OK I need some help guys. I know a lot of you are for keeping your cars stock without many creature comforts. I have a 54 Mercury with a Ford 302 engine. I want to put power steering on it but need to know if anyone knows which power steering box I need from a donor car. There is a place that sells them that is a direct bolt in but they want $895 for them. Thats more than my budget can handle now. I was thinking that maybe the early cars that had power steering was the ones they were using and that the frames may be the same since they are a direct bolt in. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Have a Blessed day, Wade
I have been kicking around the idea of putting power steering on my '55 Ford for years and I can tell you this, There is no bolt in power steering box available that will bolt in without modifying something, in this case its the steering shaft. The power steering boxs that the aftermarket sells are usually 605 GM boxes that are modified to bolt to the frame but you will need to do a bunch of fabricating. Other options are the F150 box but it is much larger and often interferes with the exhaust manifolds, the late 90's Jeep Grand Cherokee box will also work but like everything else needs fabrication. The power steering that needs the least amount of work to install is the mid to late 70's Ford Granada but it is not a power steering box, its the old Ford style slave cylinders. I'm pretty sure this is what I'm going to use on my '55 Ford. If your interested I have some paperwork around somewhere that shows how its done. Mark
I'd hunt for the original P/S stuff from another '54 Mercury or Ford. They were available with them then. They used close to the same pumps into the early '60's, so the bracketry from a 260 or 289 Mustang, Falcon/Comet or Fairlane/Meteor should work fine. You may need a complete steering column as many of these older cars had columns with P/S and columns without. The same holds true for much of the steering linkage. The gearbox was usually attached to the column as an assembly. I'm more of a Studebaker guy but Ford used a similar system, so your mileage may vary. Keep in mind that most old steering systems will leak, hoses dry rotted, etc. The older system will need to be rebuilt, but many companies will sell seal kits, hoses, complete pumps, pump rebuild kits etc. When buying your brackets, make sure you get all the original bolts/studs with them. Some cars use special pieces for attaching various parts. It would be ideal if you found them at a pick-a-part type place. Good luck.
that's why i put rack and pinion on my last 3 fords.it's easier than digging for the right box.the fords are hard to match up
I found a place here in orange county, ca. called abs power brake inc that has a box for $575 that I think is all new one piece not a GM unit but havent had the money yet. the # for the place is 714-771-6549.
Mid size late 60's early 70's Ford & Merc,, Had an inline cyl. that you could make work..Use pump / pullys ect all from the same car...
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