The Ford Barn

jkuehn · 01-19-2022, 01:35 PM

I have a 1930 Deluxe Phaeton that was passed to me when my parents died. My dad collected Model A's for years, and he gave me a not running, rusty 31 pickup when I was 15, which I restored largely myself and drove all over the place. Now I'm 71 and find myself with a beautiful Model A. It was fully and originally restored in about 1970, and was driven a couple of thousand miles. Then sat in a barn for a long time. Everything still works fine except the steering is a bit loose so it tends to wander when driving down the road. The linkage is tight and still like new from the restoration, but there is play in the steering gear. It was dry, so I installed the horn tube modification to stop it leaking. My guess was there was some wear, so I removed the steering column from the car. It looks like I can adjust the worm and the sector to eliminate the play at the center point, that is 1 1/2 turns from each end of the limit, and lining up the steering wheel keyway with the end play adjustment. This is all per Les Andrews Model A book. Turning the wheel 1/2 turn either way from center results in significant play, which can be adjusted so that the play on both sides is equal, but my question is, can it be eliminated? Do I need to replace the steering box? This car is so well restored to original I want the steering to be perfect! Anybody have experience with this?

01-19-2022, 01:35 PM	#1
jkuehn Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2	Steering gear adjustment or replace? I have a 1930 Deluxe Phaeton that was passed to me when my parents died. My dad collected Model A's for years, and he gave me a not running, rusty 31 pickup when I was 15, which I restored largely myself and drove all over the place. Now I'm 71 and find myself with a beautiful Model A. It was fully and originally restored in about 1970, and was driven a couple of thousand miles. Then sat in a barn for a long time. Everything still works fine except the steering is a bit loose so it tends to wander when driving down the road. The linkage is tight and still like new from the restoration, but there is play in the steering gear. It was dry, so I installed the horn tube modification to stop it leaking. My guess was there was some wear, so I removed the steering column from the car. It looks like I can adjust the worm and the sector to eliminate the play at the center point, that is 1 1/2 turns from each end of the limit, and lining up the steering wheel keyway with the end play adjustment. This is all per Les Andrews Model A book. Turning the wheel 1/2 turn either way from center results in significant play, which can be adjusted so that the play on both sides is equal, but my question is, can it be eliminated? Do I need to replace the steering box? This car is so well restored to original I want the steering to be perfect! Anybody have experience with this?