36 Ford steering box
- Thread starter DjNeil
- Start date
TomT/Williamsburg
Well-known member
May not be exactly stock but many upgrade their 36 box to a 39. I hope others will chime in with more knowledge than I as to the reasoning but from what I was told, it has a better turning radius (?) and will accommodate all of your car the same as a 36 box ....
JSeery
Member Emeritus
JM 35 Sedan
Well-known member
I have a complete '36 pass. car steering column listed for sale here in the Early V8 Classifieds. I just sold the column drop that's on this column, so will be completely dismantling this column assembly and would be willing to sell the steering box separately.
A '37 to '39 steering box will basically drop right into your '36 if you also change to a '37 to '40 frame mounting plate. Actually the steering boxes from '37 to '48 will work, but the steering shafts from '40 to '48 would need to be changed to a '35 to '39 shaft that has the correct size center hole for the horn, light switch rod to fit through.
The later steering boxes from '37 to '48 have what's known as a rolling sector gear that makes steering so much easier. Some say it feels like power steering as compared to the '36 and earlier boxes that used a fixed tooth sector gear.
A '37 to '39 steering box will basically drop right into your '36 if you also change to a '37 to '40 frame mounting plate. Actually the steering boxes from '37 to '48 will work, but the steering shafts from '40 to '48 would need to be changed to a '35 to '39 shaft that has the correct size center hole for the horn, light switch rod to fit through.
The later steering boxes from '37 to '48 have what's known as a rolling sector gear that makes steering so much easier. Some say it feels like power steering as compared to the '36 and earlier boxes that used a fixed tooth sector gear.
blucar
Well-known member
I would not bother with a '36 steering gear assembly. Contrary to what has been written in this topic about converting to a '37 or later box, the '40 box is also a direct fit into a '36, however, you will need a 37-40 frame mount.
I replaced the steering gear box in my '36 in 1955 with a '40 box and frame mount, I also used a '40 pitman arm #21-A 3590-3 015, The '36 pitman hung down on a funny angle.
I used the '40 column mass jacket because my car has a column shift, I used a '46 steering wheel. The only modification required was to remove the steering wheel lock ring from the steering shaft and put a slight bend in the lower edge of the dash to accommodate the '40 steering drop.
The '37-40 steering gears in a '36 make the car drive like it has power steering compared to the '35-36 fixed sector shaft..
I have a good '36 steering gear box that came out of a station wagon.
I replaced the steering gear box in my '36 in 1955 with a '40 box and frame mount, I also used a '40 pitman arm #21-A 3590-3 015, The '36 pitman hung down on a funny angle.
I used the '40 column mass jacket because my car has a column shift, I used a '46 steering wheel. The only modification required was to remove the steering wheel lock ring from the steering shaft and put a slight bend in the lower edge of the dash to accommodate the '40 steering drop.
The '37-40 steering gears in a '36 make the car drive like it has power steering compared to the '35-36 fixed sector shaft..
I have a good '36 steering gear box that came out of a station wagon.
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deuce lover
Well-known member
On the 38 & 39 only the locking collar has to be relocated if you want it to function.
JM 35 Sedan
Well-known member
That was my thought as well when I made my earlier post. I was planning to compare a '38 and '39 column to a '35/'36 column today relative to the drop and locking collar locations on each column.
When we installed a '37 pass. car steering box in a '36 Phaeton, the locking collar was in the same location as the original '36 and we reused the original '36 column tube and column drop. Everything bolted back in place perfectly, although we did have to alter the contour of the column tube hole in the drivers side floor board because of a slight change in the mounting angle of the column.
On the '38-'39 steering boxes that were used for this conversion, we used the original '35-'36 steering column shafts by removing their original worm gear and replacing them with a '37-'48 worm gear. This meant the locking collar stayed in its original location, and again everything else bolted right back in place. Relocating the locking collar on the '38-'39 steering column shafts would have also worked well.