Re: 36 Ford drag link orientation question
I agree.
You might already be in that territory now. (But hard to judge it that finely from here).
If it were me I would try the following.
Turn the steering to the left until the arm just clears the pan by about 1/8".
Decide if that is enough steering lock for normal driving.
If it is then put washers under the stop nut on the left hand kingpin locking bolt. Make sure you have enough thread left to allow the nut to be tightened.
Drive it and see how it goes. You will probably only very rarely encounter a problem where you do not have enough lock, and a double shuffle can normally allow the manouvre to be completed.
A lot of modified cars have less than normal steering lock angles for a number of reasons. My roadster, for one. I've never noticed a problem in getting on for 20 years. On my car I couldn't put enough washers in, I used a modified lugnut as a stop because it had a bigger head.
Of course the best fix would be to heat and dent the pan. But until you are ready to pull the pan to do that maybe the compromise above is enough to stop you having to worry about it.
Mart.
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