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Technical STEERING, Cowl Steering, strong, simple and affordable

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by hillbillyhell, Nov 2, 2005.

  1. I picked up an aluminum box from some kind of Mopar (Duster ?) that doesn't need to be reversed and, in my cowl steering application, won't have to be lengthened either.

    I sit far enough back that I'll mount the box to the far left against the cowl and use a double U-jointed double-D shaft slider from the box to the steering wheel.
     

    Attached Files:

  2. fur biscuit
    Joined: Jul 22, 2005
    Posts: 7,828

    fur biscuit
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    this is damn good. Thanks for your time spent doing this one. i will definately save this. - doug
     
  3. hotrodladycrusr
    Joined: Sep 20, 2002
    Posts: 20,765

    hotrodladycrusr
    Member

    :eek:

    I don't think so!! It was GREAT. Very informative, well written, great photos and presented in a clear and concise manner. 5 stars!:D
     
  4. Slag Kustom
    Joined: May 10, 2004
    Posts: 4,312

    Slag Kustom
    Member

    looks great. excelent job on the blister
     
  5. elcornus
    Joined: Apr 8, 2005
    Posts: 652

    elcornus
    Member

    NICE!!!!!!



    Very well written.




    Thanks!
     
  6. OFT
    Joined: Jun 1, 2005
    Posts: 574

    OFT
    Member

    I too add kuddos to your tech. The blister adds that "finished" look and makes the steeting look like it belongs there.
     
  7. damn man, thats nice. and explained well.
     
  8. Hey thats fantastic tech and some real nice welds too !!

    Very nice fab work....

    Rat
     
  9. fab32
    Joined: May 14, 2002
    Posts: 13,985

    fab32
    Member Emeritus

    I smell a potential Tech Week winner.


    Frank
     
    kidcampbell71 likes this.
  10. For tech articles, good pictures speak louder than good words. You've done both. Don't be so critical, its easy to follow. Nice job.
     
  11. hillbillyhell
    Joined: Feb 9, 2005
    Posts: 934

    hillbillyhell
    Member

    It's REALLY easy. I didn't take pics during the reversal procedure, because I wasn't really planning on doing it right then. Took it apart just to see what was what, and figured out that with another half hour or less it could be done and back together.

    1. Disassemble the box.

    2. Mark your hole location with a punch. This is the most difficult part of the whole deal. You want to drill the box on the opposite side of where the input originally was, you're just turning it around. To locate the hole, it took four hands....ended up dropping a washer into the input bearing race, and using a punch in the middle of the washer hole. May be a few thou off, but more than close enough.

    3. Drill a pilot hole at your punch mark. Once I had that done, I drilled from the outside with a 1 1/8" holesaw. The input seal now knocks into that hole, just like any other automotive lip seal would.

    4. Reassemble it. You'll have to plug the original input shaft hole, a small freeze plug is the easy way.

    That's all there is to it. if my quickie directions don't make sense, find a how to on a Corvair box, it's the same procedure.

    No pics of the blister hammering, I just did it to see if I could really....wasn't sure it was going to turn out, it's the first thing I've ever hammered freeform like that.
     
  12. hillbillyhell
    Joined: Feb 9, 2005
    Posts: 934

    hillbillyhell
    Member

    Let's hope so :D Nah, it's cool. The actual box mounting is 1/4 plate, is big enough to mount the box and that's all, so no extra material to flex. The plate itself is like 6 or 7 " long, and it's welded in solid on both sides, lots of area to spread the load at the joint. The tube that you can see in front of the box is 1x2x.120, so it's fairly heavy as well. The rear 1x1 tube is more of a locator than a load carrier, but it's still well tied in. the two tubes are just far enough apart to get the box in between, so again, no extra material on the plate in a front to rear direction. The thing I couldn't show in any of my pics is that there is another tube welded all the way across the firewall, in front of the 1x2. It ties into both the 1x2 and the upright supports, mainly adds additional bending resistance to the 1x2 main tube.
     
  13. peanut
    Joined: Mar 16, 2005
    Posts: 489

    peanut
    Member

    thanks !!!! nice work!!!
     
  14. hillbillyhell
    Joined: Feb 9, 2005
    Posts: 934

    hillbillyhell
    Member

    Yup. Can't remember offhand what size the pitman nut is, but I did verify that the correct socket for it fits in the tube before I started this whole deal.
     
  15. joeycarpunk
    Joined: Jun 21, 2004
    Posts: 4,446

    joeycarpunk
    Member
    from MN,USA

    Thanks for adding the reversal instructions.
     
  16. Looks like you just changed my mind re: the steering in my truck...............great job...thanks!!
     
  17. 62fairlane
    Joined: Apr 3, 2004
    Posts: 393

    62fairlane
    Member
    from Dayton, TN

    I think a nice saftey wire pattern on the arm would really set it off for that slick race look
     
  18. slamchop
    Joined: Dec 8, 2002
    Posts: 273

    slamchop
    Member
    from San Diego

    You just made my day! Using junkyard parts and imagination...turning something thats almost unaffordable and impossible to find for the real thing,into something thats plentiful and cheap with just a little work...great job
     
  19. hillbillyhell
    Joined: Feb 9, 2005
    Posts: 934

    hillbillyhell
    Member

    That's the plan. I tend to either a: drill holes in everything, b: saftey wire it or c: both.
     
  20. striper
    Joined: Mar 22, 2005
    Posts: 4,498

    striper
    Member

    Great Tech! I haven't got that far with mine yet but thought I'd throw in a link to a post showing how I reversed my box. Very similar looking box to the one used here and same process but with pics. I had to compromise with the seal on the input but it's up out of the dirt so should be right.

    http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=64204
    Pete
     
  21. Shaggy
    Joined: Mar 6, 2003
    Posts: 5,207

    Shaggy
    Member
    from Sultan, WA

    Yea the truck boxes have that long offset I'm planning to use a 65 ford one in my T
     
  22. Paul
    Joined: Aug 29, 2002
    Posts: 16,389

    Paul
    Editor

    note from a tech editor:

    it has come to my attention that the exact original application for the steering box may not be as stated.

    whatever the box came from originally, I do believe this thread contains some very good build techniques and leave it up to the reader as to how he uses this information.

    Paul
     
  23. hillbillyhell
    Joined: Feb 9, 2005
    Posts: 934

    hillbillyhell
    Member

    Yeah, I got misinformed when I got the box! My apologies to everybody. From what I've found, what "Ranger" actually meant was F100 Ranger, from the early 60s. From looking around at some different catalogs, a lot of early Ford trucks used a similar box, so best bet is do some online looking before ya head to the salvage yard.

    I hope this thread being wrong for so long didn't ruin anyones day.
     
  24. Thanks for bringing it back out. I appreciate the update/correction.
    I had it saved and will be using this info eventually.

    Great TECH by the way...



    JOE:cool:
     
  25. I wonder what this setup would do with one of those low space sector relocation devices ? To bring the drag link further down to the wishbone.

    Bump the thread for bump steer report, please.
     
  26. ago
    Joined: Oct 12, 2005
    Posts: 2,199

    ago
    Member
    from pgh. pa.

    Comparisons with Vega or traditional side steer? Is cowl steering worth the effort?
     
    Andy likes this.
  27. 117harv
    Joined: Nov 12, 2009
    Posts: 6,589

    117harv
    Member

    To keep the box up under the dash for maximum foot box space gain, one could us a couple of u-joints and a small section of splined/double d shaft to lower the pit man arm. The chain and gears in the box that you mention could work too. Mounting the box at an angle and changing the shape of the pit man arm might work as well.
     
    kidcampbell71 likes this.
  28. fourspd2quad
    Joined: Jul 6, 2006
    Posts: 908

    fourspd2quad
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I was able to mount my steering box high enough to gain foot space for 3 pedals. My pitman arm yet is only 7" center to center. The drag link is nice and low and parallel with the frame rails as you can see in the pics. However in order to do that I needed to push my ass low in the car especially since I am using a decent size steering wheel. I will run an 18" wheel and and still have ample leg room even for my thick 5'11" body. I will be running some rather comfy Tractor Supply tractor seats. I am extremely pleased with how this worked out. I will ride low in the with a steering wheel that is at a very comfortable angle.

    View attachment 3715275 View attachment 3715277 View attachment 3715279

    IMG_1795.JPG

    IMG_2398.JPG IMG_2792.JPG
     
  29. fourspd2quad
    Joined: Jul 6, 2006
    Posts: 908

    fourspd2quad
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    a few more pics...

    IMG_1704.JPG IMG_3563.JPG IMG_2403.JPG
     
    Thommyknocker and kidcampbell71 like this.
  30. atch
    Joined: Sep 3, 2002
    Posts: 5,626

    atch
    Member

    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]



    Is that a MoPAR box? What did it come out of?
     
    Tudor likes this.

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