Top Ten things to do first on your "NEW" 1963 Dodge Dart Covertible

Hideogumperjr said

I am looking for a quality manual steering box as the car does what we called down South "Bugger Hunts!".

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Before you condemn your steering box, have you tried adjusting the slack? It is fairly simple. Loosen the jam nut on the top of the sector shaft, while holding the adjuster fixed (flat screwdriver or allen screw, I forget or maybe it varies). Turn the adjuster in (cw) while you turn the steering input shaft back and forth with the other hand until you feel no more play in the gear box, then tighten the jam nut while holding the position. Don't over-tighten the adjustment or it will bind and wear the gearbox. Same for power or manual gear-boxes. My Chevy S-10 manual box developed ~10 deg play within 20K miles from new.

After that, have a helper turn the steering wheel back and forth a bit while you peek under the car. Look for any steering components with play.

Other things that can cause your car to tend to wander on the highway are mis-matched tires, especially radials with bias ply, toe-out, and not enough caster. The later is problematic since these cars were designed for bias ply tires and need more caster for radial tires. When you change the upper bushings, read up on Moog offset bushings to give more caster, and note how to orient them (not per instruction sheet).