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Installing a Nostalgic ’56 Ford Pickup Steering Box
Old-style rods, nostalgia rods and rat rods are increasing in popularity across America, and we are beginning to see a growing number of them at car shows outside California, where the movement seems to have set strong roots. These styles are generally seen in large numbers at shows such as NHRA’s Hot Rod Reunion (in Bakersfield), the West Coast Kustoms Show (in Paso Robles) and even the L.A. Roadster show (in Pomona). For the last two years there has been a special room for such cars at the Detroit Autorama (held at Cobo Hall), and this year was the biggest display yet.
There’s even a Primer Nationals show held yearly, and it, too, keeps getting bigger. Last year there were more than 800 cars in attendance. Amadeus Ramirez-Reynolds was fascinated with the old-style rod look and movement, so he decided to build one. He spent some time reading old magazines to determine the components that were used in the old days and started collecting the parts he would need. He wanted a car that had the old flavor, but he also wanted one that would be safe, reliable and a good driver. It doesn’t always seem that these conditions are possible with many of what we call “art” cars, which are conceived to look like rusted-out hot rods of decades past.
We talked to Amadeus when he was just starting his rod and liked what he had to say, so we decided to follow the buildup to show other young guys how it can be done with safety in mind. The front and rear suspension was covered in the June 2006 issue of STREET ROD BUILDER. This is not a project per se; rather, we have focused on the various technical aspects of the build. The engine installation was featured in the July 2006 issue of this magazine. Once the engine location was determined, it was time to install a steering system in this channeled ’29 Ford sedan nostalgia rod, so once again we bring you a look of the past with consideration for a satisfying, and safe, driving experience.
Although Amadeus did make some modern improvements along the way, he wanted traditional steering, so he selected a ’56 Ford pickup steering unit because that’s the way it was done in the past. He found a good, rebuilt steering box that had to be adapted to the boxed Model A chassis. This entire installation was done with vintage parts, so if you have a garage full of old parts that you replaced on your street rod, they may be valuable to someone else. In this feature we followed Amadeus as he designed and fabricated his steering setup. The tools required to accomplish this task included a T-square, a drill motor with several drills, a hole saw, a 3-inch cutoff wheel, a 5-inch sander, a plasma cutter, an oxy-acetylene welder, a large chop saw, a metal lathe, a TIG welder and a variety of normal hand tools.
