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I found a grill 65 miles from me. It looked like it had been in a shed fire on one end of it. Took a closer look and it looks like someone was using a small propane torch to heat the top layer of an enamel paint job someone had done. It's not heat warped.
Today I have been able to put my hands on one part of this truck project. The steering column.
Please ignore the other Ford column in the picture
If your special column bolts are missing you can make copies out of 5/16" carriage bolts. Grind down one side to lock in to the lower horseshoe shaped bracket. The original were fine thread bolts
Column in the cab. I used a little piece of duct tape to keep the upper horseshoe bracket from sliding down during assembly. A hose clamp will work too. Turns out that I had to use a hose clamp to keep the column from sliding down in the bracket. there must have been a rubber piece in the bracket to tighten it up.
I know original type turn signal switches are available however, I'm looking at using a switch from a 1968 Mustang with the Emergency Flasher switch. There appears to be room and would require that one hole on the bottom of the bell needs enlarged and make a notch for the E flasher pull out button
Click here to see Rubber piece for a different vehicle
Now I'm to the point that I need another measurement before I can cut the column housing. Does anyone know OTTOTH (off the top of their head) know how much the shaft sticks past the bell? Dirk will need to know this too.
Well, it's 5:30 central and I need to go home and light the grill. I'm chucked up in the chop saw and I'm fairly sure that the shaft sticks out at the top about an inch. If anyone knows how much, I'm going to wait until morning to do the cut. The shifter rod will need shortened too. When I took the bottom apart, it had grease from 1954. It smelled different than now...
I know that many of you are at car shows and such. CTC 2022 is well underway right at this moment. Tomorrow morning I'm cutting the tube based on the steering shaft length that I have. I'm cutting the tube where the Double D, "DD" end will stick out an inch at the bottom and the Ford steering wheel splined end of the shaft will stick out of the top one inch. Worst case would be to have to take a little more off of the bottom of the tube which would be a little more time to cut and dress a second time. If I had started with an entirely stock set-up installed, I would have had all of the measurements figured out off of that. Another member has the same issue as I do and does not have a stock steering box that came with his project. All will work out in the end.
I cut the column tube 34". The shaft is 36".
The shifter rod has to be shortened too, however I'm not going to cut off the same amount. I'm taking a little less off of it. The bottom shifter bracket will also serve as the clamp to keep the bearing in the bottom of the column instead of using the separate clamp.
There is a factory slug inside the hollow tube that has to be reused. I successfully cut around the shifter tube and removed it.
Slug
Here is file photo of the "DD" type cut that I'm having the Machinist cut on the bottom of the steering shaft. It is still at the Machinist.
I'm going to need to make some sort of bracket assembly for the 1954 shifter attach to the 4R70W shift cable. I've looked at a couple of kits and may have to resort to one of them. One idea is using a connecting rod out of a small engine as the long bracket to fasten around the column tube. Do any of you small engine or motorcycle engine guys know of a connecting rod that would have a 1.5" hole on the end that attaches to the crank? Just an idea that came up. Picture below is of an Ididit kit. They make quality stuff.
Steering Column cont:
Today I got the steering shaft back today. Machining seems to cost more than I remember. No Olive Garden this Friday night. The bottom end now been cut to"DD". Two universal joints and a piece of steering shaft will get it down to the R&P.
The collar is temporary until the u-joint arrives.
The steering universal joint will be snugged up to the bottom column and act as a retainer too.
I may have to shorten the column tube another 1/4". I want the shaft to bottom out in the u-joint.
Column back together for now until I come back around to it to finish fitting the turn signal switch and install the rest of the steering from the cab to the chassis.
Rezvani's Latest Post-Apocalytic Monster Is a Ford F-150 Raptor Underneath
Slideshow: Called the Fortress, the 850-horsepower pickup combines Raptor underpinnings with military-inspired features, survival equipment, and a starting price of $285,000.
