Spent some time reading.........now some questions

[Zapato]

Last few days spent some time reading suspension and steering posts and after that ended up with a few questions, would appreciate some honest answers/opinions.

1st one is one I've asked before.
  Before Rick Wurth what was the hot set-up for steering improvement on a 57 other than a 58 box.

  Besides looking better what is the advantage to the front a-arms from Gearheads? And if you've used them  what did you gain in improvement? Why did you use them in the first place? And how much work {hassle} were they to use?

  Satisfaction with Gearheads? Didn't find much good to be said on their steering box. How about their other products?

  Granada brake swaps, has anyone built an adaptor plate to mount late model ball joint and eliminated having to ream out spindle?

  Last and most important. If you've done A rack & pinion upgrade other than Wurth's and it worked great why haven't you posted a full-on tech article with build photos, part numbers etc...?


     I'm staring to feel a bit like Felix searching for answers





   

[wolfpupsdad]

before wurth-it came around , not sure there was anything out there other then the 58 box swap, and maybe a few back yard rack swaps.
but don't under estimate the 58 box.
theonly advantage to a 605 box swap in my mind is the power steering is in the box and not in a slave cylinder appling preesure to the drag link. and i'm not convienced  gearhead is the way to go on that subject.
i've heard of a couple of guys up in north carolina putting together a rack and pinion set up for our beloved 57 but so far all i've come up with is rumors, no names yet.
aint nuttin wrong with a 57 ford front end and it's steering , unless you've got a worn out front end like i had and need to rebuild it from the ground up. thats the only reason i picked going to therack set up.

[Zapato]

wolf, gotta thank you for your reply can't believe over 47 Ford guys have read that post and only you responded. Going to try a similar post on the HAMB and see what info I get, the're not so shy over there.

Zap

[wolfpupsdad]

  well theres a great bunch of folks here to. but i think you'll find they aint shy, if they haven't got anything to add or nothing to say on a subject they don't confuse the issue.
  theres a ton of info in these guys, not alot of info out there that hasn't been addressed already in the threads on this subject that WE know of.
if ya find more , feel free to bring it back and inform us.
bill

[Zapato]

Bill,

Not trying to cause any animosity, just can't hardly believe that in the 30 years I spent away from 57 fords that someone hasn't figured out more than one way to improve a 57 ford steering. While I have to agree that a 58 box is vastly superior its still 50 year old technology. And Rick Wurth couldn't have kept so busy if there wasn't a need for improvement. There's got to be someone around here who had to have used something different that really worked great. Maybe something as bizarre as a Toyota truck box. And that guy if he really loves 57s is probably plugged in here and that's the guy I want to hear from just as much as the guy who tried something and it failed miserably. The answer is here just waiting to find it.

Zap

[wolfpupsdad]

lol,  hear ya. 2 things come to mind. 1- years ago at the portland international hot rod show i saw a fatman mustang 2 kit modified to fit a 57 300. looked cool and worked problem at that time was no one made a hub bigger then the original and ya had to redrill them yourself, now that has changed might look into that.
2- amc pacer, i've used that front end on a 56 studie project i had and on a 47 chevy ( sorry i said a C word). the pacer front end is hard to getarts for anymore but the make the swap easy. i used the pacer K-member everything on the pacer hooks up to it. then lay your frame rails into the pacer saddle and weld it in place. rack and pinion with disc brakes and ford bolt pattern.
just a couple of ideas to kick around.

[Zapato]

now that is exactly what I'm talking about, pacer parts. Hoe was the wheelbase? wider/narrower? Any pictures? All years the same or is one year better than others?

[wolfpupsdad]

 i got a few pics around here somewhere of the stude project, as memory serves me the pacer was 1 inch wider then the original stude track which was no big deal. but you'll have to go finde one and measure it up for a 57 ford.
again as memory serves me , ALL pacers had the same front ends under em. and while your measuring take a good look at how they made the sub frames in em and you'll see how easy they are to mate up. the whole steering, brakes A arms are all connected to the K-member sub frame rails set on perches and welded in. cut and clean up the old frame perches and they make a neat set up. you'll see what i'm talking about when ya find one to measure up off from.

[Zapato]

 

Thanks, for the memory jog, Remember reading about Pacer swaps into old trucks early 80s, Seem to even remember one where they cut it in half removed a bit out of the center and stuck it in a 40 ford pickup.

[DanTudor57]

That Toyota gear box rang a bell. I had some details about that...long ago.

I know someone did it, and I even looked at some of those steering setups when I was looking for improvement. Dropped the idea to keep the car American.

I'll look on my archives for a name..

[Zapato]

Thanks! I usually don't start a project till I gather as much information and then major parts. Works better for me as it helps me stay focused. Which is why I keep asking questions and researching on many different sites. Been waiting to build another 57 since my last was sold while I was on my U.S. sponsored senior trip to South East Asia. And I will build this one right the first time if at all possible.

[JPotter57]

I'm using a `63 Galaxie XL box and column on this `57.  The box has a rag joint instead of a solid rod, but its a bolt in swap...should have it ready for pictures in a few days.  It should be here today....