I have a 66 F100 with a 300-i6 that has a 3 speed and manual steering. I would like to add power steering without changing the entire front-end out. I have seen kits for chevy's but not F100s - What is the best way to do this?

any advice is appreciated - thanks

 

Just finishing a p/s and disc brake swap on my 66 F100 w/240 i6. There is some useful info to be found by using the search function on this forum. There are several things to consider before doing a swap such as, do you have an auto tranny or a manual? If a manual, is it on the column or on the floor? 2wd or 4wd? The parts are readily available in most junkyards for this swap. Try to find a donor truck, 65-79 that has the complete set up with the same engine style and transmission as yours. This will save you a lot of hunting parts off of different trucks. The p/s gear is longer than a manual unit and uses a shorter steering column. The column from the donor truck will need to be used or your column modified. The exception to this is the bendix p/s gear used in some early trucks that is the same basic length as a manual unit. Look through some of the other posts and get some more info. There's lots of good stuff here from people with more experience than me but if you like , drop me an e-mail and I'll tell you what I know.



cajunbull61


#17 Dewalt Ford rocks

 

Brian: Welcome to FTE! I did the PS swap on my '66 F-100 with 3 speed on the tree, and 352 V-8 this past summer. Do a search for my user name for more details. Or, drop me an e-mail at banjopicker66 at hotmail dot you know what.

 

I just did mine this year to. 360 4speed manual steering to power steering
This website is a god send for this type of information. I used a Ford
power steering box and had to shave down the shock tower. I believe if
I had used a bendix unit it woul have fit. use the sector shaft from your
donor truck and the length should work for your existing steering column
I think mine is off by about 1/4" i think the difference is easily absorbed
by the soft link between the steering box and the sector shaft.
the only thing is the threaded end would have to be cut off there is an
unthreaded nub on the end of the shaft that needs to be shaved off
if you are using the stock steering wheel. I used an aftermarked one
so that it was smaller. hope this helps.

 

Cory, Why did you have to shave the shock tower?
Things do work better when using a ps FE engine perch, as it is tilted forward.

just curious

John

 

I did not change the perch. I had read in a previous posting on here that it could happen. I only had to shave out about 1/4" in a small area. It fits ok and I have no steering or alignment issues. it only added an extra hour to the job.

 

Just a $ saving tip. I just puller a power steering gear box from a 65 F250 and bolted it right into my 65 F100. No hassle swap. I then purchased a remanufactured eaton pump with bracket for around $75. Bolted it in and ran 2 new lines and I was finished. Total cost was right around the $125 range. online auctions are a good bet and so are wrecking yards. Good luck!

Aaron

 

thanks everyone for your help, I will look into these. This truck has been in my family since it was new, and has sat around for a while - now that I have it, I'm just now getting into adding some modern convienences.

.....Brian