Now I guess there's no correct way, but here's the story. I fitted an F1 steering box in an A-V8 I built for a customer. The car received a freshly built '32 frame because the old one was boxed and so heavily modified it wouldn't have passed inspection here. I removed the F1 steering box from his old frame and fitted it in the new one, so the box fitted in without modifying it. It was a tight fit just under the exhaust manifold. The box came with a straight pitman arm. I used a 1/4" spacer on the inside so the tie rod end on the steering arm cleared the split wishbone on the inside. The column come out under the dash at the same place a stock Model-A column would but the steering column is not parallel to the center line of the car. Now I know I could have cut of the nose, shortened it and used a stepped pitman arm to clear the wishbone on the outside, but that would have cost money and would have needed a seriously bent pitman arm. Running the steering arm outside the wishbone has it's pitfalls too, like the tire hitting the steering arm before it hits the wishbone or steering stop. Well anyway, now he's bitching that the steering is incorrectly installed because the column isn't parallel to the centerline of the car. The steering wheel position is correct, on the left hand side of the car with plenty of room for his hand between the wheel and the door. The column comes up out of the floor between the clutch pedal and the brake pedal. So my question is: what is the correct way to install an F1 steering box in a pinched '32 frame, running a Flathead V8 and having a Model-A roadster body on it? Or is anyone here running an A-V8 with an F1 column fitted the way I did it? The picture below shows the steering arm with a rose joint which I don't like, so clearance was built in for a tierod end instead. Ed
He's got a mishmash of early ford parts from several different decades and he's griping about the column angle to the chassis centerline?! The stock setup isn't parallel to the centerline either. I always end up cutting the mounting flange off and welding a new one on that allows the end of the sector housing to pass through the framerail a little bit, this makes for more room between the box and engine/exhaust/starter/etc but it surely won't align the column to the centerline. If you have the box securely mounted, the car steers well, and the column is at a COMFORTABLE angle, it's installed correctly. More than one way to skin a cat...
most will say the correct way to do this is outlined in the bishop/tardell book. cutting the flange as mentioned.
That was a Model-A frame. You have to do that because the F1 flange won't fit in the narrow frame rails. The BT car isn't perfect either. That bent pitman arm isn't the only way to do it. This is in effect a '32 so a different car. Ed
That's what I figured. The frame is so narrow there he'd have close to a center steer car if the column was parallel! The flange is tight against the frame with a 1/4" spacer to ensure the pitman arm and steering arm clear the wishbone, so the box is pretty close to the engine block tucked in under the exhaust manifold. It's so tight in there everything fits very tightly. There's no where else to go. Ed
You did it right, your customer is wrong. When I installed the F100 steering box in my rpu project I made the steering column parallel to the centerline of the frame. But after I slipped the body on I found that it was too far to the passenger side that way, so I removed the tapered shim I had made and the column came back to where it laid nicely between my feet and the steering wheel was at a good angle to my body when driving. I looked at my 27, which is on an A frame also with a 56 F100 box, and the column on it does not run parallel with the centerline either. It goes just slightly to the drivers side. Your customer is asking you to be the professional, but is also trying to tell you what is right. Tell him this isn't a new Mercedes, it is a HOT ROD ! Don Edward, I found this picture showing the lengths I went to making sure my steering column was on the same plane as the centerline of my frame, only to later find out the column was too far toward the middle of the car in that position. I would have had to sit way to the passenger side if I left it there.
Thanks for that Ron, he's really stressed me out about this and been very insulting about it. It's just good to have a professional from the other side of the Atlantic back me up on it. I guess he's used to modern cars where you sit straight facing forwards, but on older cars that taper to the front the driver kinda sits at a slight angle and that's what he doesn't like. I sat in the car loads as I was building it and everything is placed perfectly, pedals, steering and shifter. I'm glad your columns aren't centerline too. I found a picture that clearly shows how much space there is between the door an the steering wheel. Ed P.S. Anyone know Chip Foose? I'd love him to write to my customer telling him he's wrong!
The best way is to ditch the f1 stuff and install a vega box. I just pulled out the F1 from my Av8. It's all for sale.......
....that'le learn you not to work on anal retentive customers cars, you'll never make him happy , just cut him loose
Is the car finished and is he driving it or is he just walking into the shop and looking at the wheel and seeing it slightly off from where he thinks it should be?
Well I doubt he's driving it yet - he only picked it up two weeks ago and is doing electrics and interior and loads of small stuff himself. I guess he's just sat in it and noticed the column isn't parallel and got his knickers in a twist about it. I'm pretty cool about it now, cos the more aggressive he gets about it, the more grovelling his apology will have to be when someone points out they're all like that. The thing that really guts me is this car wasn't even supposed to be anything special at all. I promised him I'd build him a new chassis for 2.5K taking his old junk frame in exchange and I said I'd swap the new chassis in and get it all working for 7K. But the parts were so nice I ended up making it something really special and worked hundreds of hours on it for free. Literally about 300 hours extra without charge. Then he wanted loads of extras done along the way. This was a five month build and he basically got photos emailed to him everyday. Well in the end the build cost him 14K labor, 7K for the build and 7K for all the extras he wanted, like modified dash, new hood sides making up and a hundred other small things. Since then he's done nothing but bitch and bitch. The last few months of the build he bitched weekly I was taking too long, had to hurry up but watch the costs, despite actually being under budget the whole time. I sure learned something thou - anyone else ever start treating me like that I'll push his car out in the rain and tell him to come and collect it. And that's not all, he's bitching about the paint job too. Was supposed to be frame, body and grill painted up like a traditional rod not all glossy perfect like. He didn't want it looking like a new Brookville, so my mate quoted him 2.5K including all materials but plus his choice of color. Well the project grew and my buddy ended up painted the axle, transmission, frame, grill, four piece hood, body inside and out and loads of small parts. Plus his primered body was so badly done we had to sand it all down and start again. There was over a week prepping the body on it. Still my buddy, like me is a generous guy and charged him the 2.5K like agreed despite it being twice the work originally quoted. Well when he came to collect it he got all aggressive and said he couldn't believe we hadn't color sanded it!!!! Anal retentive just ain't saying enough in this case. Still you learn about folks even at my age:-(
Edward, you turned out a really beautiful roadster there with great workmanship. The guy is just an idiot. That is why we only build cars for ourselves, how you who are in the business put up with that stuff is beyond me. I bet you are not so generous with the next customer. Don
The Jalopy Journal
