i have a 1939 chevy truck , i am installing a firewall mount 11 inch power brake booster , i have 4 wheel disc brakes , a chevy 350 sb . with this i would like to add a hydraulic clutch master cylinder . with the limited space , is there a place to mount this and a clutch pedal design ?
secondly , any ideas for electric power steering for this truck ? thank you new information , this truck is a 1.5 ton flatbed , weight is 8000 lbs . rear duallys all 20 inch tires
Last edited by manymiles; 09/13/20231:33 AM. Reason: more truck information
How handy are you and how much do you care about stock appearance?
Several places (such as wilwood) make a combination clutch/brake pedal assembly with master cylinders for each mounted on the firewall. They don't look original in the cab, but they are nice and compact.
For power steering, have you seen the inline electric power steering systems from a buick or a prius? User Coilover here has a hot rod shop and is a pretty big fan of them.
In other news, Welcome! Are you more on the east or west side of Washington?
Make a couple more posts so you have access to the Private Message function of the forum and contact "Coilover" about the electric power steering conversion. Evan runs a hotrod shop in Texas, and he's forgotten more about electric steering systems than most of us will ever know. I think they used to use Saturn electric steering gears, but I believe they have switched to Prius units now. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
The saturn, corolla, and prius boxes are all about the same for installation, but have slightly different electronic hookups.
As far as adding a hydraulic clutch, you could use a system like this that puts the master cylinder under the dash and leave your existing brake booster setup alone: Reverse Swing Clutch Pedal
You would probably want to swap out the pedal for something that looked more like your throttle and brake pedals, but it would not be too hard to fab something up for that.
Last edited by Fibonachu; 09/09/20234:46 PM. Reason: Added clutch info
Some people get stuck in a mind set and end up fighting a no room situation. A remote mounted booster and m-c can be ANYWHERE, even on a trailer being pulled behind if you have long enough hoses. The 57 T-Bird first made me aware of this as they have a small manual cylinder in the conventional location with a line to a slave cylinder/booster that is to the left of the radiator. We have put trunk mounted units is several late 30's and especially 1940 Fords where automatic trans and big bell housings cause space problems. The Corolla/Prius set up take just two wires, a 16g to power up the controller and a 10g for 12v supply. Do a search for "electric p/s for a Susuki Samari" and it is so simple Ray Charles could do it.
Evan, that "remote brake booster" situation sounds a lot like a Hydrovac. Maybe the engineers in the early 1950's who came up with that system on the big rigs didn't just fall off Lil' Abner's turnip wagon after all! Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
I installed an S10 pedal assembly and brake booster/master cylinder in my '50 3600 then added a hydraulic clutch master cylinder tucked in next to the brake booster. I needed to be a little creative to get the clutch master to pedal arrangement but I think it will work (project is not functional yet).
with the electric power steering . would not a stronger electric power steering motor be needed instead of a Prius electric power steering ? with 20 inch wheels and 8000 pounds of weight , i am wondering if that set up would be strong enough
Can you give us some more information on the truck you are working on? From your initial post, I was assuming a "normal" 1/2 ton equivalent that would be much smaller/lighter than you are describing here.
If this is a big bolt, then a lot of answers can be different.
Hopefully I'll be able to answer the extra weight question after the doctors put up their knives. Our forklift has a sbc engine and a 10,000# counter weight both on the rear steer axle. I'm using a 2009 Corrola EPS unit (same as Prius). Stay tuned, if I'm on the right side of the grass I'll give you an update.
Hopefully I'll be able to answer the extra weight question after the doctors put up their knives. Our forklift has a sbc engine and a 10,000# counter weight both on the rear steer axle. I'm using a 2009 Corrola EPS unit (same as Prius). Stay tuned, if I'm on the right side of the grass I'll give you an update.
Do you have an ETA on that project? I think you mentioned it once before.
i am trying to find some creative brake and clutch pedal designs that will not interfere with electric power steering . for my 1939 chevy 1,5 ton truck this is all in the planning stage .
How is the unit secured to the cab, and how does it attach to the original steering shaft and mast at both ends? I can't wrap my head around the inherent wonkiness this installation could present.
1952 5-window - return to "as built" condition | 1950 3100 with a 235 and a T-5 transmission
I put this kit in a friends truck a few years ago and it's smooth as silk. It is a little pricey at $1450. It's the same column as the C1 corvette. Electric Power Steering Install
Last edited by Gdads51; 09/19/20232:58 PM. Reason: fix embedded video link
I put this kit in a friends truck a few years ago and it's smooth as silk. It is a little pricey at $1450. It's the same column as the C1 corvette. Electric Power Steering Install
Thanks Mick. I do have to wonder about all those set screws holding everything in place forever. Other than that it seems pretty slick. The mast adaptors screwed to the electric motor answered my biggest question about eliminating wonkiness.
1952 5-window - return to "as built" condition | 1950 3100 with a 235 and a T-5 transmission
Glad to help. I'm making some other changes too. I'm adding a 1.5:1 steering quickener. I'm using a 54 wheel with the interlocking turn signal mech. I also plan to rering my steering wheel a little smaller.
1939 Packard Standard Eight Coupe (The Phantom) | 1956 Cadillac Coupe de Ville (The Bismarck) | 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 coupe |1966 Ford Mustang (Little Red) | 1969 Pontiac GTO (The Dishpit) I 1979 Ford F-100 | 1976 Ford F-150 (Big Red) | 1995 Ford F-150 (Newt)
Glad to help. I'm making some other changes too. I'm adding a 1.5:1 steering quickener. I'm using a 54 wheel with the interlocking turn signal mech. I also plan to rering my steering wheel a little smaller.
What does that make your final box ratio? Three turns lock-to-lock?
I'm working on a vacuum operated clutch to control a PTO powered winch for a car hauler truck. By moving a ball valve at the winch control panel, a small air brake chamber for a big rig, modified to work on vacuum instead of air pressure will release or apply the clutch without anyone being in the cab of the truck to operate the pedal. The winch will be run in the forward/reverse direction with a torque tube 3 speed transmission and a right angle gearbox chain driven by the PTO shaft. Putting the 3 speed in neutral will allow the cable to be free-spooled. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
It's been a while since I messed with it but for some reason 3.5 sticks in my head but you may be right. I'm building my 53 3100 for drag and drive but a little autocross would be fun too. I can lock to lock my Porsche without taking my hands off the wheel so 3 is pretty tame.
Forgive my ignorance here, but does the electric steering simply splice in so as to turn the steering input shaft with a power assist, leaving your original (in this case, needs to be heavy duty for a big bolt) steering system intact? Because if that's the case then I might be interested in this for my big bolt, a C60 school bus.
Yes you just cut a chunk out of the column and install it inline. It torques off the column tube so there is no further brackets. Just run a power wire. If it fails it just goes back to manual. I used the C1 kit for my 53 3100. It's the same tube and shaft. Installing an Electronic Power Steering Conversion Kit
Last edited by Gdads51; 10/11/20231:00 PM. Reason: edited to fix embedded video