Steering box options

The Era of The Square Body Racing Comets
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351 Pinto
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Steering box options

Post by 351 Pinto »

Posting here even though my car is a 63.5.

I bought the CSRP kit with K-H brakes, 65 steering geometry, and a 1.5 inch drop (thank you for the recommendation poboyjo65 !) . I gather that I am going to need a 65 steering box. I don't want power steering, so Borgeson is out. Which other brands are good? Summit sells one from "Lares"- good price but don't know them.

I have also read that a 67 Mustang Pitman arm would let me use the stock box with the 65 steering. True? That seems easier than replacing the box. Are there any downsides to using the 67 arm? Or is it the same part but compatible with 1 1/8 shaft?

It may all be moot anyway because my has car turned out to be bit of a Franken-Comet. I may find that the steering box is not original. The car has Granada brakes, Galaxie (?) rear end, Thunderbird seats, 5.0 block, T-5...

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SASSY
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Re: Steering box options

Post by SASSY »

Is your car originally a V8 car?
6 cyl cars had 1 inch sector shaft so 65 pitman arm works with it.
63-64 v8 same Sbox.
Ya get the later pitman are.
There are good treads the the driveline section on steering.
Heres a couple
viewtopic.php?f=13&t=14264
viewtopic.php?f=13&t=15437
Fred
I'd rather do it myself if it's done right or not,,,isn't that what hotrodding is all about

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poboyjo65
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Re: Steering box options

Post by poboyjo65 »

best to find out what you have before buying anything. should be a tag on top of the box. here is a decoder
http://www.stangerssite.com/steeringboxtagdecoder.html
which is from this site,lots of other good info on here,pitmans,pumps ,boxes & stuff
http://www.stangerssite.com/steeringsysteminfo.html

if it is still a tight box with no slop you can keep it & get the pitman for 68 stang with bigger hole like FRed said.
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351 Pinto
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Re: Steering box options

Post by 351 Pinto »

Thank you both! I emailed CSRP and they confirmed that if I have the 1 1/8 steering box, the 67 Mustang Pitman arm will work.

Yes, it was originally a 260 4 speed car.

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poboyjo65
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Re: Steering box options

Post by poboyjo65 »

351 Pinto wrote:
Fri Sep 17, 2021 3:24 pm
Thank you both! I emailed CSRP and they confirmed that if I have the 1 1/8 steering box, the 67 Mustang Pitman arm will work.

Yes, it was originally a 260 4 speed car.
You still need to see for sure which you have. always a good idea before ordering anything.
If there is no tag on the box you can get under the car & see what size nut is holding the pitman to the box. I think the 1 1/8 shaft has a 1 3/8 nut & the 1'' shaft has a 1 1/8'' nut.
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Johno

351 Pinto
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Re: Steering box options

Post by 351 Pinto »

No tag, but my largest wrench is 1 1/8, and it was much too small, so I must have the 1 1/8 box. When I look for the 67 Pitman arms does it matter if I get one from manual or power steering car?

I read the threads Sassy linked :shock: you guys have SKILLS! Wow!

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SASSY
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Re: Steering box options

Post by SASSY »

Yes I made the mistake of buying one for manual steering. You need a 67 -8 pitman arm for power steering.
Fred
The dia of the shaft not the wrench size
I'd rather do it myself if it's done right or not,,,isn't that what hotrodding is all about

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SASSY
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Re: Steering box options

Post by SASSY »

351 Pinto wrote:
Fri Sep 17, 2021 10:13 pm
read the threads Sassy linked :shock: you guys have SKILLS! Wow!
Hackability on my part! :lol: :lol:
I'd rather do it myself if it's done right or not,,,isn't that what hotrodding is all about

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351 Pinto
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Re: Steering box options

Post by 351 Pinto »

Pitman arm again :?

Quick refresher: 63 Comet, 1 1/8 manual steering box, CSRP 65 Comet steering and KH brake kit

I searched for the 68 Mustang pitman arm and found a lot of them, but run into 2 issues.

1- I am looking for the power steering arm, but the folks selling the arms don't specify manual or power, so does that mean they are the same?

2- So far, every arm I have found has the pivot and bushing installed already. My 65 center link does as well, so I have a male-male situation. I assume I have to press the pin out from one or the other. Is that even possible? Does it matter which side I remove? Do I need to worry about the taper? I can see Ford changing the taper just to confound knuckleheads like me.

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poboyjo65
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Re: Steering box options

Post by poboyjo65 »

I did a search . here is one I found that sounds right,says late 67 & for PS but the no image of it makes me wonder. I'd call & tell them what your problem is & tell them to look at it & see if it had a hole in each end & that the big hole is 1 1/8''
https://www.classicindustries.com/produ ... 10635.html

here's a used one on ebay ,looks right,shipping a bit high;
https://www.ebay.com/itm/284517102416?e ... ake%3AFord
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Joe Travers
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Re: Steering box options

Post by Joe Travers »

Pinto-

I love my MII R&P in my '63. It's adapted to the stock suspension. Gets a bit pricey if you buy the big kits but I think you can get around it if you purchase essential pieces separately. Don't know your budget but the manual R&P shouldn't break the bank if you pick up pieces over a period of time to get it together. Just a thought.

Joe
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1963 1/2 Custom Hardtop
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351 Pinto
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Re: Steering box options

Post by 351 Pinto »

Thanks!

I think the one in the eBay link is what I am after. It is the 69 part C9ZA-3590-A. C7ZA-3590-C is the 68 Mustang piece, and should also work. The local AutoZone claims to have the C9 part, so I will go there after work.

For future reference, the folks on the Mercury Cougar site said C9ZA-3590-A is without the ball stud and C9ZA-3590-B is with it. They had pictures showing both.

The arm in the Classic Industries kit has the ball stud. They don't show a pic of the arm, but they say it is also available as part of a kit. I looked at the kit pic, and the arm shown has the ball stud.

Hopefully the AutoZone part is a quality piece and not made of case hardened cheddar cheese like so much of their stuff is.

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