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59 Chevy truck power steering
Hi! This blog is about a power steering system that I picked for my 59 Chevy Apache. My truck has the stock frame, but I at least had the straight axle worked over by Sid@droppedaxles.com and installed Posie slider leaf springs also purchased from Sid.
There are a few choices to make when it comes to power steering, but I chose the Saginaw power steering kit from www.Brotherstrucks.com. Fortunately, it was on sale when I bought it and which was also a deciding reason. Price is always a factor!
The original steering gear obviously did the job, but today, power steering is necessary! at least for me it is! I drove my truck down the street and it did need a fair amount of effort to turn the steering wheel. Besides, I want power steering! ; ) and it’s just another challenge.
The arm in the middle of the pic below is the emergency brake, part of it. All this has to be removed, ugh! Then the frame has to be fixed. Ugly isn’t it?
This below par picture is of a Toyota power steering gear adapted to the A.D. trucks. I really know nothing of this gear, other than it was a choice. It’s actually a pretty good idea!
This is a rack and pinion setup, of which I read reviews that it gets a lot of bump steer, but I’ve never actually spoken with anyone that has this steering system in their truck.
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Moving forward, after the original steering gear was removed, the frame had to be fixed, and/or holes filled. Eventually I boxed (welded steel plates in) the front engine compartment frame.
Here below, the Saginaw gear is mounted to the outside of the frame as per instructions provided. When the truck is on the ground, the level of the drag link will be more level (hopefully), and not affect the pitman arm angle too much. I may have Sid@droppedAxles.com twist the pitman arm if necessary. Sid is a wonderful man to deal with!
A view of the gear a couple of feet further back. HOWEVER, there’s a problem that I’ve read about! Figures, after I’ve semi-permanently mounted the steering gear in! Note the drag link. The drag link in this kit is relatively short, producing possibly a bump steer issue! Bump steer is when you’re driving down the road, you hit a little bump and the steering when drastically goes in that direction, dangerous and irritating. Actually, the drag link need to be as close to the pivot point of the front leaf spring. So, I have to move the gear forward as much as possible, then have a new drag link made. Sid saves the day again! Yeah Sid!
One of the complaints of the Saginaw gear is the ease of steering. Many complain that it’s too easy to steer, so most go with a smaller steering wheel.
A small tab is required to be welded in place on the frame for the upper bolt of the steering gear. I had to un-weld (my technical term) this and move it! You know, it’s not like I take a pair of pliers and pull it off! ha ha!
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Now, I’ve moved the steering gear forward at least 6″s! I like it! It’s closer to the pivot point and the drag link will be longer, hopefully reducing the chance for bump steer!
I re-welded the little tab to the new place on the frame. I used my larger Systematics 175 mig welder and did a better weld.
Next, the steering column attachment
The next step is connecting the Ididit steering column to the steering gear. The kit came with a long double D shaft, but for the life in me, I couldn’t figure out how to make a bee line from the column to the gear. I would have had to make a hole in the fender apron for the DD shaft to go through, but I had a better idea and Shaun would be proud! ; )
I have these U-joints that the kit came with, it came with two, but I needed one more to do what I had in mind. Notice how I have the U-joints laid out. I’m going to use that little opening in the fender skirt to introduce the shaft to the gear!
Obviously under the fender, showing connection to the steering gear, But~~~~
I needed a bracket to make this work. So, I just happen to have some 1/4″ flat bar. I bent it in the desired spots, then welded the cracks where I bent the bar.
Using the supplied Heim end, I now have a stable way to get the DD to the steering gear and look neat as well!
Now, all finished, except for the boxing of the frame. The little bracket that I made is bolted to the frame. I welded nuts inside the frame, so one day If I need to remove the bracket, I can.
I’m especially happy that I will have plenty of room in my engine compartment!
As for boxing the frame, I wasn’t going to, but then what the heck! I had the plates, so I welded them into place, which will strengthen the frame and give a better look as well!
The end result of the Saginaw power steering gear combined with 2 leaf Posie springs, all new bushings, 6 degree caster shim and lastly front and rear sway bars on a stock frame: A main concern of most is the fear of Bumpsteer. My truck drives great and has no noticeable bumpsteer issues, and we have some really crappy roads. My only complaint would be a noticeable amount of steering movement at slower speed. My analogy would be like when taking an inboard boat out of the harbor till reaching open water. It’s not that bad! Just the best analogy I can think of. At freeway speeds, say 65mph, it drives and handles the way I would expect. One must remember, we drive mostly modern day cars and really shouldn’t compare to modern day cars or trucks. Overall I’m pleased, but would like to know how the rack n pinion setup may have worked in the case of a 55-59 Chevy truck. Guess I’ll never know!:(
I hope this has been informative and a little fun to read! I would think that whatever steering you should install in your truck, do research! There are a few choices to choose from. I chose this saginaw setup mainly because it was on sale at half price and seemed like a good upgrade. But as said, I’m pleased! 😉 your car and truck enthusiast friend, dne’
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Nov, 28, 2012
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did you have bump steer after you moved the the steering box forward as much as you could?
the rest of the project looked good to me.
Hi Dan! First off, thank you for popping in on my site and asking a question, I get a lot of lookers, but only a few questions~ In answer to your question, I have yet to drive the truck! I still need to get it to the muffler shop to have exhaust put on, plus right now I’m working on little things;rear bumper install, side glass single glass conversion, etc., and need to order a bunch of parts this morning. I did drive it out of the driveway to turn the truck around and put it back in the garage to work on the passenger side window. The steering was incredibly easy to steer; maybe a little too easy/effortless to turn the steering wheel, but much better than what it had! Do you have an old truck too? By your user name I see you must have model T? neat! 😉 dne’
Yes I have a T coupe street rod all done, I”m working on my wife’s 1956 step-side its drive-able right now but getting ready to install the same steering setup you have to make it easy for her to drive. I was just wondering about the bump steer, I only wont to do this once. I’m like you when it comes to money. I would love to put a IFS in or sub frame it. I’ve read a lot of information on this kind of set up, also read a lot of complaints about the bump steer if you don’t get it right. I thank you for your reply and your time to answer me.
Dan
Oh, I’d love to see your truck! I invite you to http://www.67-72chevytrucks.com! It’s not just 67-72 models, it’s all models(I don’t know where they came up with the name) I have a build thread on there too. There’s wealth of information and genuinely wonderful people that are geniuses and then me:)! So, check out the site before you install whatever steering/suspension you’d install! I love talking, writing, about these old cars n trucks! Anything I can help you with, if I can, I’d be more than happy to offer my opinion and maybe help you not make any mistakes, as you said, we only want to do this once!!!!;)
dne’
nice job..what saginaw steering box did you use? 805?
Thanks BMac! I bought the complete power steering conversion kit from BrothersTrucks.com. It was on sale at the time. It doesn’t specify in the advertisement which Saginaw gear it is. This is the link at brothers: http://www.brotherstrucks.com/prodinfo.asp?number=CPSK059 I can say this, the steering works great! I’ve been driving the truck more and more and I love it! Today I should be getting my new wheels and tires! Woohoo! Thanks for the nice response!! 😉 dne’
do you have any bumpsteer issues now that you moved the steering box so far forward?
Hi! Bmac, I’ve never really experienced bumpsteer~ I’ve read about it. That being said, actually driving the truck (as the truck has only been on the longest run of 10 miles recently) down some pretty crappy Houston roads, the truck held a steady line, never was the steering drawn abruptly from lines (unlevelness) in the road, or dips say that I know might make the truck dart towards that direction. I’m very pleased, but I have nothing to compare with. I can probably say for certain that someone with an IFS(independent front suspension), or front clip install, that my straight axle with power steering conversion probably handles like horribly. My only gripe is that at slower speeds, the truck seems to wander somewhat at slower speeds or that there is more steering required. I have 6 degree caster shims installed at the advice of Sid@droppedaxles.com. These trucks originally came with 3 degree. At faster speeds, say 50mph, it’s very stable with much less if any play in the steering. I guess I have to keep in mind that all my modern day cars are, you know, perfect,tight,responsive,calibrated with today’s suspension. So, getting into an old truck isn’t quite a fair comparison, nor comparing my 67 Mustang with power racknpower steering!
The question arises, did moving the steering gear forwardly as I did therefore lengthening the drag link make a difference? It makes sense that it would, but I’ll never know, except for the people that are experiencing bumpsteer with this system in the instructions original placment with a shorter draglink~ what suspension are they running, the variables are not endless, but something to consider. IF I had it to do over again and still kept the straight axle(which I think too many people are replacing), I would have strongly considered the rack and pinion system which bolts to the straight axle. Unfortunately the rack system hasn’t been out very long and there were few reviews, if any, to make a logical decision!:( The Rack was said to have horrible bumpsteer, but that was downing the rack before it had a chance to be included in the realm of Steering systems for the old trucks, but it sure looked like an easy installation!;)
The steering is very easy to turn,effortless. Some would say too easy, but there is a valve that can be installed in the power steering pump to give the steering more feel in the steering. However, I like it the way it is now! 😉
I invite you to the http://www.67-72Chevytrucks.com. There are many opinions on this, but most go the extra mile and install like I said earlier, IFS or front clips, others, etc. If you do join me on the truck site, you have to mention where you found me!;) Maybe I’ll get more followers!;)
If you should have any other questions, I’d be more than happy to offer what I know! or please join me on the site I mentioned above~ wonderful people are on there, genuine folks with the same interest as you and I in our endeavor to preserve our classic cars and trucks. Thanks for asking a very good question! I need to put closure to my steering blog by writing about this very subject! Thank you! 😉 dne’
hi.. what length steering column did you use?
Hi BMac, I believe it was a 32″ Ididit tilt column. I called Justin at Scottshotrods http://www.scottshotrods.com/, he knew the length that I should purchase. I also purchased the neutral safety switch for my Th350 tranny from him as well which I did make a blog on the installation with general information. If you’re working on a early model Chevy truck, you may want to go to the 67-72chevytrucks.com, there’s a wealth of information and great people with tons of information and advice.;) dne’
I just got a killer deal on a 59′ and am looking to do something like this, and disk brakes. I may have missed it, but did you keep the stock straight axle with this power steering, or did you switch too IFS
Hi Mike! ooooh, I’d love to see at picture of your “New” truck! Yes, I did keep the straight axle, but sent it off to Sid@droppedaxles.com to have him overhaul it and some other details. My truck came with the disc brake conversion and I highly suggest it! You may search on my site and search for the power steering gear setup that I used. There are other options available. Please check out a wonderful site~ http://www.67-72Chevytrucks.com, you’ll get more answers and ideas! If you join the site, tell the guys that I sent you! I don’t get anything for it, just the glamour!lol If you can, send me a pic to my email; Classiccarandtools@gmail.com
😉 dne’
Thank you for all this info. I am building a 1959 Chevy pickup. My uncle put it on a 1976 chevy 4×4 frame before I bought it now I am trying to figure out the steering. You have been the best help so far.I am feeling so much better. Again thank you
Ed, I’m happy to have helped a little, you may want to join the http://www.67-72chevytrucks.com for additional information, opinions and advice, or just what others may have done. I’m a member of that forum and the guys/gals are fantastic with lots of knowledge, plus it’d be a great place to show off your Chevy! If you do join the site, just mention that you found the site by my mention~ I don’t get anything, just I haven’t been on the site in a while:( I’d like to see your truck~ send me a pic;)
dne’