Tech | Tilt Steering Column Install
We have a nice '67 Fairlane hardtop that we're in the process of getting ready to drive. It's been outfitted with new disc brakes, a fresh coat of Clearwater Aqua paint, and a new interior. Before we can hit the road for the summer cruise scene the biggest hurdle remaining on our project is the steering system. Although the car has newer suspension components and a good alignment, the Fairlane still wanders and is a chore to keep in a lane. The on-center spot in the worn original steering box is cavernous. The OE steering column is beat up and still has the shifter collar from the column shift-long ago eliminated. The school bus-sized steering wheel is also broken and discolored. When we went through the catalog from Flaming River, we realized that it offers everything we would need to get our steering system completely squared away and looking and working its best-like the rest of the Fairlane.
Flaming River offers this...
Flaming River offers this steering box for the '67 Mustang (PN FR1498, $489.50). It replaces the OE solid shaft unit with a collapsible mechanism linked to the steering shaft with a bulletproof universal joint. This box contains nothing but brand-new components including the steering box casting itself. On initial inspection the box appeared almost identical to the factory unit on our Fairlane.
We were interested in upgrading to one of Flaming River's replacement steering boxes, as we have had excellent results with them in the past in our Mustang projects. Our only reservation was that we have a Fairlane instead of a Mustang. Although the two cars share some components, they are also different in many ways. We don't know of anyone who offers a Fairlane replacement steering box of the same quality found in a Flaming River unit, which has all new internal components as well as a brand-new casting for the steering box body itself. Rebuilt boxes with their worn casings aren't as good as an all-new unit and we didn't want to go to the effort of rack-and-pinion steering, which often requires cutting on the Fairlane to install. In fact, we feel that the Flaming River replacement steering boxes are so good that they rival rack-and-pinion for steering precision in our experience.
It was for these reasons that we decided to try a Flaming River '67 Mustang steering box in our '67 Fairlane. Although we knew that there we no guarantees, we suspected that the swap might be possible with a little modification so we decided to give it a try.
Here's the new Flaming River...
Here's the new Flaming River tilt steering column, also ordered for a '67 Mustang. We wanted to paint our column to match the interior color of our car but a polished version is also available. We got the matte finish paintable unit, PN FR20004-69, which retails at $345. The column installation kit, PN FR200MUKT2, includes two column baseplate choices as well as the universal joint. It costs $169.
Swapping steering boxes is far less involved than going over to a rack-and-pinion system, and for getting our steering right, this was the way we wanted to go. To complement the new steering box we also installed a Flaming River tilt-steering column and steering wheel, ditching the remnants of the old disconnected column shift mechanism and cracked original steering wheel while allowing better driving comfort and easier ingress/egress of the vehicle. Follow along with us and we'll show you how easy it turned out to be to put this fantastic equipment designed for a Mustang into our Fairlane.
Before sinking our teeth into...
Before sinking our teeth into the project, we painted our steering column with interior paint. We've had great luck with these classic factory-interior colors supplied by Dearborn Classics. The only preparation required was a quick scuff job with a Scotch Brite pad and a wipe down with a clean rag and lacquer thinner.
After removing the enormous...
After removing the enormous '67-only horn button, we put our steering wheel puller into place to pop the wheel loose from the splines on the steering shaft. Using a puller makes quick work of the often-tight connection.
The next step was to disconnect...
The next step was to disconnect the factory plugs to the steering column used for turn signals and horn. After accomplishing that we removed the column baseplate at the foot of column. Here we're removing the fasteners that hold the column support bracket in place on the underside of the dash. Once everything is disconnected, the steering column tube can be pulled straight off the inner shaft and removed.
Under the hood we have removed...
Under the hood we have removed the master cylinder to gain access to the steering shaft. Because we were not going to rebuild the OE steering box and we didn't want to remove the driver-side header for access, the solution was to simply cut off the long steering shaft directly in front of the firewall.
Removing the three fasteners...
Removing the three fasteners that transit the width of the frame and hold the steering box in place will free the steering box. Initially we were going to remove the pitman arm from the steering box while the box was still on the car, but the nut was damaged to the extent that we couldn't get a socket on it. Hence we disconnected the arm from the steering drag link and left the pitman arm on the box during removal. Once free of the engine compartment the 11/4-inch pitman arm nut was deburred to fit a socket on it and removed.
With the retaining nut off,...
With the retaining nut off, we next installed a pitman arm puller to remove the arm from the sector shaft. Having the correct tool here sure makes the job easier, so borrow or rent one to make the work go smoother.