Manual saginaw steering question

I think you'd be better off moving the box Tim, but a shorter pitman arm *might* work out. Not sure if the Corvair box had the same splines, but it might give you a starting point. According to this ad it measures 4-3/8" long.

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/xq/aspx/dept_id.436/display_id.4565/qx/Product.htm



You might be able to get one at your FLAPS a whole lot cheaper than this, and be able to eyeball it against your box....

 

Shorter Pitman arms are available - Most I found fit manual boxes (I have several on a shelf). I have also welded Pitman arms in the past. I still have one I did almost 30 years ago and it is still in good shape. If you go the welded route be sure to have someone weld it that knows what they are doing. The one I still have I cut – beveled – matched the rod used to the metal, and was very meticulous about cleaning between layers. I also annealed the arm when it was done.

Remember, your life depends on that part.

 

Yup - used them on flatties. I didn't have problems as the max turn (right or left) for the box with the arm was more than I had room for (hit the stops on both sides). That really is the determining factor.

I got my arms by going to the yard in town and sorting though a pile of them so don't know what auto to look for. Do a search in google for pitman arms and start looking at the sizes offered (that's what I have done to get a range when I did a buddies Saginaw) and cross ref to autos they fit. There are several sites that deal in Saginaw / Steering boxes with good info.

There are really two main lengths of arms - the (roughly) 6 1/2 and 4 1/2... there are also really two diameters of holes for the box to fit in (notes at home - will try to get them to you later). Unfortunately, the shorter arm seems to come mostly in the smaller diameter for the manual boxes. I will scratch up the ones on the shelf for you later tonight (I hope).

Another thing – if you have a lift and are lookin into a drop pitman arm you can shorten the arm by increasing the bends (most drop arms I have worked with are made from flat stock) of one that does not drop as much as you need…. Sorry – picture in the mind here – if the drop is 1” and it is 6.5” long, if you increase the bends (keeping the resultant ends parallel) to get a 3” drop you will decrease the CL of the holes getting a little more clearance. You can see the result of this in my Saginaw Post Pics (last one).

Note – I know your ‘supposed’ to keep the drag link and tie rod as parallel as possible (same plane wise), but I have actually had better luck keeping them several inches above the tie rod.

Hope it helps – I’ll see about getting the other stuff for you tonight – if the boss doesn’t have to be of a ‘honey do’ list.

 

OK - here is what I have (at least right now).

Below is a pic of the manual arms I have (all my power ones are installed - Both of them )



They are 6" Long (cl-cl) and 1 1/16 main hole diameter. Bottom one is 5" CL

Power boxes have a 1 3/16 main hole diameter.

Here is also a 'curved' one we run on my oldest boys jeep. The other is a 'drop' one in the saginaw install pics.



Only part numbers I have are for the manual ones...
#5353275 - for the upper ones.
#5679206 32 - for the bottom one.

 

Yup - manual
BTW - there was what looked like a molding blob between the #6 32 (in the blank space). You know (another mind pic) raised dot, cut smooth like it was the forge button.