56 ford steering column replacement

mikhett

Senior Member
Has anyone upgraded the original unsafe "deadly spear" steering column to a more modern one using a rag joint on a 56 fairlane? THANKS
 
Wish I could help, but I can't. Only thing I can think of is that there's some articles to modify the column to use a R&P. Might be some ideas there you could use to sort of reverse engineer it. I think they showed a new lower bearing and a firewall support.

FWIW, I put a R&P in my bird, and I don't think I'd do it again. Really wasn't worth it for the steering. But I did end up with a tilt/tele Ididit column,which is really nice.
 
Read this article and apply the info to your '56 : http://www.fordfalcon2000.com/restoration/tiltcolumn.htm When you select the column from a donor be sure you get the rag joint with it you will be cutting the spear on the old box and joining it to the donor column,it's not hard to do I did it on a '65 C-10 when I did a power steering conversion. The most important thing is getting the measurements dead right before you cut. Take pictures when you do it to share.
 
Well, at least that "deadly spear" is further away from you than it is on a '55 or earlier model with that flat two-spoke wheel.
When I was 16 years old, I stood 5'-0" tall. The horn button of the '55 was right in front of my face. For a while, I sat on yellow-pages phone books stacked on the seat to add some height. At some point I did get a little taller and got rid of the phone books.
Now in old age I am shrinking and it won't be long before I will need those phone books back again.
Rather than a "deadly spear", I would call this thing a "blunt force object", but in all these years and zillion miles of driving, I have never had a wreck.
 
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