aluminum f-100 steering box

once again i have gone way to far.

hated the look of how i had to mount the steering box to my 2x3 frame and did not feel like welding all kinds of tabs to mount it nice. also figured while i was at it i could use some roller bearings on the pitman arm shaft.

it uses all stock f-100 parts except the pitman arm bushings. also set it up to use orings to keep it from leaking like a stock one.

all the machine work was done on a bench top mill and little 9x20 lathe.

still have more shaping to do on the out side but i have assembled it and tested it out. it turns so easy and smooth it feels like i have power steering.

 

wow nice work! maybe you have just found a new product to sell!

 

Holy Cow! Nice work indeed!

 

little too much work for me to make them to sell.

 

a work of art.

Well done.

How much weight did you drop?


Is there a third mounting bolt?
(Into the frame side to stop flexing of the top two bolts?)

 

Wow, what a nice piece of work.

 

it does get a third bolt on the bottom of the box to the inside of the frame rail. just been holding off on welding that tab on till i get most of the shape right.

as much as i can shape it in the mill or lathe there will be a ton of hand shape done with a file.

the weight is just about half of a stock one even with making it twice as thick.

 

Cool.

Fwiw, if you check in with an aircraft parts supply house - Spruce is a good one - they have files for aluminum working.

I have a small collection of "aluminum" files and they don't get used for anything else.

What makes them nice is they don't clog up as readily as a file for steel work.


I've found that the adjustable rubber arbors that hold pre-made sandpaper drums work great when used in a fairly high RPM variable speed 3/8's drill motor.

They cut into aluminum fairly fast, you'll probably want medium and coarse grits for initial shaping and when the medium wears a bit, it's good for the initial polish.
No liquids required, use dry.

Further power polishing can be accomplished by the looks like a 3M pad that fits an arbor designed for them.
I've been using a medium grit on my slot mags and it's doing a fair job along with not cutting too deep.
(Still trying to sand out the machine marks on one pair of wheels.)


The weight loss is more than I would have guessed.

Food for thought for the drag-racing gang....

 

there will also be a huge weight saving when i counter bore the pitman arm shaftout to 5/8 or 3/4 about 2.5 inches deep.

also have some 1.25 7075 im thinking of making the pitman arm out of.

 

Where does one buy billet that size?

 

i found it at the scrap yard it still had the lettering on it stating 6061

paid $1 per pound for it. started as 3x5x24 cost was $38.00

 

Very clever piece with outstanding workmanship...I love it.

NOW, how long will it take for the BILLIT Police to jump your bones?

When one does, tell'em to buzz off.

 

Slag, it pains me that Im the one besmerching your work on my car! LOL

 

the funny thing is anthony out of all the striping you are going to muck the car up with the only part any one will see is the grill shell

just think you only owe me 1 15/16 cans of striping

 

First thought is, I wouldn't.

Then again, 7075 T6 is the normal stuff that roller rocker arms are made from.

A pitman arm is under stress, but not too bad compared to the rocker arms at even a moderate RPM.

Broaching the tapered spline should be interesting.


Got an old disposable pitman arm in the correct size?

I can see using a powerful hydraulic press and cold-forming the splines with the old pitman arm.

Very much like thread-forming (not cutting) taps do in aluminum.


You could also grind sharp edged steps in the steel pitman arm and leave the upper part - where the new pitman slides up to - stock and use that area for the final cold-forming.

Using a steel tapered bushing for the tie rod end would be better than using a taper directly in the aluminum.


An easy way out would be to grind the stock pitman arm smooth and have it powder coated.

The powder folks have some colors that look very close to brushed aluminum.

 

It ain't billet if you make it yourself.

 

on the 56 box the pitman arm ony has a few splines at the bottom. figure i could make a grooving tool and do it in the lathe with the spindle locked.

 

That'll help.

Are they straight splines or tapered?



I've cut more than a few internal keyways and made a couple of degreed wheels/hubs that remained on the engine over the harmonic balance ring using your method.

The degreed hubs were made prior to the NHRA requirement for approved dampeners.
Thinking was, it would be a form of rotating scattershield in case the cast iron dampener ring ever came unglued.

 

the splines are straight

 

Ya got er made...

 

thoughts are all there on how to make it just need to come up with the general shape

 

started on the pitman arm. well atleast making a test part to see if i can get the splines right.

there is an 1.25 bore but on the bottom the splines stick into the bore about 1/8"

 

If you find a problem making it from aluminum you could make a cover for your factory one that looks like you wanted....Just a thought....

Steve

 

Keep it up..You'll get the hang of that machine work !

 

the idea is to cut weight not cover up the part and ad more weight to it.

 

Box all welded together. Test asembled it works so smooth with the roller bearings on the pitman arm shaft. I hope i did not make it to easy

 

Got any pics of the finished box, looks amazing in the first post. I love making things like that in the machine shop as well, its amazing what you can create with a simple lathe, mill and a few hand tools.

 

no finished pics im too stupid to remember to take pics

 

WOW three years later - I thought you forgot about this thread, or gave up on the box .....