‘37 -‘39 steering box wanna-be

[ford38v8]

A friend has a ‘38 steering box to install in his ‘36, but has only the ‘36 mounting bracket that must be drilled, or is it his frame to be drilled? Can anyone provide exact locations for the mounting holes? I know it can be done hit and miss, but that’s not going to pass muster for this job, his engine is in, and he’d rather put the ‘36 box back in than to remove the engine, if that’s required to do it right. I’ve never had the pleasure, so I’m way out in left field with anything I’d tell him. Thanks in advance!

[johndee138]

When I did my box replacement I was able to get a Drake bracket and grind and drill out the rivets of the stock unit (doable but not fun) Bolted the new bracket in and it was all done without removing the fender or the motor. The attached link was helpful in the rest of the process. It's worth every bit of grief you have to go through.

https://www.goldengatev8.org/tips/St...ngGearSwap.htm

[glennpm]

You can swap the later box in without removing or modifying the frame bracket. The single hole in the later box is about 3/4" greater than for the 1935-1936 boxes.
These pictyures from https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showp...9&postcount=10 show the details

Show the trimming details





Looks like this when trimmed with a new hole drilled.

[glennpm]

I found a very detailed writeup for this swap that Tom Mason wrote:
https://tinyurl.com/4rnnyp9n
I edited it and added some content and photos to flesh it out.

[ford38v8]

Excellent advice. I thank you all for your help. Now my friend will have an informed choice to make, as he has both his original ‘36 box and a ‘38 box, both rebuilt.

[glennpm]

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Good Alan. Please have him update us with progress and any issues he may have doing this swap.

Glenn

[highbeams]

Steering slop=The pitman arm ball and drag link slop. The pitman arm ball becomes an oval. The drag link washers help very little. I bought a new pitman arm and a new drag link with washers for my '33 coupe, but to no avail; Ford made a lousy set-up for steering. I understand GM's Chevrolet was worse than Ford's.(why would auto makers design this junk.

Diagonal parking(right front tire touching the curb) became very popular in communities across the US because it was so difficult to park curbside bumper to bumper; i.e., I would park curbside bumper to bumper and pull-adjust my steering wheel while standing with the left foot on the street and the right foot on the Model A running board. My '33 was/is not improved in that scenario. 'harrumph!' (commenting disapprovingly to myself.) Thank You -