The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Steering Power Assist Rack

CPP advertises a steering power assist rack kit for '47-'53 Chevy trucks. With this power steering setup you can keep your original steering box, mast etc bone stock. Worried about steering action with this rack. Anyone have any experience with this set up?

Thanks

If it is the type I think you are referring to, I had a similar unit on a 56 3100. It uses a Ford (Mustang/T-Bird) control valve that takes the place of the drag link and has a ram that mounts on the center tie rod. I had the unit for about a year and finally gave up on it. It performs well for slow speeds & parking but you have very little feel of the road in straight line driving. I tried adding & subtracting washers to the pump control valve to change the pressure. It was always too much or too little. I even changed to the newer tie rod ends but that didn't help either. Also, if you have any play in the steering gear or steering linkage it just magnifies the problem. I'ts a lot more work but the Toyota box works great. Fred

Chevy cars in the 50's used this setup and corvette had it well up into the 60's or later. Also found on 4wd trucks. I have several but don't use them because the hoses hang from the cylinder and sure don't tolerate any lowering at all. They always worked OK but then I didn't care about feel, just getting it cranked into a parrallel spot without sweating my butt off.

This system works fine on OEM applications for cars and was used on 60-66 trucks. However, they use an A-Arm suspension not a straight axle. Chevy actually offered a similar system on 55-59 trucks but I have not seen a factory one. I felt that the one I had provided too much "assist" on the road and I was never comfortable with the feel. It also made it a one person vehicle, someone else driving it for the first time would likely put it in the ditch. Fred

Might as well toss in my $.03.The guys are absolutely right about the power assist steering. The lack of feedback and "feel" for the road and the hassle with getting and keeping the troublesome control valve functioning properly make it an expensive experiment. The unit Cpp is offering is basically the lower end of the system and you still have to match up brackets, lines and a pump. All for $899.

Cpp also offers a kit to install the Toyota 4wd box, mounted in basically the same location as the huge stock box. I've used this system on other brands of trucks and have found it it compact, rugged, boxes can be found in most j-yards, no major modifications are necessary to the stock steering linkage and the system works like a charm. The Saginaw pump works great with this setup and I think it is far superior to the front-frame mount box, with expensive borg joints, that puts a lot of stress on the front of the frame. At $699. for the lower end IMHO it is a much better system for the money.

If you're a j-yard cruiser you can dial it in the whole system for less than half that!
Hope this bit of info helps.

Dave

What makes and models did the toyota box come in? I'd love to do that conversion and don't mind cruising junk yards.

There was link to a site with pictures about how someone did the toyota conversion posted here about 6 months ago.

I think there were three steps to putting in the toyota box-

1- Powersteering pump mount.
2- Build a Box mount(build a mount out of two pieces of angle iron welded together and mounted in the stock location.
3- Straighten the original toyota pitman arm.

If you use a GM pump with the Toyota you might need to regulate the pressure.

The other day I saw an 50 Series LandCruiser ('67-'81) in a junk yard and, as I read here, the engine looked just like a 235/261! The powersteering pump was mounted on the passanger side using a braket that mounted to the side of the block and the timing cover.

CPP is not the only game in town. ABS in Orange, CA sells the Toyota kit and they also operate a shop and install these conversions. Many of the other suppliers of these type products have no real world experience and pull up blank if you have a problem or a question. Also, most late GM PS pumps put out about 1600 PSI so the pressure needs to be reduced to about 900 PSI for Toyota, the aforementioned kit, and mustang II rack & pinion applications. Most street rod suppliers sell the washer kits. Note: The referenced Toyota box was used on 84-87 4x4 trucks. The sector shaft comes out the side like the Chevy trucks through 59. Fred

Here is the system Fred ("rfs56trk") is talking about from ABS Power Brake in Orange, CA.

www.59apache.com/bigwheel.html and

www.59apache.com/upgrades.html

I was very much considering the power-assist unit from Classic Performance Products in Anaheim, CA before I decided to go with this setup. After hearing from others about the short-comings of the power-assist system, I went ahead and took a look at an installation of this system completed by ABS Power Brake in a 1957 Chevrolet at their shop and I was sold.

Once I drove the truck with the new power steering system, I became a fan of these Toyota steering boxes. It feels good and looks "right" for this truck. I went with an original style generator-driven power steering pump to make the whole thing look as close to stock as I could. The steering box is driven very good from this pump and I would imagine a later year GM pump would work very well too.

Although I traded some slight stock variations for an improved steering setup, I was still able to keep my stock steering column and steering wheel. with the help of the use of a Borgeson Needle Bearing U-Joint.

I have seen one factory 1959 power steering system up close in a truck and I was impressed. It was fellow Stovebolter Bill Samuelson\'s sweet 1959 Fleetside . I had the opportunity to buy one from Authentic Automotive in Mesquite, Texas. However, at $1,500 I just couldn't justify the added costs (even with my sincere desire to remain as close to stock as I could). After seeing the factory setup in Bill's '59, as cool as it was, I still think I made the right choice for me and my truck.

I hope that helps!

Evergreen,

Instead of paying 900 bucks for the 'linkage-type' PS, I converted a C-3 Corvette PS system to work on my '59 Apache. It works great! Yes, the hoses to the power ram do have to be routed carefully to keep them from hanging down too low, so I agree that it isn't for a lowered truck.

Not long ago, I posted notice here for a stock '50s GM PS system that I'd seen on E-Bay, but that got snapped up pretty quickly.

In my research, I also found that '60s - 70s Dodge trucks had two PS boxes: both normal and reverse rotation. The reverse-rotation box could be adapted somewhat like the Toyota unit to use with a drag-link.