Project “Fat B!tch 2.0” is officially underway!!

[SenorNoob]

Looks like a plastic part with 3 metal bolt spacer to me.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/157511659235

 

[NakedDucks]

Ah…. F-150…. I was thinking Ranger.

 

[NakedDucks]

STEERING BOX/SHAFT UPDATE!!

So in order for the box to fit where I needed, I ended up having to notch the frame after all. I will weld a plate to cover it up and box the frame once I get everything mocked and drilled and such.

I tried the spacer I was told about, but the frame has a slight outward angle, so the more it’s spaced away from the frame, the worse the angle (and therefore steering shaft misalignment) gets.

Also tried the full-Size jeep shaft, but it wouldn’t work. Neither side really fit, so I didnt force the issue.

I did, however, like the fact it had a u-joint at both ends…. So that brings up my next issue. The shaft itself..

The original shaft with weak and crappy rag joints at both ends. This simply will not work.

After some research, I found out the SOME rangers have a steering shaft with a u-joint at both ends.

So I went in an adventure to my local Pull-A-Part.

I could t find one, so I did this instead.

I found one that had a joint at the steering wheel end, so pulled it.

Then I cut the rag joint end off leaving only the flange. I then ground/ punched out the rivets leaving 2 “bolt” holes.

And after some searching and pulling about 15 various steering shafts, I found one in an Econoline van that would work. Luckily for me, the engine was already pulled, otherwise, I may not have seen the shaft nor even bothered to pull it.

Tested it to make sure it would spline onto a Ranger steering box, which it did, so I cut the u-joint end off the rag joint and again ground/ punched out the rivets to leave 2 “bolt” holes.

The 76 F-150 box doesn’t have a flat spot on the steering box shaft, so I had the grind out the bottom to round it out. Then I was able to simply slide it on. It does have the notch for the bolt, and it lines up nicely.

Now, I can simply bolt the upper Ranger portion to the Econoline lower joint and make the needed measurements.

It looks like I will have to cut about 2” out of the middle so that it’ll be short enough to still have some “slide” in the shaft so it can be removed without having to pull the box.

What y’all think so far?

 

[NakedDucks]

All bolted together. I used 3/8” Allen head bolts… grade 8 of course. They were slightly larger than the rivets that were previously in there. Drilled the holes out to 3/8” as there was plenty of “meat”.

Next we will lest measure and cut to fit.

STAY TUNED!!!

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Not sure if it matters, but the flanges are 90° out of phase.
Grade 8 probably overkill.
Hopefully the shank of the bolt is tight in the hole, not the threaded portion.

 

[NakedDucks]

I wouldn’t *think* it matters.

As I said, the F-150 box doesn’t have a flat spot like the Ranger box does , so I can spline the steering shaft on anywhere around it.

Grade 8 also may be overkill, but I’d rather be overbuilt than it break on the trail.

So I drilled the holes to 3/8”. The bolts fit rather snug with no play. As short as the bolts are, there wasn’t shank. It’s all threaded. Are you saying I should find bolts with a long enough shank, and then cut the threads off at the nut? If so, I need to make a trip back to Lowe’s.