Steering Column Alignment

Fillinjc

Fillinjc

Member
Hello,

I am installing a F100 steering box in my 1930 coupe. Thanks Randy Gross for incredible support! I am having column alignment issues that shimming the box at the frame does not seem to remedy. My column is pressed to the left side (driver side) of the tank bracket but it is slightly to the right (passenger side) of the firewall cutout. Shimming between the steering box and frame moves the column to touch the firewall cutout. This misalignment could be why my original steering box was so badly worn.

I am thinking that gas tank offset almost has to be my problem. My gas tank currently has no cowl clamps. I am wondering that if I loosen tank mounting fasteners, will I be able to shift the tank to the left?

Thanks,
Jerry
 

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I seriously doubt there is enough slop in the tank to cowl mounting to allow for any adjustment. That would just cause more problems than it could ever fix. I would suspect the symmetry of the overall body location on the frame first. If it were not Randy's column I might suspect the column being bent as a possibility. Shimming the box to your frame is a tricky task to get the desired result.
 
Can you cross / wedge shim the assembly. something like .030 top and .060 bottom or what ever set is required. Move the assembly over and then put an angle in it in relation to the frame.
 
I installed one of Randy Gross,s F-100 steering gears in my Town Sedan. Everything fit fine. The F-100 has three mounting screws, two line up with the two holes in the Model A frame. Randy provides a template to drill a third hole in the frame if you wish. When I did that the column no longer aligned with the mount on the gas tank. it was offset to the left about 1/2 inch! I put a i/16 inch thick washer between the frame and the steering gear, It lined up perfectly.
 
Over a year ago, I started to include shims with all of the F100 steering boxes that we provide.

This note goes with each and every one of them:

ALIGNMENT SHIMS

These shims have been provided to eliminate alignment issues that you may experience. If this steering box / outer column housing does not align to the inside mounting bracket of your vehicle, then these shims will be needed.
They are to be placed between this steering box mounting flange and the inner channel of your vehicle's frame.
The majority of installations will not require these shims, but there are a few where either the frame has tweaked over the years or the body of the vehicle was removed from the frame and not properly set after restoration.
These shims are made of a composite material and will not rot. They can be left the full length or cut as needed.

Randy Gross
714-292-8660
melmodela@aol.com
 
Thanks for the replies. Before I posted this I had started loosening the gas tank dash rail bolts. I figure I will loosen what I can on the tank and install the clamps, which I bought, to the cowl. Can't hurt. Then I will follow advise above trying to shim the box on an angle. So far I have only shimmed behind it evenly, stopping with a .2" aluminum plate behind the entire unit.

I shouldn't be working on this car in the summer when I have little time to spare for it.

I am sure that my frame has issues. I plan to address that during the future "paint phase". Body off, straighten everything, right?

Jerry
 
BTW. Randy Gross is top notch. I emailed him a question late last night and received a follow up phone call from him this morning.

Thanks,
Jerry
 
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