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Here are a couple photos of the 1958 f100 my dad and I are restoring. The plan is to keep it as original as possible although I may add power steering so it is easier for my dad to drive (he is 76). It has the original 272, 2 barrel in it but it has been bored out to 292. The major problem with the truck is electrical. It has had more than a few people in there cutting wires and running different ones. The spark is very week so it is hard to start right now but when it starts it runs well.
Nice looking project, Wiley. My first pickup was a 58 F-250, and I loved it, but rust did it under. I now have a 57 F-100 short Styleside. Lots of work to even get it to your trucks condition.
Oh, and welcome to the group. Lots of great people here with lots of good info. Helpful is what they all are.
I agree with the power steering upgrade. I got hold of a Toyota 4x4 pickup gear and will fab my own pitman arm. Installation kits are available from Mid fifties, and the like.
I finally got the wiring all worked out, added a new coil and Ignitor ignition modual. The truck is running great! Next it is on to grease everything up and try to tighten up the steering. I think the bushings are badly worn in the steering box.
Wiley, You may find the worm gear on your steering shaft could be worn badly, if you have a lot of slop. Mine was so bad it would actually lock the steering on a turn and I would have to stop and get it free again. That happened right after I bought the truck and I never drove it again until I changed the steering box. I had another, better, Gemmer (the maker of the original steering gear boxes in these trucks) steering box so I installed that one for the time being.
Now I am going to install the Toyota power steering box and that will get me out of the old type of worm gear box.
I am getting older so power steering will be greatly appreciated for my driving pleasure, if I ever get mine on the road.
Hope this helps in some way.
Oh just a suggestion, and one recommended by many others too, get yourself a copy of the "1957-63 Ford Truck Master Parts and Accessories Catalog" CD. Well worth the few dollars spent for all the info and illustrations in it. The disc is available and you can find suppliers of this and shop manuals online. I forget who I bought mine from now, but I am glad I did.
PS, I just found that I got mine from "HI PO Parts Garage" (SKU # MPCFT57-1) $21.50.
If I can throw my 2 cent in about steering boxes. I say go with the cpp box. Its smaller and a better design in my opinion. It also fit much better in my 60.
Damifiknow, I wish I could see the CPP box and a Toyota box, side by side, so I can see if what I have will be OK or not. You already have yours installed, so that won't help us. Thanks for the info anyway.
Sorry Wiley, I don't want to steer ( ha ha) you wrong on power boxes, so I will try to find more info on this.
If you don't want to go through the hassle of converting to the Toyota box, you can always rebuild your existing box. Of course, you can also install the stock power steering system as well...if you can find the parts. If you are experiencing large movements in the steering wheel before anything moves, your steering box may only require a steering gear lash adjustment. If the box is leaking, I would recommend a full rebuild.
On a side note, I see you are running radial tires. These trucks were originally built with skinny bias ply tires, which not only reduced steering resistance, but assisted the suspension. When radial tires are installed, more energy is transferred to the suspension, thus causing premature wear and a harsher ride. Additionally, most folks who convert to radials run a larger section width, which causes more resistance in the steering and wears the steering box out faster. If you elect to retain the radial tires, I would suggest a steering box upgrade or a thinner tire section width if you elect to retain the stock steering box.
hey wiley,nice truck.i also have a 58'styleside,shortbed customcab.i love these trucks.i rebuilt my stock steering box,new seals,gaskets and shims.pretty easy to do.then adjust backlash and your done.steers great and goes straight down the road.a factory service manuel has all the specs in it you will need.hope this helps.
If you don't want to go through the hassle of converting to the Toyota box, you can always rebuild your existing box. Of course, you can also install the stock power steering system as well...if you can find the parts. If you are experiencing large movements in the steering wheel before anything moves, your steering box may only require a steering gear lash adjustment. If the box is leaking, I would recommend a full rebuild.
On a side note, I see you are running radial tires. These trucks were originally built with skinny bias ply tires, which not only reduced steering resistance, but assisted the suspension. When radial tires are installed, more energy is transferred to the suspension, thus causing premature wear and a harsher ride. Additionally, most folks who convert to radials run a larger section width, which causes more resistance in the steering and wears the steering box out faster. If you elect to retain the radial tires, I would suggest a steering box upgrade or a thinner tire section width if you elect to retain the stock steering box.
Ive never seen a stock power steering available for these model trucks ???
If you don't want to go through the hassle of converting to the Toyota box, you can always rebuild your existing box. Of course, you can also install the stock power steering system as well...if you can find the parts. If you are experiencing large movements in the steering wheel before anything moves, your steering box may only require a steering gear lash adjustment. If the box is leaking, I would recommend a full rebuild.
On a side note, I see you are running radial tires. These trucks were originally built with skinny bias ply tires, which not only reduced steering resistance, but assisted the suspension. When radial tires are installed, more energy is transferred to the suspension, thus causing premature wear and a harsher ride. Additionally, most folks who convert to radials run a larger section width, which causes more resistance in the steering and wears the steering box out faster. If you elect to retain the radial tires, I would suggest a steering box upgrade or a thinner tire section width if you elect to retain the stock steering box.
This is exactly what I was going to say…well, sorta. I switched to slightly skinnier tires (215 from 235) and it made a big difference. Additionally, adding around 5psi to the tires up front also helped a lot. Granted, I have a steering box and front end that are in pretty good shape, but since then I have lost all desire to go to power steering (unless I'm parallel parking in the city).
I'm not in my 70's, but I'm guessing that your old man has driven a few cars without PS and knows some of the tricks to it. Power steering is really nice, but I bet you/he could live without it if you wanted to keep it stock-ish.
Good luck with the 58.. I've got one too. Still using the steering box that it came with.. a previous owner had already upgraded it to the next level ... Is it a 1 ton? box..It looks the same as the OEM 1/2 ton box until one puts them side by side. Anyway it holds up fine to the large front radials..So far anyway.
Oh just a suggestion, and one recommended by many others too, get yourself a copy of the "1957-63 Ford Truck Master Parts and AccessoriesCatalog" CD. Well worth the few dollars spent for all the info and illustrations in it. The disc is available and you can find suppliers of this and shop manuals online. I forget who I bought mine from now, but I am glad I did.
Here's a pic from this C/Dparts catalog, I bought it from hipoparts.com.
3552/3553: steering shaft and worm lower/upper cups & 3571: upper/lower bearings / 3576: sector shaft bushings / 3593: steering shaft and worm seal / 3591: sector shaft seal.
3581: housing gasket. Worn sector shaft bushings are usually what causes play in the steering wheel. ALL these parts are available NOS
Guys thank you for all the input. Unfortunately my dad passed away so it has been a slow start on working not the truck. It was "OUR" project so it is a little sad. I will get back to it and keep you all posted.
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The spark is very week so it is hard to start right now but when it starts it runs well. 
