1966 Barracuda, Commando 4bbl, 4 speed restoration
Update on several fronts.
1) The car has left for the media blasting. Should have it back in a couple weeks.
2) The steering box has been completed. The first Koyo B1812 I ordered had a tighter inner race diameter on the face without the stamped model info than the one stamped with the identifying info. The inner diameter of the back race was slightly smaller than the front (1.125 dead on, with the needles a little tighter), so it was too tight for the nominal 1 1/8 inch sector shaft diameter. The shaft was 1.127 inch, so slightly above the nominal 1 1/8 (1.125 inch), but fit in the larger end of even the tight bearing. (these are NOT tapered needle bearings, just to make clear, and should have a nearly identical race diameter on both faces) I compared it to the other 2 bearings i got from Firm Feel and both of those needle bearing had inner race diameters of between 1.130 and 1.145, plenty of clearance even with the needles installed, so i decided to order a couple more to see if it was a tolerance issue, to include another new Koyo and a couple of NOS Mopar steering bearings. The NOS bearings ended up being a Torrington and a Kadon, both USA made and like the ones removed from the two original boxes. I used the Kaydon KN-182212 and both it, the Torrington NOS and the second Koyo (and all 6 original races i removed form the two boxes) had race inner diameters loose enough for the 1 1/8 sector shaft to fit, if snuggly. Anyway, the b1812 spec is supposed to admit a 1 1/8 (1.125) shaft, so i guess that the modern tolerances are just biased to "too tight" an inner race diameter. However, with a mix of new and NOS I got it to work smoothly.
To finish assembly, I installed the worm gear, packed the case with grease, and set the preload. Then I installed the sector gear and cover and adjusted to the final preload. Finally, I topped off the box as full as I could with grease and then a little bit of grease and gear oil mix. The steering box is done, with the exception of being painted with some Eastwood coating at some point before reassembly.
3) Still collecting some parts (found a trunk prop rod, flasher parts, and the rear defogger but awaiting delivery of the yoke for the rear end and rear axle bearing kit), pricing some things like rechroming on the rear bumper, and reading up on the rear end and A-833 rebuilds. Also waiting to hear from my Engine guy who has the parts out for magnafluxing and machining.
Update on several fronts.
1) The car has left for the media blasting. Should have it back in a couple weeks.
2) The steering box has been completed. The first Koyo B1812 I ordered had a tighter inner race diameter on the face without the stamped model info than the one stamped with the identifying info. The inner diameter of the back race was slightly smaller than the front (1.125 dead on, with the needles a little tighter), so it was too tight for the nominal 1 1/8 inch sector shaft diameter. The shaft was 1.127 inch, so slightly above the nominal 1 1/8 (1.125 inch), but fit in the larger end of even the tight bearing. (these are NOT tapered needle bearings, just to make clear, and should have a nearly identical race diameter on both faces) I compared it to the other 2 bearings i got from Firm Feel and both of those needle bearing had inner race diameters of between 1.130 and 1.145, plenty of clearance even with the needles installed, so i decided to order a couple more to see if it was a tolerance issue, to include another new Koyo and a couple of NOS Mopar steering bearings. The NOS bearings ended up being a Torrington and a Kadon, both USA made and like the ones removed from the two original boxes. I used the Kaydon KN-182212 and both it, the Torrington NOS and the second Koyo (and all 6 original races i removed form the two boxes) had race inner diameters loose enough for the 1 1/8 sector shaft to fit, if snuggly. Anyway, the b1812 spec is supposed to admit a 1 1/8 (1.125) shaft, so i guess that the modern tolerances are just biased to "too tight" an inner race diameter. However, with a mix of new and NOS I got it to work smoothly.
To finish assembly, I installed the worm gear, packed the case with grease, and set the preload. Then I installed the sector gear and cover and adjusted to the final preload. Finally, I topped off the box as full as I could with grease and then a little bit of grease and gear oil mix. The steering box is done, with the exception of being painted with some Eastwood coating at some point before reassembly.
3) Still collecting some parts (found a trunk prop rod, flasher parts, and the rear defogger but awaiting delivery of the yoke for the rear end and rear axle bearing kit), pricing some things like rechroming on the rear bumper, and reading up on the rear end and A-833 rebuilds. Also waiting to hear from my Engine guy who has the parts out for magnafluxing and machining.