I have seen alot of advertising for "mustang II" conversion kit's Iv'e also seen that alot of people convert there old manual steering boxes to power steering. [Often curtosy of Toyota.] I just wanted to put in my praise for the original manual steering setup. I just replaced my tie rod end's, and drag link. Then took it down and had new king pins put in. What a huge differance. For less than $700 [part's and labor] my 60 F100 steer's like a lincoln. I can even "palm" the steering wheel when sitting still. So all I'm saying is: why spend all that money on a fancy conversion when the original set up work's just fine. Just my two cent's worth.

 

Some people try to re-invent the wheel when it comes to old truck steering. If you haven't already, throw some new shocks under it, it will ride as nice as it steers! Who would of ever thought that 50 year old parts wear-out? Kingpins are on my list this year....

 

I went with the Toyota conversion because my truck had the ram style power assist and stock box on it when I bought it, but all the rest of the suspension/steering had been rebuilt. The OEM box was quite worn and very sloppy which was amplified by the PSA, making the steering very scary around neutral. Since the PS pump was already mounted, it made a lot more sense to simply replace the box and the column (I also wanted the tilt column with a smaller steering wheel) to get good solid PS setup. I'm very pleased with the results.

 

I have the original suspension setup and manual steering gearbox in my 1960 F100 and it steers like a dream--tight and straight going down the road. And there really is no need for power steering at all...I can palm my wheel easily as long as the truck is rolling. Power brakes, yes...power steering, not necessary IMO.

 

I'm with you on the power brakes. It looks like a real simple conversion. So I think I may have to push that up on my priority list.

 

I have the Toyota power box and power disk brakes all else is rebuilt stock.I think it works swell.