Fixing the gap/ steering wheel

[Chet/Ma.]

A friend of mine has a 35 pheaton. We put a 37 steering box in it and now there is a large gap between the steering mast and the steering wheel. Is there a spacer that can fill that gap? Also the light switch rubs on the top of the wheel when making a turn left or right and will some times shut the lights off. Help we are in the dark. Thanks Chet and Richard

 

[jdl]

I think you can move the steering column tube up closer to the steering wheel. loosen the clamp by the steering box, loosen the lock clamp and the two bolts from lock to the dash. then move the column up closer to the steering wheel. be carefull of the paint. someone correct me if I am wrong.

 

[FlatheadTed]

put some fiber washers under the light switch at the top

 

[Ken/Alabama]

You can loosen the clamp at the steering box and unbolt the column from the dash and slide it up to close the gap. When you do this the bolt holes under the dash will not line back up so you will need to loosen the bolt that clamps the ignition bracket to the tube so it can be adjusted. That bolt has a head that is twisted off by design. Ive have pretty good luck drilling a hole in it and removing using an ezee out. Once its out you can drive a wedge in the gap to allow the clamp to move easily on the column tube. I replaced the bolt with a socket head bolt,works nice and dont show.

 

[Steve/IL]

Not sure, but I believe that the 37 steering shaft is longer than the 35 shaft. The worm gear can be press off each steering shaft, so it is possible to switch the shafts. Before disassembling the 37 box, remove the steering wheel and tube and measure the length of the shaft from the top of the box to the end of the shaft and compare to your 35 steering box. I have performed this type of swap with a 32 shaft in an F1 box!

 

[toddle321]

I put a '37 box in a '36, and had to loosen the clamp at the steering box and also the column mount and bring the tube up a bit as the previous posters mentioned. The slot for the column lock still lined up, so it was just a matter of choking up the tube a little.

 

[flatheadfan]

When you swap a '37-'40 gear for a '35-'36 you actually change the angle of the entire steering assembly because the later unit sits lower than the '35-'36. As a result, if you use the '35-'36 tube assembly you end up with a large gap at the steering wheel juncture. As suggested just loosen the housing drop and slide the tube upward to you get the gap you want. Try to leave about a 3/32" gap between the steering wheel and the tube. In some cases you may find that you not have a "scar" on the tube where the drop originally was. If this is objectionable either repaint the tube or take a piece of 1/8"-1/4" pinstripe tape and paint it to match you column color. Simply cover the scar with the tape. If done right the tape and scare will become invisible.

Enclosed is view of my '35 with a '39 steering gear. From the inside there is no hint that anything has changed form original.