Installing the Steering Box
The original steering box and column will be getting replaced in my project with a GM power steering box and later a tilt GM column. I ordered the steering box adapter mount from Chassis Engineering and the steering box was a left over from a dismantled car. I was not sure if I wanted power steering or manual box, since this unit was already laying around and my budget is small the choice was made.
There is a small amount of work needed to make the new mount fit to the stock steering mount. I used one of the mounting holes, the one that lines up, and clamped the mount in place. A small support brace is included with the new mount and it was bolted to the mount and clamped to the frame. With the mount firmly held in place I drilled through the remaining mount holes into the stock mount so that everything could be bolted in place. Some care must be taken in drilling as the stock holes are in these locations but are slightly off center. It is easy to break drill bits in this case. You could make the locations and use a die grinder to make the opening you need.
One additional modification I made was for a hidden mounting bolt from the new mount into the steering box. The mount comes with a countersunk hole and allen head bolt to match. With the mount in place it fits flush between the new mount and stock mount with the bolt holding the steering box on place. The directions call to mount the steering box to the plate then mount the whole assembly to the old mount. After eyeballing the situation for a while I decided to drill an opening so that I could get the allen wrench into the bolt without taking the mount off of the frame. The drilling didn't work out so well so I made the opening with a hard grinding disk on my grinder. Now the steering box can be removed from the mount with out removing the mount from the frame.
The additional support brace is bolted onto the mount at the top and bolts to the new hole you drill in you frame rail. I didn't think to much about this at first and drilled the hole and bolted it in place. Later on I remembered that the VIN number is in this location and was sure that I drilled through it. Luckily I missed the VIN but you can not read it with the brace in place. With the frame painted it is hard to read in the first place but I wouldn't want to be pulled over and be asked to see the VIN with the brace covering it. I have been thinking of making a new duplicate VIN plate in an easy to read location so this may be another push in that direction.
