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Power Steering for a 1947 Plymouth-p15,Bus.Cpe.


DJ194950

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Can anyone post a link to a start to finish post to a r&p change over with the corrected steer radius problem with most changeovers fixed?

I know some of the pulley problems and steer column to r&p /horn issues. All solutions to each welcome as long as on topic.

I have 2 -50 Plym. vehicles of my own but this is for a friends 47 Ply. Bus. Cpe. mostly stock (flat 6, 3 spd. OD),  that just today told me he wants a daily driver with PS!  What next??  AC?  Navigation? ,Power seats?, and on and on!  :rolleyes:

Well he does make contributions to my bills fund! ;)

I know in the past Fatman did make a Cavalier rack setup for early Ply. but could not find it OL.?

Thanks for any leads.

DJ

Edited by DJ194950
Add P-15 Bus. Cpe. to Car
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I'd be getting in touch with companies that specialise in P/s boxes to see if there was a steering box from a late model something that had the long pitman shaft similar to the stock Mopar box.......you ideally want one that has the in/out hoses at the top of the box, then its just a matter of mounting the P/S pump........some of the larger Japanese 80-90's cars like the Cressida, Crown etc had steering boxes that may work, also what is available in the aftermarket for mid 50's chev?........there maybe something there...........of course there is the Cavalier power rack but I sensed your friend wants a steering box, not a rack.......s.....andyd

Edited by Andydodge
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Well the PS addition became my problem not the owners when I told him  that this car Could be a every day driver before he purchased it. But my idea of a old car with No PS is still a good driver even with the fact that Marty Bose just had the steer box totally rebuilt so that is not a problem. The new owner (a friend) has now decided that PS is necessary to be a every day driver.

So my posted Question.

I think he may be the first (at least on this forum that I know of) to get one of those fancy,expensive electric steering boxes! Looks the easiest to me. I Can spend his money to make him happy! Suppose if I really wanted to spend his money we could be doing a Fatman stub MII setup!:lol:

I saw the other posts on this issue and the horn connection in the tech section which will needed for ant type of PS setup using the stock wheel/column and shifter.

Glad it was brought back up. I was going to go searching fot that info.

DJ

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The owner and talked after I posted that and for now that $1k electric steering is off the table. So he has decided he just might try the skinnier tire I suggested before.!

He has a habit of saying go ahead and spend what is needed and then second thoughts happen! Some narrow used tires for trial basis will be fine! ;)

Marty's car is NICE!

DJ

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What sort of tyres are on it now?.........if crossplies try swapping to radials as I've found them to be lighter on the steering......andyd

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The front tire are currently 215/60/15 radials which have a good squat on the road contact patch. Thinking a 185 or 195 /70 with a smaller contact area may still be easier to turn when going slow/stopped.  Those sizes are still wider than the stock size/type???

DJ

 

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I had 195/75x15 Coker Classic radials on the front of the 41 Plymouth Coupe with the stock steering and it was fine to steer, the 40 Dodge sedan has an Austin 1800 rack with 195/65x14 Bridgestone radials on the front and whilst steering is a little heavy its certainly not overly so......the 185/195 size would still have a wider contact patch than the stock tyres which would be 6.00/6.50x 15 or 16 I think........is it that beige Coupe in Martys pic?........what size are the front rims?.........andyd   

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Yes the car in Marty's pic is the car now in my garage that a good friend purchased from Marty.

I Believe the front rims are 15x6??

You are probably right about a 75, series height tire would most likely be closest  to the original sidewall height.

The 75 series would be best in my opinion but May look odd with the wide 60 series rear tires. not sure a this moment as to rim width but the tires are even somewhat wider. The new owner is concerned about the LOOK with any change in front sizes. I thought he was more concerned about steer effort!?

I kid my friend a lot but he is a very, very nice, considerate person just fairly new to upgrading old cars but has has owned a 71 Buick Skylark Convert. for about 30 years that is also getting some updates. So money does come up very often!

Thanks for the responses Andy!

DJ

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  • 2 weeks later...

Bob- my friend changes his mind week to week. Thanks for some ideas.

We have never approached the idea of whitewalls. I don't know how they they would look on a light tan car. OK I suppose. Got any nice used WW tires for sale? - Did I mention he can get to his cheap side quickly- especially on tires and wheels for some reason.??

Now some radials with the older bias ply look- could be a possibility, But.

Thanks,

DJ

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@DJ194950 That's a really nice car. Even though he got a good deal on it I understand your friend's reluctance to throw a bunch of money at it.  I traded into a P-15 last fall which had Coker 6.00-16 bias ply wide whites. I didn't like them so they were replaced with 215/75-15 Hankook Optimas from Wal-Mart. The Hankooks are $56.97 each right now. The car steers easily enough and goes down the road just fine with them. I can't justify spending $800-$1,000 on tires that will dry out before they wear out. You can't see 'em when you're driving anyway! ;)

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Think the tough steering issue is more about driving the old Plymouths after getting out of a new car with power steering.  Didnt all the old cars without power steering steer hard ?  My 46 steers OK once I get her going.  Tough part is turning the wheel sitting almost still.  Hope I never have to parallel park

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