BeardBros

So I asked the seller of the NOS 49-52 shaft to give me dimensions. This is what he gave me: "47 1/4" LONG OVERALL, THE DIAMETER OF THE SHAFT IS 7/8". LENGTH OF THE SHAFT FROM THE TOP OF THE WORM GEAR TO THE END OF THE THREADED END IS 44 1/4" LONG, THE WORM GEAR IS 1 3/8" DIAMETER AT THE CENTER PORTION, AND THE LENGTH IS 3" OVERALL". Everything was the same except the overall length. The one out of the 1948 I am working on is 49 7/8" long, so of course I proceeded to rebuild the box. I cleaned everything out and polished the worm gear, so it was smooth but still had the pitting in the previous pictures. I installed new bearings, races, bushings and the lower seal. When I put everything together I did find however that I needed to add more shims to the end cover. With the new bearings and races the end bearing race was sticking out farther than the original one, thus requiring more shims. Then I reinstalled everything and put the correct lubricant in the steering box. I raised the front end in the air, adjusted the sector shaft and it steers like new! No binding, grinding or heavy feel. Thanks for all the help, I really appreciate learning from these jobs and people that are willing to share their knowledge! Like I said before this is an all original car with only 24000 miles. If anybody ever needs pictures of how something should look to be factory correct let me know and I can help. This car is a time capsule.

I found a NOS shaft but it says 49-52 Plymouth NOS STEERING SHAFT & WORM GEAR ASSEMBLY PART NUMBER #1142176. Can anybody verify if this will work in my application?

Thanks for the advice guys! I am going to look for a good used worm gear setup and put new bushings, bearings, seals and races in the original housing. This is a car for a customer and he wants me to keep whatever I can original to the car on it if it is still usable. I have been maintaining it for him for the last 10 years. He bought it with 10000 miles on it in 1953 for $250. So between then and now he only put 14000 miles on it. It is in incredibly remarkable condition. Never had anything done to it except maintenance. The interior is in mint condition. If anybody ever needed a 1948 Plymouth Special Deluxe benchmark car this would be it.

I finally got everything out and cleaned up. I attached some pictures, what do you guys think? Looks to me like everything is pitted, I don't think it will ever roll smooth gain. I just ordered the rebuild kit but my steering shaft and worm gear is still an issue. I guess this is what happens when all the oil seeps out and you keep driving for 40 years with a dry steering box. I am located in central IL by Starved Rock State Park. About 2 hours SW of Chicago.

Thanks for the help guys! I will keep you updated.

Hello, I am working on an all original 24000 mile 1948 Plymouth Special Deluxe coupe. I am having an issue with the steering box. When you run the wheel from lock to lock it is not smooth like it should be, it is sort of bumpy and binding. With the front wheels off the ground I tried adjusting the gear to have the smallest amount of wheel play and did not have any improvement. When the tires are on the ground and you need to turn the wheel and the car is not rolling it is really binding up. One thing I did notice is that the steering box was bone dry and probably had been for years and of course was a rusty color inside. Anybody have any Ideas?

It is the 1 piece cast swan neck mirror that I need, for the drivers side. The one I have has the mirror broken off. The rest of the arm is fine. I just cannot find a mirror to match the other side.

I am looking for a drivers side mirror for a 1948 Plymouth 5 window coupe. The round mirror was broken off in the past. I still have the arm in very good condition on this car. So I am in need of the whole unit or another mirror to put on the existing arm. Any help would be appreciated. You can email me at Jim at beardbrothersinc . com or call me at 815- two five two - 7247 Thanks - Jim