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The Roadster Pickup Gets Steering - Point And ShootFrom the September, 2012 issue of Rod & Custom By Kev Elliott
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With space at a premium in my dual-purpose street/race Model A, I decided that keeping the steering assembly up and out of the way in the cowl would help. The idea being that with no column to contend with exiting the firewall, it would make pedal placement a lot simpler. Boy, what a packaging nightmare it turned out to be! Installing the Borgeson late-’60s Mopar steering box and Wilwood pedals last month was easy compared to routing the column to where it would be comfortable to drive. I used a universal joint and vibration damper joint, both from Borgeson, and ididit’s new Old School Straight Column, which is easily cut to any desired length from 6-36 inches. Mine ended up at that minimum length! Not only is this unit affordable, but takes all the headaches out of shortening a column. It’s perfect for installing in a regular manner, where the lower end will exit the bottom of the firewall and attach to a more commonly used steering box, such as a Vega version, but was equally adaptable for my off-the-wall application. The simple and neat steering wheel boss accepts any standard three-bolt wheel too, though I had to make life complicated for myself and adapt a Speedway Motors quick-release hub, as there’s no way I’ll get in and out of the car once finished otherwise. Follow the captions as I show you my solution to how I gained cowl steering without using an expensive race or sprint car steering box.  [1] It’s possible to notch...  [1] It’s possible to notch tubing using a grinder and a half-round file, but why bother when the job is so much easier using a tubing notcher? This one’s from Eastwood, and is used with a handheld electric drill and regular holesaws. Using a holesaw of the same diameter as the tubing (1 5/8 inch in our case) produces a perfect notch every time. The tool can also be set to cut the tubing at an angle.  [2] This length of tube will...  [2] This length of tube will be used to mount the steering box we temporarily mounted last month. I used 90-degree magnets to locate the tubing while I tack-welded it in place.  [3] The benefit of temporarily...  [3] The benefit of temporarily mounting the steering box is obvious here; it made fabricating the actual lower mounting bracket simple. This bracket will also mount one corner of the pedal assembly (arrow).  [4] There’s the finished bracket...  [4] There’s the finished bracket with the nuts welded in place. This will make any future disassembly so much easier in the confined space.  [5] With the box mounted (I...  [5] With the box mounted (I still have to mount the top) I could trim the cowl side panel for clearance. The assembly extends a little far out for my liking, but it’s necessary for the tie-rod end on the draglink to mount from behind the Pitman arm and still clear the bodywork. I’ll make a cover for this.  [6] Here’s the view from the...  [6] Here’s the view from the inside. With a Borgeson vibration damper and universal joint in place on the steering box shaft, I could now install the steering column. These joints have maximum operating angles and will bind if these are exceeded, so work within their design parameters. Do not be tempted to modify them at all!  [7] Before I started to install...  [7] Before I started to install the column, I mocked up the rear cab panel and seats (the latter from Speedway Motors) in order to establish exactly where I wanted the steering wheel to be. A Model A roadster pickup is very small, and every available extra spare inch was needed to provide a comfortable driving position.  [8] A short length of double-D...  [8] A short length of double-D shaft was required to join the damper to the U-joint, which I cut using a cutoff wheel in a grinder. Remember to always use eye protection, as well as a shield and gloves! Ahem!  [9] The vibration damper has...  [9] The vibration damper has a blind hole for the shaft at this end, but the U-joint doesn’t. Push the shaft into the U-joint too far and it’ll cause it to bind as it operates, so only push it in so it doesn’t protrude from the back side of the hole.  [10] I’d already sourced a...  [10] I’d already sourced a steering column from ididit for this project before it morphed into a semi race car. It’s their new Old School Straight Steering Column, which is supplied 36 inches in length, but can be shortened to as little as 6 inches. It has a standard three-bolt steering wheel mounting flange and comes in a paintable steel finish.  [11] Here’s the lower end...  [11] Here’s the lower end of the column. The shaft is a double-D for its entire length, held in place with this spring washer and collar with a set screw. The lower bearing is not installed fully, making it simple to remove it to shorten the column.  [12] With the lower end of...  [12] With the lower end of the column disassembled, here are the component parts.  [13] I sourced a 1 1/2-inch...  [13] I sourced a 1 1/2-inch internal diameter collar from my local tool supply house to use as an upper column mount, as you’ll see later, but it came in handy to make the outer column for a perfectly square cut.  [14] I shortened the column...  [14] I shortened the column to the minimum recommended length, 6 inches. This is what it looked like prior to reassembly.  [15] I like to drill the double-D...  [15] I like to drill the double-D shaft just slightly to provide a countersink for the set screw to locate in. Once the set screw is installed, even if it loosens slightly, the shaft cannot slide out. There’s no danger of this in this particular installation, but in steering linkages with multiple joints, it can happen.  [16] The collar I bought fit...  [16] The collar I bought fit so snug it wouldn’t slide over the bearings ididit uses at each end of the column, so I installed the collar, then used a press to install the lower bearing for the final time. This can be fitted using a large socket and hammer, but seeing as we have a press in out tech center, I made use of it. The old alternator pulley was used in order to press on the outer bearing race and not the inner.  [17] The finished, shortened,...  [17] The finished, shortened, column. It’s ridiculously short, but had to be in order to fit the U-joint yet still mount the steering wheel sufficiently far forward. It was simple in the extreme to shorten though, and made the job so much easier than using a length of shaft, a couple of heim joints for support, and machining a steering wheel hub to suit.  [18] Depending on your needs...  [18] Depending on your needs or application, ididit can supply column drops in a number of sizes.  [19] With the column mocked...  [19] With the column mocked up, it transpired I’d need a longer column drop than those I’d ordered!  [20] As I said, I ordered...  [20] As I said, I ordered the ididit column prior to the car’s change in direction, and will definitely need a quick-release steering wheel in order to get in and out of the car with a rollcage in place. Speedway Motors sell a number of quick-release hubs. I selected this splined version.  [21] You may wonder what the...  [21] You may wonder what the large washer was for in the previous picture. The shaft that comes with the hub is designed to be welded to the top of a steering column, but I wanted to retain the three-bolt hub on the ididit column, so I bought the large washer to fabricate a flange to bolt the hub to the column. What do you do when you need to open up a large hole and don’t have a lathe? Use a taper reamer in a drill press!  [22] With the center hole...  [22] With the center hole opened up so the washer was a tight fit on the splined shaft, I drilled the washer to fit a standard three-bolt steering wheel.  [23] With the round section...  [23] With the round section of shaft cut off so it fit part way through the washer, I used the press again to fit the two parts together (hence the tight tolerance when reaming). Using the press kept both parts “square” to each other.  [24] The washer was then MIG-welded...  [24] The washer was then MIG-welded to the shaft on the back side, and the weld ground flush. This way no welds are visible once it’s installed.  [25] Another test-fit, and...  [25] Another test-fit, and everything was good, so I could continue with mounting the column.  [26] While ididit makes drops...  [26] While ididit makes drops in various lengths, I wanted to complete this install, so I used the upper and lower portions of an ididit drop, making my own centerpiece in the style of the ididit version. With this made, and a couple of fabricated tabs, the lower column support was easy.  [27] A column requires an...  [27] A column requires an upper and lower mount to be secure though, so I went back to the tool supply house and grabbed four 5/16-24 heim joints and a length of 3/8-inch DOM tubing to make a couple of strut supports. The tubing was drilled out slightly for a 5/16-inch tap and threaded to accept the heim joints.  [28] That collar you saw earlier...  [28] That collar you saw earlier will mount the upper end of the column. I used a couple of Allen bolts with a 5/16-inch shoulder, cut the heads down, and used up a favor at Circle City Hot Rods, where owner Jimmy White TIG-welded them in place for me. You can also see the finished quick-release shaft here, too.  [29] Using pre-fabricated...  [29] Using pre-fabricated brackets from an industrial metal supply house, the struts were secured to the cowl hoop. The column is now secure and sturdy.  [30] The finished installation,...  [30] The finished installation, though all final welding will be done at one time once the chassis/’cage structure is complete.
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