63 steering box

[2x57sedan]

hey all i just got back from the junkyard i got a steering box out of a 63 4door galaxie  thats probabbly been in the yard longer then ive been alive  but anywho , i have a question about the pitman arm  will my 57s arm work on the 63 box? (i had to cut the one on the box)  or will i have to get one from a 63? and are there any differences between a manual  arm and a power arm?  im hoping not  my 57 is manual and this 63 is power what im asking is are the splinesand thier diameter where the arm mounts on the shaft the same ?  im pretty sure the centerlink end is different between the two

i cut the steering column shaft right above the rag link so i have that also  so if im right i just measure my 57 column and cut it to where i can splice in the rag joint right?  and im good to go?

[JPotter57]

You'll have to get one from a later box, 57 is keyed different than `58 later boxes.  I tried that on my first `59 box swap, left the pitman in the boneyard, had to go back and get it later...(my pitman was already painted pretty, tried to save some time, lol).  By keyed, I mean the wide splines to line the pitman properly are male on the `57 pitman, and female on the later ones (or vice versa, I know they are reversed what they are supposed to be).  I have a `63 box on my Ford, and the pitman is a direct swap with the box, everything bolts right up. 

[2x57sedan]

thanks for the info , do you know  if the pitman arms are different between a manual /power setup  as far as mounting to the box

[canadian_ranchero]

looking at the parts books at the dealer installed power steering kits,they just supply a new pitman arm.so i would say they fit

[JPotter57]

You'll probably need to make some kind of mount for the floor, to hold the column tube. Remember, the 57 column was just a sleeve that clamped around the neck on the steering box, the shaft of the box was the actual stiffening agent there.  With a ragjoint, the `57 column wont have anything to keep the bottom steady, and will always feel like something is loose.  It will work if you make a bracket for the floor like a `63 Gal uses, though it will be smaller diameter than the Gal column.