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OK, now what..steering problem

1K views 9 replies 5 participants last post by  trees 
#1 ·
:pain: :pain: OK, working on the steering for my '46 Chevy Panel with a MII front end. Great, got freebie column, got shaft, got drop, got joints, lets put it togeather. WRONG!!!!!!:pain: Went to put joint (Borgeson) on splined shaft at the rack and the shaft is WAY to close to the crossmember. The only way I can see putting the joint on is to notch the crossmember. Somebody PLEASE tell me there is another way.:pain: :pain: :pain:

David
 
#3 ·
how close to the crossmember are we talking here? is the body of the joint hitting the crossmember or is it one of the set screws?
I had a problem with my set screws hitting the crossmember which forced me to dent the crossmember and then to shave the set screw to get my clearance. can you get some measurements or pictures to show how bad the problem is.

-guba
 
#4 ·
I'm just home for lunch from my second job now so I won't have time to get a pic but its so close that I can't even slip the joint on to the end of the shaft. The small end starts but then the larger body of the joint runs into the crossmember. I can get maybe 1/8" started on the shaft.

David
 
#5 · (Edited)
#6 ·
I think if you use the coupler mentioned by advanced design to extend the shaft you should be all right. Might have to put a small dent in the crossmember to make clearance for set screws (I'm not sure how big a coupler is). My dent was made with a 2lb mallet and an alignment punch. but I didn't have the engine in.
good luck
-guba
 
#7 ·
Bluepen,

My '35 uses a Heidts and it was somewhat tight in the area you photographed but perhaps not as tight as yours.

The coupler has an OD of 1 1/16 inches. A coupler might clear the upright on the MII and with a short piece of shaft allow you to sneak under the motor mount.

You might also want to check with the manufacturer of the MII unit for their ideas.
 
#8 ·
You can use a Sweet U joint, they are smaller diameter than the Borgeson. The needle bearings used are the same size, so they are just as strong, but the overall diameter is smaller.

You could also notch the cross member, and weld in a C shaped filler to get enough room.
 
#9 ·
An update

OK, heres an update on what I found or failed to find out about my problem. Talked to local Street Rod build shop, said the rack could be wrong. Got the kit from JPL called them and they could not figure out what to do, said call Flamming River, called and again, no idea's, rack is correct one said call Heidits. Called Heidits, talked to Tech Support asked me to send pics. Engineers baffled never seen problem before. Said sorry only way they know how to fix it is to notch the crossmember. Called Borgeson about coupler, dia. will still be to big and would not consider making a custom one smaller, not strong enough(can blame them for that, it would not be safe). All in all everyone has been very concerned and helpful, and I do mean they all really did try to help. So now I'm going to start setting everything up to notch the crossmember and there will be lots of photos and mesurements taken and sent to Heidits to help them out should someone else run into this problem, maybe they will put it in the instructions.

Thanks everyone very much for your help. I will keep you updated on what happens.

David
 
#10 ·
I almost embarrassed my self by answering without looking at your pics. The cross members I have installed were in 35-40 Fords and they required a notch for power racks, but not manual. After looking at your pics, your problem is more obvious than the solution.

If it were my problem, I would measure the angle between the shaft and the vertical leg of the cross member, then cut a piece of 1 1/2" black iron pipe on this angle, then cut it almost as long as the X member is wide. I would take that wedge shaped piece and lay the cut side along the X member and scribe the outline which would be my cut. I would remove the rack, and cut the X member inside the scribed line, then trim to fit my cut out pipe piece. When fitted, weld the sucker in, grind to suit and paint.

See, easier said than done, Nah easier done than said.

Trees
 
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