Power Steering
1947- 1959 Chevrolet - Continued

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One of the first things you will need to do, is relocate the drivers side shock assembly.  The easiest way to do this is by copying the length and angle of the passenger side shock assembly and transferring it in reverse on the drivers side of the frame. Use the axle as your center point and take all your measurements from that point. 

On the 1947- 55 1st Series trucks, start the relocation by installing the new passenger side, lower mounting bracket on the backside of the drivers side axle as shown.   If you cannot find an OEM bracket, you can fabricate one out of 1/4" plate stock.  On the 1955 2nd - 1959 trucks the drivers side, lower shock mount us simply flipped from front to back of the front axle.

On all year trucks, the upper shock mount is removed by drilling and punching out the rivets.  Lay out the new measurements and reinstall the the upper shock mount in the new location with grade 8 bolts.  Then install the shock.

OVERVIEW

The weld on triangle bracket might appear to present a problem for those without welding equipment.   A bolt on bracket can be fashioned rather easily will provide pretty much the same support.  

As a test, we made a bracket from a section of 2 1/4" angle stock a 1/4" thick and 3" long.  We shaped the top portion of the angle stock in the contour of the triangle bracket supplied in the kit and drilled a hole for a top bolt to pass through. 

The bottom side of the angle stock was drilled out for mounting to the top of the frame with bolts.  The lighten bubble in the photo shows the location. This is a low tech solution and provides enough strength to support the sector.  We used only a battery drill and a hacksaw to accomplish this work-around.  Welding is not required to accomplish this project.

1947-1955 1st Series: When this kit is properly properly positioned on the frame rail, the lower front mounting boss on the sector is left hanging in space with no where to bolt to.  This characteristic is found only on the 1947- 55 1st series trucks.  While three bolts provide the necessary strength, the appearance was not the what we were looking for.  GM put 4 mounting locations on their sector for a reason is our thinking.  There is also some frame flexing and squishiness in finished product when using the sector to frame mounting method alone.

In order to facilitate a speedy installation and overcome the mounting difficulties, we developed a mounting plate that solves all of these issues.  As seen here, the gray plate between the sector and frame really cleans up the appearance of the modification and provides the need strength to the frame.   Because of its shape and pre-drilled mounting holes, the mounting plate eliminates the need to measure out each mounting hole. There is no need for test fitting or guesswork.   

1955 2nd - 1959: Compare the frame of the early trucks shown in the photo above with that of the later series truck shown right. You can see that there is no problem with 4 bolt mounting of the sector on these trucks. The taller frame on the these trucks makes the work a lot easier.  

These year trucks also experience some frame flexing, even with with a 4 bolt installation. This makes for a steering system that is too squishy for most people.  This flexing has been found to cause some radial cracking around support holes over time. Therefore,  It is recommend that piece of 3/16" or 1/4" plate stock be added to the inside of frame rail to beef-up the frame and better support the sector. [more]

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