Manual steering to power

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mistreta

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Anyone gone from manual steering to power? Didn't matter 30 years ago, but now it sounds good.
I don't know what is needed, I know the power steering unit and pump, pulley, what about the steering shaft? and anything else I need to have. Any advise would be great. The car is a 70 Duster.

Thanks
 
I did the swap quite a few years ago. I think you on track. Pump w/bracketts, p.s gear box anf the shaft will need to be the shorter one for the p.s. I don't think I had to do anything else. The hard part is the install!
 
My 69 Barracuda has PS, and I wish it was manual. I have replaced EVERYTHING, and the steering is still a bit loose / sloppy. It likely won't be quite the increase in drive quality you are anticipating. I have been seriously considering buying a new Flaming River manual box for years. Except for parallel parking, I would prefer manual steering in an A-Body. That's just me.
 
Did my 70 Duster a couple years ago, your on the right track. Got a ps shaft from someone here, was easy to install in the 4 spd on the floor column. Exhaust manifold had to come off to get the box in. I put in a firm feel stage 2 box, a stage 3 wouldn't be bad either. Also I installed the bearing at the bottom of the column, saw it in here somewhere and it does feel better.
 
Watch, the earlier/ vs later boxes made a chance in the pitman spline size, about 73. If you get the wrong box spline, and want to use that box anyway, you'll need 4 pieces "which go together"

Center link, idler, pitman, and box spline to match pitman. Regardless of year, these parts must all match, IE all 72/ earlier, or 73 later "or about then."
 
67Dart273 said:
Watch, the earlier/ vs later boxes made a chance in the pitman spline size, about 73. If you get the wrong box spline, and want to use that box anyway, you'll need 4 pieces "which go together"

Center link, idler, pitman, and box spline to match pitman. Regardless of year, these parts must all match, IE all 72/ earlier, or 73 later "or about then."
Click to expand...

Thank you for the info
 
There is enough travel in the steering shaft to just shove it in (or pull it out) to make it fit either box.... Done it a few times.... My 75 Duster was a PS car.
 
I've gone out to go from power to manual.
I redrilled and put new nylon pins in.
But going in to shorten it would degrade the collapsible capabilities I would think.
God forbid a wreck and harpoon.
But a wreck in one of these cars, that is probably the least of worries.
 
It would be worth talking to Peter at Bergman Auto Craft. He sells the new Borgeson power steering kits. The borgeson box is significantly lighter and smaller (better header clearance!) than the original power steering, has a 14:1 ratio, and won't have the miserable overboosted feel of the original stuff. Plus, if you don't have any of the parts for the swap already by the time you're done sourcing all the OE stuff you'll probably have spent close to that much anyway.

The only other way I would do it is to buy a OE box rebuilt by FirmFeel, stage II at the minimum.
 
You have lots of choices on which way you can go with this but it would all depend on your budget, you could probably do the change over for little or nothing if you used all junk yard parts. I would look for a low mileage car for the steering box with the same size sector shaft as your current car and get all the parts off it to do the swap.

You could also get a rebuilt box from Firm Feel or Lares , I have used both and had no issues. The Lares box is probably a couple of hundred dollars cheaper in the end and could ordered through a local parts store which will save you shipping a core to Firm Feel.


PST also sells the boxes and a lot of the parts to do the install and they give members here a discount so this may also be a good option for you if you want a Borgeson box with the faster ratio.


Bergman Autocraft will also supply you any of the parts you need to do the Borgeson conversion all the way to a complete set up that includes all the pulleys, brackets, hoses and even the fluid. This will be the most likely be the most costly ( $ 1500 if you get everything ) but it is all new and will be the best performing stock type steering currently available.

Pick your poison...
 
Finding a low mileage car with all the right parts in the junk yard is getting nearly impossible, even here in California. Up until a few years ago that would have been an option, not anymore. Even then it would have been difficult to find a small sector box, as most of the cars that end up in the yard were the later 73+ cars. And of course you always run the very real risk that the steering box will need a rebuild anyway, so you just bought a core.
 
I personally would not bother with the junk yard parts as they are for the most part junk, but a lot of people here seem to have access to them. We also have no really good sources for parts here other than the guys I know in the hobby who have stuff the sell or trade, so I for the most part just order what I need and get it shipped to the door.
 
I've done pretty well with the junkyards here, I've pulled several sets of the FMJ spindles/disk brake set ups, the entire fold down seat conversion for my Duster, as well as a complete front clips from a '71 and a '72 Dart. Not to mention several C-body 8 3/4's and 11x2.5" drum brake sets, a '73 C-body disk brake conversion, and a bunch of stuff for my '71 Ford F100. And that's even missing out on some cars that other folks beat me to.

But about 2 years ago it was like the faucet turned off. I've seen one Scamp since then, and it was a /6 drum car and so badly rusted out there was nothing worth paying for on it. Even the FMJ and C-body cars seem to have dried up almost entirely. Before that it wasn't unusual to see an A-body or two a year, plus a few FMJ's or C-body's.
 
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