All I needed to shorten was the shaft itself since this was originally a floor shift model. The column housing was good as is.
Once the column was was and the new box installed, all I had to do was put the column back in place up against the coupler, then measure the distance between the column mounting bolts under the dash and to the column flange holes. In this case it was 3 inches.
So, I made my marks, and cut the shaft, leaving enough of the shaft on the flange so that I could chuck it up in the lathe and bore the shaft out of the flange.
The flange was then slipped back onto the shaft and the whole enchilada put back in the truck for fit.
Once the fit was confirmed, I had about 3/4" left poking through the flange. I trimmed that off, put the column back in one more time to clock it so the steering wheel would be straight, then took the whole thing apart, and took the shaft out of the column housing to weld the flange on. I TIG'd that at the end of the shaft all the way around, and drilled a hole in through the side of the flange to do a rosette weld....just to be sure.
At any rate, there was just enough room on the shaft to not have to shorten the housing itself.

Column shift cars on the other hand, require the column housing to be shortened as well as the shift tubes. Quite a bit more work, but not super complicated with the right equipment

 

Here's a before and after of the steering shaft, although the "before" shot is not quite as up close. You can still see a good length of shaft coming out of the column housing

 

Mikey, your truck turned out great. With all the moving and everything I haven't been on here much, and the last time I looked at your updates you were just getting the radio box in, so quite a bit of progress since then. I love the paint, or rather the pinstripe job, old school cool, and the bucket seats are something I might have to look into. This bench hurts if I go much farther than to work. About the wind noise. I'm convinced that a good deal of it comes from the drip rail, and am thinking that when I do the rust repair on my Unibody in that area of shaving it off.
when I was at the body shop we did a roof replacement on a slick and I grabbed a section from above the windshield to open up and see what was going on up there. It's a lot. What do you think about shaving it? Doable for a good welder/fabricator?
Congrats again on your truck, you nailed it.

 

Thanks Dan!
I think you may be right on with regards to the drip rail. At my age, that's a bit more metal work than I want to get into. That, plus this is no my daily driver. I sold my '12 Ram several months ago. So beside wifey's car, all I have is Ol' Furd and my Harley.

The herd has been thinned!

Oh, update.....
Power steering works. One finger, lock to lock. Guess I need a Brodie **** now. Even tho I don't do brodies anymore!

 

Try putting some wide painters tape over the gap between the front door glass area and the windshield, then have someone tape you in on your side, or try to do it yourself. That area is where the most noise comes from on my '87.

These older Fords have a pretty wide, not so even gap between the windshield and door.

 

That is certainly true!
I've measured as close as 1/4" to as wide as 7/8"
I reckon somebody needs to make variable thickness weatherstrip!

 

When I did the tape thing the door to A pillar was a big source of wind noise.
Then the top of the door.
Just added new weatherstripping but haven driven the truck yet.

 

McMaster Carr has some hollow "D" shaped weatherstrip in various thicknesses, with an adhesive strip.
I think I'll get a few lengths in different thicknesses and see what can be done in that area.

Good tips fellers!

 

I bought some D shaped hollow weatherstripping like Mikey mentioned at Ace Hardware so you might save some shipping.

 

Well, I got the Ol' Furd's power steering conversion finished....I think.
I can't say I'm pleased with the result. I used all new components A to Z. Saginaw box, Saginaw type 2 pump.
Maybe it just needs to get all the air worked out....I don't know. It has some tight spots, particularly from the neutral or "straight" position.
I've cycled it lock to lock a dozen times with the wheels off the ground. It doesn't make noise, it doesn't leak, nor does it puke fluid out.

A lot of stuff I've read says it takes a bit of time, some stuff says vacuum bleeding is necessary, and one post said that the guy changed boxes 5 times and finally found that bleeding it required having the box unmounted and tipped on end. But the was a 78-79 unit with fluid fittings under the unit rather on top.

So, anyone who has done the conversion, what was your experience?

 

Looking at your pictures that looks like a Ford box and not a Saginaw but no matter it sounds like the sector adjustment is a little too tight. Did you check the over center torque before you installed it? I have rebuilt both Ford and Saginaw boxes and never had a problem bleeding them. But I always filled the housing with fluid before I put the sector shaft cover on. If the mesh load is too tight on the sector it can totally lock up when it gets hot. When you bleed it, you never turn it lock to lock. If you don't have a chassis manual that covers that box let me know and I will scan a page from one of mine. Any 70's manual car or truck covers both those boxes since the difference in them is just the length of the sector shaft.

 

Thanks. No, I didn't check the over center torque. I pretty much just followed installation instructions from the supplier. Most of it had to do with making sure the system was clean.
Then turning the motor over to get fluid pumped through, refilling the reservoir until it stay full, followed by turning the steering wheel lock to lock with no weight on the wheels.
I have no manual.

 

I will get a manual and scan the part on checking the over center mesh load. You are going to need a beam type torque wrench that will read accurately in the 5-50 inch pound range. May take a minute or two.

 

Here is a page from the 72-car manual the procedure is exactly the same for cars and trucks. Reason I picked the car manual is it is only 3/4 inch thick, and the truck manual is 2-1/2 inches thick probably because they didn't put 10 speed Fullers and tandem axles in cars.
If it happens that the mesh load is too tight you will need to back off the adjuster screw then go under the truck and bump the sector shaft up with a rubber hammer. Reason is the teeth on the sector shaft are tapered and the father down they are pushed by the adjusting screw the tighter they engage the piston, and the sector may or may not move up when you loosen the screw without giving it a little bump.

 

I'll give that go today. Thanks!