|
|
1966 Ford Mustang Borgeson's Power Steering Equipped Gearbox InstallationAdd Power Steering Easily With Borgeson's New Power Steering-Equipped Gearbox From the August, 2010 issue of Modified Mustangs & Fords By Mark Houlahan Photography by Mark Houlahan
|
|
The Borgeson power steering... The Borgeson power steering conversion installs easily and doesn't take up a lot of underhood real estate, as evidenced by this completed installation shot.
Try walking into a Ford dealer today and asking for a stripped down Mustang. Whether it's to save a few bucks, save weight, or just to keep the car "simple," it's simply not possible to order one as such like you could four decades ago. As times change, people want comfort, features, and ease of use. Even the 2010 Cobra Jet factory-built drag racing Mustang comes with power windows. Why? Because Ford doesn't even offer manual windows in the Mustang anymore. Matter of fact, the Mustang has had power windows, power steering, power brakes, and more as standard features since the '05 model and before that the Preferred Equipment Package (PEP) option, which included all of these items, was checked off on the order form about 90 percent of the time. That says something. Now, a lot can be said about hopping into a classic Mustang and having manual steering and brakes for that "nostalgia" feel. That's fine if your classic sees a once-a-month ride or parade duty. Though if you drive your car regularly, be it as a daily driver or on the weekends, having some of these modern conveniences brings much more driving enjoyment and safety to the table when wheeling around on modern roads in modern traffic conditions. Getting started, like most... Getting started, like most projects, we disconnected the battery first, as we'll be working on the steering column. Remove the steering wheel and set it aside where it will not be damaged. Disconnect the column's wiring connector(s) at the base of the dash at this time too. Also think how upgrades such as power steering, power disc brakes, air conditioning, three-point belts, and so forth, when done correctly and within reason, will increase the value of your classic (none of us want to think about selling our projects, but if it comes to that you can rest easy knowing these upgrades will add value). Most of the classic Mustangs on the road today are not your concours paint-daub trailer queens. They're owned, built, and driven by people who want to recapture the fun of their youth, drive the car they've always dreamed of owning, and generally enjoy the drive. This is why restomodding is so popular; it adds enjoyment, safety, and convenience to your classic ride without taking away the general look of a classic Mustang or Ford. That's about perfect in our book (otherwise we wouldn't be working on this magazine!). Adding power brakes has been a pretty popular, and easy, upgrade for going on two decades now. With many kits available from several sources, it's a no-brainer weekend upgrade. Power steering on the other hand, has not been as easy a project to tackle. First and foremost is the original style of power "assisted" steering, which used a hydraulic ram to apply pressure on the steering linkage in the direction steered. The system is bulky, prone to leaks, is expensive, and really makes it hard to upgrade to free-flowing exhaust and other modern upgrades. While Ford ditched the system, eventually moving to integral power steering (high-pressure fluid running directly through the steering box) and then rack-and-pinion steering, there's really not been an effective way to upgrade to power steering short of finding all of the non-integral parts, bolting it in, and hoping it doesn't leak. For the '66 Mustang there's... For the '66 Mustang there's a simple bracket retaining the steering column to the dash (check your shop manual for other year mounting configurations). Remove the two retaining nuts and the bracket to free the column from the dash. Now, thanks to the folks at Borgeson, a name known for U-joints for nearly a century, they have released a simple, yet effective bolt-in solution that offers easy driveway DIY installation, better road feel, and better packaging. Systems are available for '65-'70 Mustangs, both manual and factory power steering-equipped, for six-cylinder as well as small-block V-8 engine models. Individual parts are also available if you have a big-block or custom engine/trans/exhaust setup and you only need the steering box, let's say. Check out this '66 Mustang with manual steering that we bring into the 21st century with a Borgeson power steering conversion at Classic Creations of Central Florida.  At this point the only thing...  At this point the only thing holding the column fast is the rubber seal at the base of the column, which is often stuck on the steering box. A gentle push/pry from a screwdriver or pry bar will often get the column tube free and then it can be carefully pulled up and off of the steering shaft.  Before we can unbolt the steering...  Before we can unbolt the steering gearbox itself, the pitman arm must be removed. The only way to get the pitman arm off (in the car) is with a pitman arm puller, as being used here. The original retaining nut and washer will not be reused, as the new gearbox comes with its own installation hardware.  Three bolts retain the steering...  Three bolts retain the steering gearbox to the framerail. They thread directly into the gearbox casting, so it's a one-man operation to remove the three bolts from within the left front fender area. Removing the tire helps for photos, but isn't required to access these bolts.  For the '65-'67 "long shaft"...  For the '65-'67 "long shaft" steering boxes, the only way to remove the assembly in one piece is to lift the engine up and remove the driver side engine mount (and possibly the exhaust manifold/header). We chose to simply cut the steering box's shaft off with a cut-off wheel to expedite things.  With the original steering...  With the original steering box out we can compare it side-by-side with the Borgeson power version. As we expected, the Borgeson unit is physically larger, yet with the case modifications it bolts right into place on the Mustang with no cutting of the shock tower and features a sporty 16:1 ratio. This box is part of the complete '65-'66 V-8 manual steering conversion kit (PN 999020, $1,084.28).  Installing the new Borgeson...  Installing the new Borgeson power box takes a little twisting and turning to get it into place due to its larger size, but it still slipped right by our long-tube headers with ease. Note that the Borgeson steering kit will not work with manual trans cars unless they have, or will be converted to, cable or hydraulic clutch.  The Borgeson box uses through...  The Borgeson box uses through bolts with lock nuts, so you'll either have to two-hand the hardware install, or enlist a helper to hold the bolts while you tighten down the lock nuts.  Once the gearbox is secured...  Once the gearbox is secured to the framerail, the factory pitman arm is reinstalled and secured with the new nut and split washer supplied with the box. The Borgeson remanufactured steering gearbox uses the same pitman arm splines/diameter as the stock Mustang box.  The complete kit includes...  The complete kit includes an application-specific rag joint and AN hose adapters for the steering box. Hindsight being what it is, we'll tell you it's a lot easier to install these fittings and the joint on the box before the gearbox is installed in the car. Hold our sign so we don't lose it.  The complete kit utilizes...  The complete kit utilizes a Saginaw power steering pump. Yes, we know it's a GM-based pump, but in all fairness Ford did use them too. The mounting bracket used here is a first-generation design and mounts to the water pump, so a few pump bolts need to be removed and the bracket slid under them.  The bracket also uses a 3/8-inch...  The bracket also uses a 3/8-inch threaded stud to secure the top most part of the bracket to the cylinder head. This is where we finally ran into a problem (nothing goes perfect for us, really). The hole in the cylinder head was a 7/16-inch hole because it was a modern cylinder head-the car had been upgraded with a crate engine. Suffice it to say, we got lucky when Classic Creations' Merv Rego dug through his bin o' bolts and found us a proper-sized stud.  The pump and adjusting bracket...  The pump and adjusting bracket can now finally be installed with the larger stud (which passed through all the hardware without having to enlarge any holes) so we could secure the pump.  Borgeson includes a length...  Borgeson includes a length of shaft to replace the old steering shaft that was removed with the old gearbox. It's splined on one end to mate with the rag joint (it's being secured in this photo), and the other end is splined to match the stock Ford steering wheel setup.  The latest design pump bracket...  The latest design pump bracket is shown here. Borgeson redesigned the bracket to bolt directly to the cylinder head only, allowing 289/302 and 351 deck heights, as well as 3/8-inch and 7/16-inch mounting holes all to be used with one bracket and one hardware package. Another bonus is this bracket allows the use of the factory A/C bracket if you have A/C on your car already.  The stock steering column...  The stock steering column tube will need to be shortened before it can be reinstalled. Take careful measurements to determine how short it needs to be. This is one case where it can be more beneficial to sneak up on the right length than to cut too much off. Reinstall the column tube in the car using the supplied firewall support plate.  The Borgeson kit comes with...  The Borgeson kit comes with brand-new pre-made pressure and return line hoses. The hoses simply thread onto the AN adapter fittings (the return hose is the one closest to the rag joint) and then they can be routed toward the pump.  The hoses are just the right...  The hoses are just the right length to pass over the exhaust and hug the shock tower. The return hose is made from the same reinforced hose as the pressure hose, which can make installing it on the return line nipple a bit of a chore, but you know it isn't coming off.  With the hoses secured, we...  With the hoses secured, we noticed the return hose was a little closer to the header than we liked. A simple rubber-cushioned clamp....  ....was installed with a self-drilling...  ....was installed with a self-drilling screw into the bottom of the shock tower to secure the hose away from the header.  The only items not included...  The only items not included in the conversion kit are the proper crankshaft pulley for your engine's accessory drive configuration, a power steering belt, and fluid. A two-groove crank pulley is a pretty common find, and they are reproduced as well, so just hit your favorite Mustang catalog. For the belt, we slid the pump to the middle of its adjustment range and took a measurement. A 44 1/2-inch long belt was perfect for our setup, though yours may be different.  Finally, check the upper shaft...  Finally, check the upper shaft length by reinstalling the steering wheel. If you come up a little short on retaining nut engagement, you can loosen the set screw on the rag joint and carefully push the shaft and rag joint assembly toward the firewall a bit (we had ours seated too deeply on the steering box). Just make sure you have enough spline engagement on both sides of the rag joint for safe use, otherwise you'll have to pull the column tube and take another cut.  The final installation looks...  The final installation looks clean and the steering box, hoses, and pump clear everything great. While we didn't drive the car ourselves (Classic Creations took it to have the alignment double checked), we did hear back from Classic Creations after it drove the car that the steering effort is very modern feeling; saying it felt very close to a rack-and-pinion setup. There also wasn't any over-boosted wandering at highway speeds like the old non-integral setup is known for. Pump pressures are also spot on with great assist at low speeds and not a hint of noise.
|
|
|