power steering 1955 crown vic

H

hermanthegerman1953

Junior Member
I have a 1955 crown vic that I'm getting restored. It didn't have power steering originally but we have a pump but no brackets. Also would this be a separate belt or the same as the water pump and alternator. ? Are all 292s the same or are 55's different from the 56's? I believe the rack that is being put in underneath is from a 1959 or 1960 t-bird. Will this work?
 
Not sure what you mean by " Rack ". I think the 60 TB had a PS gear type,but I could be wrong it has been a long time. The 55-56 Ford and Merc had a add on type PS ( Cyl type ) connected to the drag link. Also the 55-56 had a separate belt if I remember correctly. Bill
 
there is a guy on e pay selling a modern steering setup not a rack & pinion ck under 55 merc listings i have a question of fitment with a standard shift car if he says its all good i'm going for it my 55 merc wagon is to much to turn with the manual steering
 
There are several power steering kits available. I tried two before settling on the factory system. There is a very nice outfit sold for tri five C**vs that fits and would work great on a car with an auto trans. I like my five speed, and it will stay. My car now has a P/S from a 56 Ford car. The power rack may work great on a car with a 302 and auto. On a stick equiped Y block, the oil pump, clutch linkage, oil filter, and rack head all need the same space. The rack also looses steering radius.
 
They used two different steering gears with the power cyl on the drag link.. The one for PS had a Little slower ratio to give some more feel to it. Ether one will work OK. Bill
 
The Fifties Ford cars had an all-bolt-on power assist assembly. It consisted of a pump, add-on-pully for the crankshaft damper, and a power steering tie-rod with control valve and ram cylinder. When doing a swap with the original set-up, you will need to get the original power steering pump brackets and large bolt that holds the pump bracket to the water pump. Use the longer center bolt from the power steering pulley in place of the short bolt you have now and use two additional bolts to hold the power steering pulley to the crankshaft damper. You need to replace the manual steering idler arm and bracket with the PS idler arm and bracket. The bracket is made specially for the power steering idler arm which also holds the end of the ram cylinder shaft. You will need to buy two crush nuts to insert into the bottom of the car frame to hold the bracket. The hexagon shaped holes are punched in all the frames at the factory so the is no need to do any drilling. You also need to replcace your pitman arm with the power steering pitman arm as it is a little bit deeper for the control valve clearance. There is no need to replace your steering gearbox. Dont forget to get the bracket on the inside driver side frame for routing the hoses though. You can still buy the power steering hoses and the pump belt new at your favorite Ford resto parts supplier as well as components and rebuilt kits for the PS components. Fill the system with Dexron ATF.
I got two complete systems from junkyards years ago and restored them both. One of them is in my daily driver pictured at left. The other one is in storage. Sometimes I see people trying to sell these assemblys on E-Pay for upwards of $1000.
This system can be installed easily and fits any 272, 292 or 312 Y-Block engine. They are practically maintenance-free.
 
'58-'60 T-bird used ram cylinder system like '55-6 Fords. Integral PS box wasn't used on 'Bird until 1961. Not sure if bracketry or pitman arm from a 2nd generation 'Bird would work on a '55-6. I have a PS setup I pulled from a '63 Ford for my '55 Victoria - would it work on a '55-6?
 
My '56 Fairlane turns, steers and handles fine with manual steering. So I'd say it's a "want to" thing, and not a "have to". Just MHO.
 
The Borgeson pump and box come as a kit ($7 - 800), bolt in and require steering column modifications. The Wurthit kit ($1300 + or -) requires the same steering column mods, gives a shorter turning radius but is also a bolt in kit. My money goes to the Borgeson set up.
 
I too am looking at the Borgeson box. Only issue is the clutch linkage if you have a manual trans. Anyone suggest what column to use to replace the stock one? Probably a later model Ford with the rag joint on the end?????????:confused:
 
The 75-80 Granadas used the same type of system as the 55-57 Fords. The Crown Victoria Association has a tech bulletin on converting a 55-56 with a Granada unit.
 
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