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Old 09-10-2017, 07:35 PM   #5
'68OrangeSunshine
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Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Tucson, AZ USA
Posts: 7,622
Re: 67 Power steering install

I tried putting a P/S unit from a '69 truck on my '67 Chevy K/10 Suburban w/454. The frame was not dimpled, I used nuts as 1/2'' spacers. The problem was that the '67 K/10 [4WD] had a manual steering sector that ran fore-and-aft, rather than left-and-right, like on later model trucks.
The original draglink was shortened to fit the new configuration, but I had several issues.
One, the P/S box was too strong and kept tearing out of the frame mounts and shearing grade 8 bolts.
Two, the steering geometry was bad. I didn't get full sweep anymore. It had more right than left. And to turn left for a U Turn, I had to illegally start from the middle lane and pull around, coming into the curb lane [not the slow lane] as it pulled around. [The Sub has a 127'' wheel base.]

I decided to patch up the old manual steering box with JB Weld and go back to the Armstrong System, but here, I'd shot myself in the foot by cutting on the original one-piece draglink. Steering geometry was still bad, but not as bad as before. So don't burn your bridges behind you. Save as much of the original set up as you can so you can restore it when the power steering experiment fails.

Best solution for a 4WD would be to swap on a '69 or later, open-knuckle Dana 44 axle which is set up for Power Steering and front disc brakes. An unrelated engine fire downed the Sub, so I never pursued the project further, and it's been sitting ever since.
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Last edited by '68OrangeSunshine; 09-10-2017 at 07:42 PM.
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