Hi all, currently looking at a '68 that's fitted with a 350 HO crate motor and was wondering how difficult it would be to add power steering to the car.
Are the power steering pump and brackets the same as for a factory engine or do you need a special kit?

Thanks,
Brian

 

A small block chev is a small block chev.
If you have the correct pulleys on the crank. and correct waterpump. All should line up. Your adding power steering to the car. Not the engine.

 

if it is a later model serpentine setup, the pump and brackets would come from whichever setup is currently on the car. but as you do not specify, the most likely is the stock corvette setup from that era. post a pic of the water pump and belts, fan.etc and we will know what it is. everything but the pump attaches to the car and the steering.

 

Understood, my question was specifically whether the standard brackets and pump would work with this motor - e.g. do the bolt holes on the front of the block line up the same as an early 350 and is there clearance for a standard pump?

This is the best picture I have at the moment:



Was also curious why there appear to be two belts running between the water pump pulley and the alternator...

 

I would keep the manual steering. The original style of power steering is problematic.

 

I installed the borgeson on my 68 327. It looks very much like yours. Call them, they are very good at helping. I would use their pump with the complete kit. The belt/pulley setup sometimes takes a little adjusting. I ended up using the cast iron pulley to line up the belts. It is just a matter of finding the right alignment.
As far as manual, original setup compared to Borgeson,,,,,,, like night and day difference, in the enjoyment of driving the car, it is huge.

 

In answer to the OP's question. Yes the threaded holes will be in the right places on the block.
Biggest issue will be what pulley is on the end of the crank.
Did they install the original one off the original engine. Or something else all together? Belt alignment will be the biggest issue if this is unknown.
As per converting to a completely different system like a Borgeson. They are not without issues as well. a properly set-up stock system works very well indeed.
Yes I've fixed mine more than once. Yes my car is over 45 years old!
(and thought of calapsing my steering column by bashing it inwards doesn't appeal to me).

 

Judging by the stock alternator lining up with the pulleys I am going to assume you have the stock pulleys and a power steering pump would bolt in... I strongly advise you consider a Borgeson power steering kit vs the stock kit however as it would be a noticable upgrade with less leaks and better road feel.

ps, Im not sure if its the angle of the camera or what but your engine looks to be leaning towards the drivers side pretty bad in that photo almost as if the drivers side motor mount is broken? even the distributor looks to be leaning badly?

The belt setup was likely originally setup for AC and if you remove the ac belt it puts more strain on the remaining PS/alternator belt which sometimes slips as a result which may be why they put the double belts on vs putting the correct belt arrangement on the car for a non AC non ps car.

 

Thank you for addressing the actual question I asked! Getting pulleys to line up can be a PITA but it's good to know at least the stock pump brackets should work.
And no, I'm not a fan of the idea of bashing on a collapsible steering column either (maybe it's an Aussie thing?)

Just to clear this up for anyone who didn't read my original post: this isn't a car I own, it's one that I was looking at as a potential purchase.
I was already on the fence with it having a crate motor and the thought there may be issues if I want to add power steering isn't helping.
Hopefully the leaning engine thing is just an optical illusion...

 

I did answer your question to the best of my abilities, you could have mentioned you were not interested in any superior alternatives or feedback from those with the stock system. But the fact that this question often brings up so many advocating against the stock power setup or the borgeson setup should honestly raise another question in your mind. That said I only mentioned it to try to be helpful as someone who has the stock system im not thrilled with and has done some research on the upgrade. Your already half way there and the upgrade would have been easier for you to consider is all.

Ive watched quite a few borgeson installation videos on youtube that dont require bashing anything as the collapsible column is designed to have adjustment range in that direction with many being able to be both pushed in and pulled back out with minimal effort .. some that are in poor shape require more effort to push in a bit but the same type of effort is often needed to even replace the stock rag joint...
I also have a stock power steering setup on my 74 and I did need to rebuild it due to leaks everywhere.. It doesnt drip anymore but if you look at any vehicle with this type of power steering like the older mustangs and cougars you will see the borgeson upgrade is very popular for those cars as well and thats for a reason. My uncles 76 has had the hoses all replaced twice in the last 2000 miles and the cylinder replaced twice in the last 5 years his current solution is cardboard on his garage floor to catch the drips.

Not everyone will have issues but they are more prone to problems overall and the "feel" from the stock steering is not really what a lot of drivers like in a sportscar regardless of age.

 

Borgeson or standard systems both require a power steering pump to be fitted and getting that done on a crate motor was the focus of my original question.

Thanks to all who've commented and the consensus seems to be it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

 

I would take a close look at the front left side of the block, where the pump is supposed to mount and see if it has the threaded holes for the bracket. There are pictures on line you can find with the correct holes.

 

There used to be companies that would sell you the "entire kit" to convert manual steering to the conventional "standard" style of Power Steering. I changed my 1968 to use a Steeroids Rack and Pinion and that was awesome as it tracks straight and takes little input to steer the car. No more driving your grandpas old Buick "feeling" to the steering. The old recirculating ball systems were just a bit too sloppy even after rebuilding the entire system on my 1968 Corvette. I kept all the parts in case someone else wants to convert it backwards after I am no longer the owner of the car.

The best resource would be TURN ONE up in Saginaw, Michigan as they know power steering of all types. Just for your knowledge Turn One is currently having a great sale on the parts you might need for your conversion. They sell the parts and could help you in any way needed to completely convert your Corvette.
On my 1968 I switched over to a single serpentine belt system with March Performance pulleys and brackets for my 427. It sure makes the engine look cleaner and no more hassles with squealing belts.

Going to an Electric power steering would be the ultimate "upgrade" as you could eliminate the hydraulic systems and the associated issues. There are several conversion kits out there which would allow you to reduce the weight and complexity of the entire steering system.

 

its an optical illusion. Yes the holes should be there. It could be a later year gen2 with those heads. Getting the block numbers is the easiest way to tell


heeres a hotrodders thread that lists some differences at post #8
https://www.hotrodders.com/threads/g...-2-sbc.519953/

 

Haven't got any more information about the motor from the seller other than confirmation it has iron heads.
That combined with the centre bolt valve covers leads me to believe it's probably a 350 HO base engine @330hp - certainly nothing to get excited about.

 

My car had that belt arrangement too before I added power steering. If the AIR system is not installed and there is no AC on the car, only one belt is technically required. There is no one groove crank or water pump, that I have ever seen. A two groove alternator belt allows you to fill up the grooves on the crank and water pump. The extra belt grip will help to share the wear and is a great redundancy if something breaks.

If you put on a power steering pump you will need to reroute one of the belts to go to the power steering and not to the alternator. This will leave one groove open on your alternator, or you can replace it with a single groove.

I plan on replacing my alternator pulley at some point, but it is not too ugly.