Manual Steering to PS Conversion

[bwc302]

Through reading some of the articles about putting a PS column in a 67 - 72, I saw comments in regards to the PS Firewall Mounting Bracket and that the mounting is approximately 1 inch higher. Does that mean it sits about 1 inch higher when bolted in or that new mounting holes will need to be drilled about 1 inch higher for it to mount correctly?

Thanks,

Bobby

[FORDification]

I don't know where you read that, but the firewall bracket shouldn't move at all. The column goes through the firewall in the exact same place, though because the Saginaw PS box is 2" longer than a Bendix PS or manual steering box, it does go through the firewall at a slightly different angle, so when installing a power steering column with a Saginaw box you need to use the appropriate bracket for the firewall. The bracket is marked for use with power steering.

[bwc302]

So when using the correct firewall mounting bracket, it will change the geometry of the column and raise the angle about 1" higher?

Here is the text on the powersteering.htm I mentioned.

The correct piece should even say 'POWER STEERING' right on the part and mounts approximately an inch higher.

Thanks for your help and great site. I am learning alot just reading the pages and the forum.

Bobby

[FORDification]

You're right, the wording is a little confusing...I'll correct that right now. Sorry about that.

What I meant is that the bracket is in the same spot, but it holds the column up about an inch higher than the manual-steering bracket. Take a look at the following comparison photo. You can see that while the bolt holes for the PS bracket are in the same place, the cradle for the column is a bit higher than that for the manual-steering bracket. As long as you have the correct PS bracket, no mods are necessary here.

[bwc302]

Great, that is what I thought based upon the photo's, but wanted to make 100%.

I appreciate the information.

Bobby