steampunk c1

I have used car internals in my 59 it may have slighty lower ratio but it feels good.

blubu

don't the c-1 have a 54 chevy front suspension
including steer box?

jusplainwacky

BLU...that's what I was wondering. If perhaps I can hit up the Chevy dealers and find the same parts off a 53/54.

jimh_1962

I would call around to all of the vendors. Sometimes, you can get lucky (one sitting on the shelf)...

Mary Jo might have one.
Keen is another place to look.
Stoudt (Reading PA)
Corvette Stop (Diamond springs CA)

jimh_1962

You might want to give it a try...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1958-1959-1960-1961-1962-CORVETTE-STEERING-COLUMN-AND-PITTMAN-ARM-/121419952341?pt=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item1c453170d5&vxp=mtr

jusplainwacky

Some of them have used parts like (MJ)...but I don't think I want to stick in a used worm gear or bearings if I'm going to rebuild this thing.

jimh_1962

Just replace it. Find one in good shape unless you are dead set to rebuild it. Its not like the vin is stamped on it or welded to the steering column as on a 1962. You can find a nice used one from people who have gone the restomod route.

jusplainwacky

Hey Rich...welcome back!!

If I'm going to restore one, why not just restore the one I have...it's all painted, in good shape (no rust, pitting, etc)...the only problem I see is the worm and roller bearing.

Since I have your attention....ever replaced just the worm gear on the shaft? I pulled mine off just to see how difficult it was. MJ says she thinks she has a worm by itself, but my concern is if I'm going to rebuild this thing....why use used parts?
I thought not having the steering column in would hold up the painting, but the painter said, they can work around it. So, I could wait for the repro parts to come in if I had to.

jim lockwood

The front suspension is similar between passenger car and Corvette. But only similar. There are differences.

However, the steering box for Corvette is unique. Different steering ratio, different internals.....

Jim

jusplainwacky

Quote:

However, the steering box for Corvette is unique. Different steering ratio, different internals

Ok...good to know. That answers my question.

jimh_1962

A personal experience on waiting for reproduction parts. During the bodywork on my car , all of the various vendors were out of the reproduction radiator core supports. The most of the parts vendors had several outstanding orders with one manufacture. In fact one of the vendor told me their orders replaced almost two years waiting. All of the vendors who had orders placed were in the same situation. The manufacture was waiting for a certain number of orders before starting production.

The shop was waiting for the part for almost a year. I was getting tired of the delay so I started calling around for a used radiator support and found one. There was no problems with fit and quality of the used one. Typically, I do buy repro parts but sometimes it is better to find a nice used part. Usually, it is an exact fit with OEM or NOS parts whereas reproduction who knows...

I would bet there are only a few steering column getting rebuilt now compared to the past since most of the projects now are going to towards the restomod builds. If it was me, I would call the vendors and find out when they got their last shipment and how long on back order. Also, you do not need the steering column for any of the body work or paint. It can be painted afterwards.

Used parts if not worn no problems... Then again I never replaced the worm since my steering wheel does not have much play.

jusplainwacky

Hey Rich....That's the same concern I have...them telling me they will be in by Sept 15...and they don't come in until November. I agree that they might be waiting to fill the reservations before making the part...which might end up months.

I'm all for buying a used part providing 2 things...it's in excellent condition and it's not a part that is susceptible to wear....like a bracket.

If I could find an excellent worm/shaft that was used, I'd probably be "OK" with that...however again my concern is that you may not be able to see the flaw...yet feel it when you put it in.

The other problem is also...this isn't a small part to ship. Some vendor might say it's in excellent shape, ship it to you, only to find out it's pitted or something, and you end up paying to ship it back.

I heard from MJ...she said if she has one, it might be on a shaft which is OK with me. Again my concern is her ability to evaluate the condition that meets my expectations and causing an issue between her and me.

rich5962

....just got in from a Boston to Florida road trip. Flew there in the AM Tuesday, left 9am yesterday and made it to Richmond about 1AM this morning, then left at 8am and made it back to Sebastian at around 10pm. 1500 miles in one overnight so I may be a little loopy at the moment.....

So......I may have a lead for a Deluxe kit owned by a friend up in NY. I'll make a call in the morning and see if he may want to part with it.

I'll let you know when I get the the info.

g'night for now.
Rich
p.s.(who's the "other" Rich?)

jusplainwacky

Thanks Rich!!

jusplainwacky

I got my rebuild kit and put the whole thing back together. One thing I notices was this...

There are 4 1/2 revolutions total in turning the wheel...so that means the center should be at 2 1/4 revolutions. My repro shaft didn't have a "center mark", so I punched one on the end.

While doing my lash adjustment I notice that the "peak" of the resistance is NOT at the center mark on the shaft...it's off.

Here is what I measured. The first number is when the steering starts to get stiff, and the other number is when it "releases".

Steering Right to Left - 1 3/4 - 2 1/4 revolutions
Steering Left to Right - 2 1/2 - 3 revolutions.

Since the peak of the resistance should be at the center mark and it's not, then I'm going to scribe a new line in the center of the resistance.

Anyone else come across this? Seem that who ever is making this has the worm gear slightly off axis.

rich5962

Yes, I had the same issue on the last one I did with the new Deluxe kit. The end of the shaft is not marked with a "center alignment notch", so it appears they leave that up to the rebuilder.

What you did was correct, find the center using the sector free play adjustment, then mark the end of the shaft with the notch. This will be the alignment mark to align the steering wheel to the worm/sector roller center.

Rich

jusplainwacky

Hey Rich....

I was thinking of this....and correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm concerned if I "move" the center location on the shaft (punch mark), because this mark should be the center for all my steering mechanism.
I'm just wondering if perhaps a better solution would be to pry off the worm gear, rotate it and then put it back on. I'm not sure how difficult this would be...probably have to take it to a machine shop to have them pull the gear off and press it back on.

steampunk c1

That is not normal. I have done a few sedan boxs and the have a tight spot in the middle and you can adjust the drag link to get that spot at the straight ahead postion. It may upset your tuning circle left vearse right but it you do need that sweet spot at straight ahead. Also on steerbox lube I use Moreys oil stabliser as lube not grease as GM reccomend I have found old boxs fill of grease and worn wormswith the grease all stuck to sides of the steering box moreys clings to worm and roller and you can adjust for tighter clearance and better road feel.

jusplainwacky

This is the way I see it....the "center" of the steering wheel/shaft should put the pitman arm in the correct position (middle of distance from front to back). What is being suggested is that I find the peak of the resistance and call that the center, but now my pitman arm is not in the position it should be in if it was centered.

Yes, I could adjust the drag link to compensate for this, but it's not going to be "correct". I can see that if my wheel was centered on the "peak" of the resistance, then I turned all the way to the right or left, I would be turning the wheel more in one direction then the other before it hits the stops.

Anyone ever take the worm gear off these things??

I'm going to be calling CC this morning and giving them a piece of my mind. I'm not happy after having to wait nearly a month for the kit, putting it all back together and now this.

jusplainwacky

Ok...here is an update regarding this.

First of all Corvette Central is sold out again...go figure and they are having a problem with the sector shaft bearing. They have no idea when/if they will get them in again.

I called Joe Calcagno (wrote the documents included with the steering rebuilt kit) and told him of my problem...he was very much aware of the issue. And there is an issue! However he said it shouldn't affect the performance/steering. He personally has been trying to get this problem solved for sometime with little success.

Anyway...this is what he said....

Find the center of the steering...which is 2 1/4 turns from either stopping point. Put a mark on it...which I did. Then using your "fish scale"...go to the highest resistance point (which obviously isn't going to be at that center like it should) and continue on with the measurements/force that should be applied at the peak of resistance.

The reason that the ST-12 states between 7/8 and 1 7/8 Lbs. of pull at the highest resistance point (peak resistance as I call it), is because the goal and key to all this is that you don't want ANY play when your wheel is centered and it just happens to be around 7/8 to 1 7/8" pounds of force. As long as you can eliminate any play at the center position...you are good to go, regardless if the peak resistance is not directly in the center. He said you will never feel it.

I thought the high resistance point was to keep the car straight when you were on the Freeway and if you let go of the wheel it would continue to go straight...he said, "not necessarily true". Again the goal was to remove any play at the center of the wheel.

He has all the videos on this on YouTube....in great detail (8 videos).

http://www.youtube.com/results?searc...cagno+steering

He did not recommend that you change the "true center" of the shaft/steering wheel. As he pointed out that I was correct in that it will change the position of the pitman arm and change your turning points from left to right and VS.