a machine shop at your disposal for most of this modification ...... I'm happy to pass this on too if required.
I also believe that it is a great safety aspect should the worst ever happen.

 

Since you are in Japan, how about Toyota Landcruiser?

 

Cheers mate, appreciate the detailed post! Sounds like a great solution.

Thanks but am focused on F1.