Back in the shop and now working on the steering box. Luckily for me the steering box was still with the truck and in very good condition. If there was no steering box I would have been in BIG trouble because redesigning and reproducing it would have cost several thousand dollars. I was told Mike Schoffstall was the one who did all the work on it and started with a solid block of billet aluminum. If the name sounds familiar, after leaving PPI Mike moved on to co-ride/prep Rob MacCachrens class 8 truck...
And then went to co-ride/prep Jimmy Smith's Ultra Wheels Trophy Truck...
The only issue we found was the pinion was cracked and could only be used as a last effort spare, and even then it's questionable. A new pinion will be made later but for right now I just need this thing to steer as we get ready for the truck to be shipped to Vegas and we need it as a roller. Here's the pinion....and of course it's a one off so no running to Butchs speed shop or McKenzies, this has to be cu$tom made....
So, now it's time to put this beast back together. Collins Motorsports had already magnafluxed all the parts so everything (besides the pinion) is in good shape...
I had to order up some brush material to help keep debris out of the inside of the steering box because the old stuff was pretty hammered...
Here's an inside look into the steering box. This is the passenger side and you can see the "rack" hidden inside the channel. The bolt you are looking it is where the tie rod bolts up to...
Here's a look at the drivers side complete with the brushes in place...
There are a lot of parts to this thing but it's pretty straight forward once you see how it goes together. Here it is complete and this is how it would bolt into the truck with the brushes facing the rear of the truck. The pinion is located on the top of the box in the center...
Here's the front side of the box, missing the ram that goes in to the aluminum shield but you get the idea. The ram is here, just need to have some new seals put in it...if i can find some that is...
Soooo, the steering is near complete but good enough to bolt back into the truck and steer the truck as a roller. While working on the #001, the UPS truck showed up with some goodies I ordered...
And Jason at SBP Motorsports is getting closer to having the rear fenders completed...
Pretty good week, we'll see what next week brings us.