more problems
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Junior User
Joined: Nov 2007
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From: Bonne Terre,Mo 63628
more problems
Hey everybody, i am glad this site is still here, i have been real busy trying to put headers ( and this is done, did a nice job if i say so myself.) on the beast the 68 f250 camper special 2wd. Now i am trying to shorten the steering column so it will fit the new box and not stick up to far in the cab, what lessen i am getting here!! I have sent e-mails to the guy that told me how to do this, no answer yet. So if i had this to do over, what would you guys tell me to do so i can get power steering in this beast?. As far as i know it never had it.
Senior User
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 398
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From: london, ontario
when i did mine i went aftermarket. i wanted tilt. billet spec has a nice one. i ended up going with udidit and got crome, tilt, and hazards on the column. was alot of money but worth it. made the switch to power alot easier. 3 bolts on the frame and then the bottom. because my truck is a serp belt setup i took a pump off of a 88 and had my hoses custom made. took a while but was only $50. been running fine for almost a year.
gl
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Hotshot
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 12,170
Likes: 5
From: The hills of No. Calif.
I assume you have swapped in the Ford/Saginaw P/S box, since its the one requiring a shorter column. When I swapped over to a Ford/Saginaw box on my '68 I used the stock column housing and swapped the shaft inside with the shorter shaft from the '72 I got the box out of. To shorten the shaft itself would require cutting and welding, not something you want to do on a steering component unless you're an experienced welder.
You should be able to use the shaft out of any '67-'79 2wd truck with a Ford/Saginaw box. If you swap out the whole column, be aware that there were differences in the wiring connections in later years. '67-'69 are the same, but the connecter was changed in '70 and again in '73. To change the entire turn signal switch means removing the connector from the harness so that the wires can fit through the column...a bit of a PITA. So the easiest direct swap for a column is a '67-69 with the Ford/Saginaw box.
You should be able to use the shaft out of any '67-'79 2wd truck with a Ford/Saginaw box. If you swap out the whole column, be aware that there were differences in the wiring connections in later years. '67-'69 are the same, but the connecter was changed in '70 and again in '73. To change the entire turn signal switch means removing the connector from the harness so that the wires can fit through the column...a bit of a PITA. So the easiest direct swap for a column is a '67-69 with the Ford/Saginaw box.
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Junior User
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 69
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From: Bonne Terre,Mo 63628
Thanks tiger
Finally someone with a 68 too!!!. That's cool. You say you used the stock column housing?, unmodified? And which shift tube did you use, 68 or 72. The part where how to shorten your manual-steering, i have done all that, there measurements were off but i think i can fix that. I have more questions, about the pump and brkt. so next time OK? Thank you very much for answering, this has really turned to a can of worms, i am doing a lot of things at once to the truck so please bear with me.
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Junior User
Joined: Nov 2007
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From: Bonne Terre,Mo 63628
sorry tiger
I forgot to mention i weld for a living, so no problems there, add or subtract i can do it 10 times if i want, and yes to i have put the Saginaw in, i don 't know what year it is though, but it fit right in, no problems.
Hotshot
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 12,170
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From: The hills of No. Calif.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 1,369
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From: Gainesville, GA
I did what you are trying to do many(15) years ago. I also have a '68 F250 Camper Special. For years I looked in my local pick your parts junk yards for a complete power steering model truck and finally found one. Since I put in a 460 engine and transmission in mine all I needed was the column and the steering box. The change over was straight forward with the shorter column from the power steering model. I used the pump and bracket from the 460 but had to make hoses. The wheel was from the original column and I cut and spliced the wires where they came out near the floor. As I remember the whole thing came from a 71 or 72. I wished I'd have gotten the disk brakes also.
