1955 1956 1957 Ford Thunderbird Power Steering Conversion Kit

Anybody have pictures or info on how this works with a manual transmission? The clutch up limit return arm that contacts the rubber bumper only clears the stock column by 3/8". Even with the motor rotated to the 3-4 Oclock position the return arm needs to be bent out about 5/8" to clear the narrowest side of the gear case. The instructions and videos on the EPAS Performance website only address Auto transmission Birds. Do I have to modify my clutch linkage to clear? I have the question in to their Tech dept. Hope to hear back soon. Would rather not modify, if I don't have to. Thanks, Ron

Hi Ron, I too would like to know this. Did you ever get any information about the fitment? I ordered the darned thing without first seeing exactly where it mounts, and yes, I have a manual transmission. Kit hasn't come in yet, but I sure hope it will still work without any (much?) modification.

WitcherWatcher said:

Hi Ron, I too would like to know this. Did you ever get any information about the fitment? I ordered the darned thing without first seeing exactly where it mounts, and yes, I have a manual transmission. Kit hasn't come in yet, but I sure hope it will still work without any (much?) modification.

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I never got any response to my two emails that I sent to their Tech dept. , so I phoned Geoff and explained the modification to the clutch linkage I planed to do and basically the response was, okay that should work. I got the impression that they have not done a manual trans conversion or at least didn't document it. So I took the pedals and linkage out and bent the return arm kink out to almost straight, so it clears the gear box when the motor is rotated to a 3-4 o'clock position, not 9 like the automatics. If you still have the brace that runs from the firewall to the left side, up under the dash, you probably want to remove it. I bent mine enough to barely clear and by then I felt it wouldn't do much stiffening, so I left it out. I still have the right side one. I have heard that many Birds are missing both and haven't suffered any. I had to space the rubber bumper bracket out to catch the arm. It turned out the nylon bushing on the clutch pivot was about shot, so taking things apart wasn't a waste of time. Things needed cleaning and painting anyway. It is not a lot of extra work, but it does add quite a bit to the time. I read EPAS instructions and watched videos many times and I felt while they were correct, some measurements I found a little confusing, might be just me, Measure Twice, Cut Once is the way to go. I have put a couple hundred miles on mine this year since I completed the conversion and would have to say I Like it, I don't Love it. As expected, it is good around town, parking, parades, etc. but the added drag of the motor/gears reduces your auto return to center action. It was not great before, and it is now gone. My caster angle is only about 1/2 degree, so if I can get it up to 3 or 4 that should improve. It is easy to drive, but you have to steer into the corner AND Out of the corner. That seems to be a common complaint, and some people can't live with it. Good Luck with your project, Ron

Thanks for detailed info, Ron. So glad it worked out for you. The kit supposedly arrives tomorrow; we'll see what we can do with it. I only know that the last time I drove a car without power steering it seemed much easier but I'm sure it had to do with being over forty years younger. Anyway, thanks again.

WitcherWatcher said:

Thanks for detailed info, Ron. So glad it worked out for you. The kit supposedly arrives tomorrow; we'll see what we can do with it. I only know that the last time I drove a car without power steering it seemed much easier but I'm sure it had to do with being over forty years younger. Anyway, thanks again.

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Glad to help. Yes, age is getting to be a significant factor. Last winter I worked on increasing the caster angle and was able to get it up to 3 degrees. On the drivers side the rear bolt has a shim pack of 5/8" and the front bolt has zero. I feel it was a significant improvement, but it is hard to be sure when the before and after test drives are months apart. As I recall, before it took about the same effort to return to center as to turn out. After, you still have to steer back but it is noticeably easier now. I would like to go to 5 or 6 degrees, but that would require some modifications. It is okay for now. I think the ball joints are stiffer than they should be! With the weight off the front tires it is typically easy to grab a wheel and force it left and right, particularly on a manual steering car. My Tbird is a lot stiffer than my other old cars. It appears the ball joints were replaced some time in its past. I have heard they should not be replaced unless definitely bad as the originals were much better than the replacements. Even with no linkage on, they are not easy to rotate. Everything else moved easy. Have you installed and driven yours? How did it go?