CPP power steering Q

[yossarian19]

So, from reading different sets of instructions I've gotten a bit confused. Is the stock steering column / box usable in this conversion to the later style stuff? All I can imagine, if so, is that you cut the outer shroud all the way around and separate the box from the rest of the column, fab your mounts & add U-joints as needed.
Sound crazy?
Nowhere I looked said "this kit incomplete without new steering column"...
but I want to be sure before I cut up a functioning steering gear.

[mknittle]

Cpp sucks ! bad design. no matter what you do with it you will have bump steer!
There is only one way to not get bump steer with the CPP kit: put it back in the box and design your own!

[Russell Ashley]

You don't use the original box but you can use the original column. I kept mine and even still have the three speed shifter box on the column. You definitely do have to cut the column and and steering shaft so it does sacrifice the original steering box. I used a lower bearing and bushing kit from CPP called a column saver kit, but you could fab something there without spending the $70 for the kit.

[yossarian19]

Ahh, ok. First i'd seen mention of a lower bearing kit. Makes sense. I'll have to buy that, I guess, or switch to a different column. And here I was hoping CPP had seen the last of me.

[Russell Ashley]

Originally Posted by yossarian19

Ahh, ok. First i'd seen mention of a lower bearing kit. Makes sense. I'll have to buy that, I guess, or switch to a different column. And here I was hoping CPP had seen the last of me.

I think no matter what column you use you will still have to fab up some kind of lower bearing since you will be shortening the column.

Since the steering box formerly secured the lower end of the column jacket you will also have to make some way to secure the column jacket to the firewall now. You can buy a column holder to do it, but it's pretty easy to fab something to do it.

[64fleetside]

We used a 70's van automatic column in my buddy's 55(he wanted rid of the floor shifter anyway, it was already swapped to an auto), worked great-it already has a lower bearing/bushing. Two joints and a short piece of straight shaft in between the box and the column was needed.