Dad's Truck Build

[Gary Lewis]

Repeat after me: Any time there are more steps forward than backward it is still progress!

So, what steps forward did I have? One - I got the front crossmember installed, torqued down, and touched up. But I still have to paint the sway bar before I can finish that up.

And, while doing that I thought I might as well bolt in the new Red Head steering box I have - but it won't quite bolt in. It appears that the casting is just slightly too big and it hits my reinforcement for the frame as shown below. This pic was taken with some red tape on to protect the reinforcement angle, and with Dad's original steering box bolted in - which fit fine. But, there's only about 1/32" of space between the bottom of the "ear" and the angle. So I guess I'll grind a bit off the ear on the Red Head box. (Is this a step backwards?)

Also, prior to this I was looking for the pitman arm and couldn't find it. Then, when I went up after Dad's steering box to test-fit it on the frame, I realized that I hadn't taken the arm off the box. (I shipped another box to Red Head as the core.) And that's when the mystery started.

Just for grins I decided I'd decode the tag on the steering box I took off Dad's truck. Here's the tag:

And here's what the MPC says:

Yep, the box says "SPA DC" and that should have been on a 1980 truck, not an '81. But, I'm very sure this is the original box - especially since it has a tag consistent with the build date of November of '80 as I think the "80J" means Oct of '80. And, rebuilders don't put the tag back on.

Further, the original pitman arm also is said to be the wrong one. As you can see, it says E0TA 3590-BD, and the cross-reference that Bill/Numberdummy gave me says that is part # E0TZ 3590-B. But the MPC says it should be part # E2TZ 3590-C, in spite of E2 being 1982 - and it doesn't even have an entry for E0TZ 3590-B.

I'm going back with that pitman arm, but I think the learning for today is that what the "book" says and what really happened are two different things. I wonder if I ought to climb the microfiche tower tomorrow and see what the 1982 version of the MPC says?

I did climb the microfiche tower and learned that I do have the right pitman arm. The 1982 version of the MPC says that I should have E0TZ 3590-B, which the cross ref book says will be marked E0TA 3590-BD. However, it also says that I have the wrong steering box.

Anyway, I've established that this is the right pitman arm and that confirms that this was the box out of Dad's truck. So, I've media blasted it and lots of other parts, which I hope to show you soon.

[Gary Lewis]

I did climb the microfiche tower and learned that I do have the right pitman arm. The 1982 version of the MPC says that I should have E0TZ 3590-B, which the cross ref book says will be marked E0TA 3590-BD. However, it also says that I have the wrong steering box.

Anyway, I've established that this is the right pitman arm and that confirms that this was the box out of Dad's truck. So, I've media blasted it and lots of other parts, which I hope to show you soon.

And now for today's update. First, the pitman arm removal. It took the big impact and a large air hose to get that rascal off. And I was sure the puller was going to break, but it didn't.

Then I blasted and powder coated the pitman arm and a few of the associated parts:

Then I worked on the RedHead steering box to get it to fit. As it turns out, both Dad's original steering box and the RedHead box have the same casting code. But, they are different! And the difference that caused me a problem was the bottom-rear bolt "ear". That ear was 1/8" longer than the one on Dad's original box, and the one I used to develop the reinforcement. So I had to grind that ear down to match the original box.

But, I got that done and here's the box sort of installed:

But I then pulled it off and touched up the black of the box as well as the holes in the frame where I've been test-fitting the box. But, hopefully tomorrow afternoon, after church, I can bolt the box on for good with those powder coated bolts. And add the pitman arm.

Oh, and Steven Fox/FoxFord33 is coming over to clean his Windsor timing cover and press in a new front seal. So I'm heating up the parts washer and will also clean that steering shaft from Huck. Might as well clean the one that's attached to the other steering box so we can have a close-up comparison.

[85lebaront2]

And now for today's update. First, the pitman arm removal. It took the big impact and a large air hose to get that rascal off. And I was sure the puller was going to break, but it didn't.

Then I blasted and powder coated the pitman arm and a few of the associated parts:

Then I worked on the RedHead steering box to get it to fit. As it turns out, both Dad's original steering box and the RedHead box have the same casting code. But, they are different! And the difference that caused me a problem was the bottom-rear bolt "ear". That ear was 1/8" longer than the one on Dad's original box, and the one I used to develop the reinforcement. So I had to grind that ear down to match the original box.

But, I got that done and here's the box sort of installed:

But I then pulled it off and touched up the black of the box as well as the holes in the frame where I've been test-fitting the box. But, hopefully tomorrow afternoon, after church, I can bolt the box on for good with those powder coated bolts. And add the pitman arm.

Oh, and Steven Fox/FoxFord33 is coming over to clean his Windsor timing cover and press in a new front seal. So I'm heating up the parts washer and will also clean that steering shaft from Huck. Might as well clean the one that's attached to the other steering box so we can have a close-up comparison.

Gary, from what I remember, there is not a lot of difference at least between 1986 and 1990 in the steering column or shaft. The differences were the mount to the dash and the ignition switch.

[Gary Lewis]

Gary, from what I remember, there is not a lot of difference at least between 1986 and 1990 in the steering column or shaft. The differences were the mount to the dash and the ignition switch.

Bill - I'm talking about the shaft that goes from the steering column to the steering box. The MPC calls it the lower steering column shaft.

[Steve83]

Gary, from what I remember, there is not a lot of difference at least between 1986 and 1990 in the steering column or shaft. The differences were the mount to the dash and the ignition switch.

The columns & ig.sw. are the same for pre-'92 trucks. Only the bracket between the column & dash, and the wheel changed in '87, but all the parts still swap.

https://supermotors.net/getfile/894815/thumbnail/columnsexploded.jpg

https://supermotors.net/getfile/831772/thumbnail/igswlogic.jpg

https://supermotors.net/getfile/440136/thumbnail/steeringcolumn92up.jpg

Nothing swaps across the '92 line.

[Gary Lewis]

The columns & ig.sw. are the same for pre-'92 trucks. Only the bracket between the column & dash, and the wheel changed in '87, but all the parts still swap.

https://supermotors.net/getfile/894815/thumbnail/columnsexploded.jpg

https://supermotors.net/getfile/831772/thumbnail/igswlogic.jpg

https://supermotors.net/getfile/440136/thumbnail/steeringcolumn92up.jpg

Nothing swaps across the '92 line.

Good to know. Thanks, Steve.

[85lebaront2]

Good to know. Thanks, Steve.

That was my point Gary, that my original tilt wheel column and the one from the parts truck were virtually identical except for the mounting brackets, switch and wheel. What I am using in Darth is the 1992 up column which also has the universal joint on the column to intermediate shaft (which is where to collapsible portion is) and the caged poly joint at the steering box.

Item for you, when you looked at the later parts list, it showed the E2 PN for the Pittman arm, you had to go back to the older parts list to find the E0 PN which tells me Ford updated it just like the steering box. I suspect that just like the slide vs pin locks, assembly plants were told to use up existing stock until they were gone rather than stop production and pull all the older parts off the line. This would be the norm unless a safety recall was involved.

[Gary Lewis]

That was my point Gary, that my original tilt wheel column and the one from the parts truck were virtually identical except for the mounting brackets, switch and wheel. What I am using in Darth is the 1992 up column which also has the universal joint on the column to intermediate shaft (which is where to collapsible portion is) and the caged poly joint at the steering box.

Item for you, when you looked at the later parts list, it showed the E2 PN for the Pittman arm, you had to go back to the older parts list to find the E0 PN which tells me Ford updated it just like the steering box. I suspect that just like the slide vs pin locks, assembly plants were told to use up existing stock until they were gone rather than stop production and pull all the older parts off the line. This would be the norm unless a safety recall was involved.

Ahhh! I missed the point about the steering column.

And, I agree - Ford threw nothing away. So there was a change, but they used up what was left. In Dad's truck they used a steering box for an '80 even though this was an '81 truck. But it got the correct pitman arm.

Doing a "numbers matching" restoration would be a nightmare on these things since what came on them is not what it looks like they were supposed to have.

[Nothing Special]

And now for today's update. First, the pitman arm removal. It took the big impact and a large air hose to get that rascal off. And I was sure the puller was going to break, but it didn't....

A trick I've used is to tighten the bolt on the puller as much as I could reasonably, then take a big hammer and hit it. Sometimes hitting the end of the bolt of the puller works best, sometimes hitting the side of the pitman arm does. But then I can usually get another few degrees tightening the bolt, and can eventually walk it off without feeling like I'm going to break the puller.

[Steve83]

...pull all the older parts off the line.

That's a popular myth, as is Ford inventing the assembly line. Neither is correct. Ford's innovation was having parts delivered from suppliers as they were needed on the assembly line, making warehousing unnecessary, and eliminating "old" stock (since there is no "stock"). Vehicles are built with the parts that are delivered that day (or shift), and fresh parts only arrive as more vehicles are being assembled. So there's never a pile of "wrong" parts when there's a redesign - the early-design parts are gone, already on the vehicles that are done. The new-design parts go on the next batch of vehicles, as a running change, with a notation about the serial number &/or date where that change occurred.

...what came on them is not what it looks like they were supposed to have.

I think that's more a result of the running change notes being inaccurate, or lost, or damaged, or illegible from back before computers were used. IOW: the truck was built "correctly" - it's the PARTS BOOK that's wrong.