Well i did the brakes last summer then the master cylinder went on me. I don't know about you guys but i skinned a few knuckles taking it off and putting it on. I did the por15 thing with the gas tank and pretty happy with the results, time will tell. Carb was switched out, the old one needed too much work. I realized the heat riser valve was rusted open so a little WD40 took care of that. Took it in and got new exhaust front to back. Now i'am in the middle of switching out the steering box. I have a patch panel ordered for the right rear quarter, i will post pics when i attempt that repair. So a couple more things and i can finally put some plates on her. Iam pretty new to this so i would like to thank the guys of CP for their help and knowledge. Sorry about the lack of pictures, i always seem to be covered in grease when i think of it. Bob
For the safety the garage says there is too much play. I tightend it a little and it was fine for about three days, then i was taking a sharp turn and it locked up. Iam guessing i messed up the worm gear.
You,ve got to be pretty careful adjusting the boxes.It can be as little as a 1/4 turn between tight and lock up.What that screw adjusts is the gear mesh between the sector shaft and worm gear and your adjusting the high point(tightest at center).Pretty hard to do on the car.I rebuilt steering boxes from manual model t's to big rigs for about ten years so i have a fair bit of experience rebuilding them.As for play i hope your garage remembers this is a 1950's car not a corvette.I think these probably had play in the front end when they rolled off the assembly line.There's not a whole lot in these old boxes a couple worm bearings that wear out if the y get dry,a wormshaft and ball and a sector gear,Not alot of parts that get major wear.I would suspect the front end components would wear out far before the box.I know my new 54 has some movement,probably king pins,etc. but i will try it as is and see before i order a rebuild kit for the front end.
In hindsight i should have left well enough alone, i was happy with the steering the way it was. Its funny, the garage also said it needed reverse lights and seat belts. MPI says no.
I was thinking about that as well as mine doesn't have any seatbelts either.As far as i know if the car wasn't originally equiped with them it is exempt,at least thats how it is out here in alberta.I have seen sets for sale on ebay but not sure how they would bolt up.Heck my 2000 dodge truck doessn't have backup lights and itpasses inspection.
When i phoned Manitoba Public Insurance they said the same thing, if it didn't originally come with them you don't need them. I think the belts bolt through holes drilled in the floor with plates underneath and the shoulder part gets connected to bolts welded in the post between the doors. I think I'll put some lap belts in the back seat for the youngsters. It seems I've been having bad luck with garages lately, the last vehicle i took in for safety drove better before the $900 they charged to make it safe.
If you keep you car stock you will not need seatbelts. But if your car is modifiyed in anyway from factory you will need updated safety equipment. Say you put in a sbc chevy in and updated trans.. you will have to put in seatbelts and backup lights.
That makes sense, I don't plan on doing that any time soon but its good to know. Got the other steering box in today, huge difference from the old one. Now it seems i have a charging issue, something to check out tomorrow.
Its a patch panel that i cut down to what i needed, my mistake was following the bottom of the inner panel so it curves up towards the back. Its a good thing i didn't plan on using skirts. lol
