manual to power steering conversion?

[wrapumup]

I did find someone who said he had done this, and should have emailed him directly since I can't find the thread now. Possibly shortie, something with an s I have just got crossmember with the disc brakes and steering box on it, supposed to bolt right in my 68, so I was told. Anyway looking for someone who has details perhaps on this. What all do I need? Not sure what year engine is, is a 350. I know I will need a power steering pump, what do I look for on engine bolt hole wise? Any help will be appreciated. If there is a thread, with pics would be great, let me know. Thanks!

[jimmydean]

I took the power steering box off a '75 when I pulled the motor out of the same truck to put in my '69. The stock motor should support a pump with the correct brackets.

I did have to notch my bumber mount to clear the steering box, but that was way easy.

[67shortie]

You might be asking about me, I just did this a very short time ago.

When I bought the truck, it did come with a very nice 72+ power steering box, but nothing else. I scoured the local pick and pulls to find a doner 71 with all of the brackets and bolts (important to take these too) and located the right hoses at my local Kragen auto parts store. I did however have to modify the stock exhaust manifold bracket because I have headers but one can buy an adapter through Summit I believe. I chose to use my grinder for a tab removal and use a solid spacer for the bolt that goes into the manifold.

I think overall I have $80 invested, not including the box which came with the truck. great improvement, I can actually turn into a corner over 10mph without breaking a sweat and drifting into the other lanes

[motocrosschump]

I like Manual, feels like I getting a workout without going to the gym.

[shifty]

just an FYI the driver side bumper support (goes diagonal from the frame) is different on the 67-68 for non-power steering trucks. it may be different on 69-70. you will need to grind a notch for clearance to bolt the bumper support back on.

other than that, you might look in the FAQ if you haven't already ... or if nothing there, use the forum search feature and search for the word "steering" and you should be able to dig through the posts and find several on the topic. to use search, hit the back button in your browser, look at the top of the list of threads and up on the right-hand corner of the thread list you'll see "Search this forum". that will let you specifically search in this forum only for posts.

good luck. i'm doing the coversion also, but mine has a little bit of a different flair, so i can't help much.

[pumpkin]

For trucks that are drivers I use the newest box I can get for cheep. My pick up has a box from an 87 p.u. The newer box quickens the steering. On my Blazer its getting a 2wd box from an 89 Burban. (going crossover steering) As far as the lines go with the newer boxes they seal whith an O ring, but you can use the output fitting from a new style pump on the old style pumps.

[4x4Poet]

AFAIK, you can use the power steering brackets that use the motor mount bolt for a brace to avoid having to use a pwr strg bracket that uses the exhaust manifold. Still available new, either GM or aftermarket. I can give you an expert source for all you steering conversion needs if you desire. New parts, only though.

[bluec10]

Good info here. Thanks.