Saginaw manual box mount ideas

Hello all,

New to the forum but not Jeeps or four-wheeling. About two years ago I picked up a '47 2A on ebay. What drew me to it is that it's stuck in time and built exactly as a flattie would have been in the '60s: early bolt pattern 289, T-90 adapted with an ancient Trans-dapt adapter, Warn OD, 11" Mercury brakes (stops better than anything I own), and a saginaw manual steering conversion. It hadn't run in at least 10 years (the tag on the old black and yellow California plate expired in '93), but the price was right and I took a gamble. Dragged it all the way back to Lousy-ana, changed the oil, threw in a set of points, put a fresh battery in it, and it fired right up! I've done a lot to it since, mostly mechanical refurbishing and such, and taken it on a few light four-wheeling excursions. The goal is to make it safe to drive but otherwise preserve as closely as possible it's "period" build. I just wish I knew more about the Jeep's history (it was purchased at an estate sale and then sold on ebay, so the trail ends there).

Most of the fabrication on the Jeep is a little rough around the edges but safe, while other stuff is pretty suspect. Which brings me to my current project. At some point someone had converted the Jeep to a manual saginaw box, but it used a drag link that had been cut and welded. I found the right combination of parts to fix that problem, and once they arrived I popped off the old drag link. Just for grins, I checked the box for play, and there was a whole bunch. Some searching revealed what application the box was sourced from and I obtained a new (used) one. It was in removing the old box that the woes begin.

To start, they simply chopped down the input shaft on the box (thereby eliminating the splines)and used a die grinder to cut a new recess in the shaft for the through bolt on the rag joint. This was done for enough room between the front crossmember and steering box for a rag joint. The steering shaft is round, done in the same manner, and appears to be PTO or AG parts. Worse yet is the steering box mount itself. To call it butch is an understatement. I need to start all over with a slick frame rail, and it is here that I'm looking for ideas.

I have the steering shaft and linkage pretty well under control, but the mount itself has me scratching my head. I searched the board and found some information on power conversions, but not much on the manual stuff. To locate the box in close to its original location puts the front/lower mounting bolt directly in the way of the spring hanger / shackle. I don't know if I can move it back to gain clearance. Also, the input shaft splines are exactly where the front crossmember is supposed to be. I know Advance has that spud shaft available, but has anyone come up with creative alternatives?

Specifically, I'm curious if anyone could snap a picture or two of their manual (three bolt) mount and perhaps provide a dimension or two on where their box is located on the frame? For several reasons, I suspect the front axle on the Jeep has been moved forward (presumably to clear the front sump oil pan on the engine)and the frame rails have been extended about 3". Could anyone give me a dimension from, say, the front shock mount or grille support to the edge of the framerail?

I know I'm going to have suggestions to covert to power, but that's more than I want to tackle (I would have to change a bunch of stuff to hang a pump on the engine) and it's not keeping with the spirit of my build. So, manual it is. Any advice is appreciated and sorry for the long-winded post.

Thanks in advance.

 

a search turned up this thread
maybe give you some ideas
this is a good approach to the steering swap with some good photos
don't be afraid to ask questions
maybe posting pics of what you currently have would be good too
we might be able to make what you have work or give you some ideas

http://earlycj5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17414&highlight=saginaw+steering+mount

 

Hey Wow! Thanks! I really did search but didn't come across that post. Thanks for it and thanks even more for not flaming me like you see people usually do on most other sites.

So it would seem the Jeepster mount is the way to go...I saw '68-'71 mentioned...is that the split for that steering box mount? I do believe it would work going off of the pictures.

 

that Jeepster mount can be hard to find....and pricey when you find one
member McRuff has made some for folks
member Nickmil may have some of MrRuffs mounts
AA makes one as well

 

this is how I did mine... still do not know how well it will work out in the end though

http://www.earlycj5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39003&highlight=saggy

My flatty is on an ecj5 frame though and it is a power box

 

I kinda suspected that. I think I'll contact McRuff and see if he might be able to hook me up. I could do it myself (have the tools to do so), but to be honest my time is fairly limited at the moment, so if I can save myself the learning curve and get closer to the goal of driving this thing around town on sunny days, I may go that route. And he must be an honest guy judging by the recommendations and numbers of posts.

Oh, and thanks for the welcome comments; I'll try to post up a few pics tonight if I can figure out how.

 

i found 2 jeepster mounts, 50 each at a jeep junkyard up in maine. the guy said he has quite a few jeepsters up there and his price is great considering their rarity. i cant remember the name off the top of my head, but i got it written down somewhere. pm if interested and i'll look it up for you. i love the jeepster mount. its a natural fit on an early 5 frame, but i've also heard nothing but great things about mcruff's setup too.

 

you said your jeep came with a 289 sbf. your jeep sounds a lot like my jeep, i bought mine about 12 years ago, it came with a 350 sbc mounted to the t90 and a warn overdrive, but still had the old bellcrank steering. well about 4 years ago i finally put in power steering, i also used the steering column out of the car i got the steering box from. all i can say is that it was the best thing i ever did to my jeep. if you already have the 289 then all you would need to get is the pump and bracket and ofcourse a gm pump.

 

Geez, all of these helpful people on an internet forum...I must say this is a pleasant surprise!

Let me see what McRuff says and then I might hit you up. I didn't mention the frame under the 2A is a Ford GPW; found an F on both shock mounts so far. That, combined with the extended frame horn part, may make it easier to go the custom route. But thanks.

 

Thanks, but as I mentioned, I think I'm just going to stick with the manual box. The engine is mounted waaaay back (they cut the firewall a bunch)...so much so that the front sump Ford pan clears the front axle with ease and it runs an engine driven fan WITH a 1" spacer!!! They turned the exhaust manifolds around for firewall clearance, and the engine is offset a bunch so that they had driveshaft clearance. Morale of the story is that I would have to change a bunch of stuff to hang a pump off the motor, plus I like the "period-correct" manual steering. This is by no means a daily driver, and I like the minimalist experience driving it. Not to mention it's reminiscent of my first Jeep, a '73 CJ-5 with manual steering. Call me crazy, but I just bought an original steering wheel on ebay to have more leverage than the aftermarket one offers on it now.

 

If you can't find a Jeepster mount or McRuff can't help (I'm sure he can if he has the time and highly recommend his mounts) then you might also look at '72-'75 CJ manual steering mounts. May be the same part as the Jeepster mount, dunno, but lots of people upgrade those to power steering and change the mount out so may have some luck there. Nickmil

 

To give you an idea what I'm dealing with, here is a picture of the mount...

and here is the box....


Note the broken ear that has been drilled and tapped for two 1/4" bolts...full race!

 

not as bad as I expected too see
angle iron ?
the boxing of the frame is good, as long as it's welded properly
in my opinion, cut off what's there ( top and bottom only) and give MrRuff a holler
or the AA mount
or the Jeepster mount
or
cut and fab a 1/2 plate, drill for bolt pattern, weld to frame, using pipe spacers for bolts as needed
either way, it should work

 

Willysworker's mount looks nice too, there was a pic here recently.

Paul

 

update...

So I finally got the steering shaft loose and it's round 3/4" solid rod. The joint at the bottom of the column looks modern and uses set screws...it says "Lovejoy" however. It's worn out and doesn't use a needle bearing joint...is this Ag stuff?

Also, what's the OD on a 2A steering shaft on the columns?

 

Advanced Adaptors sells a mount that you weld to the inside passenger frame rail.Box it in first.done it,it works.Deak