64 Galaxie w/manual steering hard to turn

[a4278v]

wow Hard crowd not liking facts !!!

[KULTULZ]

Well, when you read some of these message boards, you see a whole lot of dis-information so I guess it comes with the territory.

[rotorwrench]

I always suggest an owner of a classic or antique car should try to get all the factory information for that vehicle that they can. If you sell the car, the books will help the next owner. This stuff is now available on CD for those that don't want books.

Some questions require actual experience to answer but most of them require factual information from the OEM sources.

Those that want a custom car with none of the original equipment installed have to rely on trial and error or someone else's trial and error.

[5851a]

I had a 64 Marauder 390 4 speed car with manual steering and brakes. Car had rather plain looking steering wheel and horn button, found a park lane with power steering had a beautiful wheel so I swapped. The P S wheel was smaller and it made already hard to turn car even harder.

[V8 Bob]

Originally Posted by KULTULZ

It's very simple gentlemen. They are listed in the 60/64 MPC under BASIC PN 3600.

How much info do you need? The larger DIA wheel is is used to gain more leverage.

Both my '64 manual steer BB Galaxies had larger steering wheels than a friends power steer BB '64, just don't remember the actual measurements.

[rotorwrench]

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A good friend of mine was into the 1963 Galaxie cars. His came with standard steering and a 3 on the tree with overdrive (T85 with R11 OD). He put a 1961 390 in it with the adjustable solid tappet valve train set up out of an old police car. He used up and tried all sorts of tires back in the 70s with that car but never really had a problem with the steering. He liked the positive feel of it. He had stonger arms than most folks so it felt like power steering to him in comparison with his Pop's old 53 Ford winch truck.

He crewed on a roundy round race car for a number of years. The body shell was Camaro and the drive train with exception to the 9-inch rear was Chevy but the frame & suspension was 1963 Ford Galaxie. They did well with that car on the dirt tracks at Dodge City and Huchinson KS.

[5851a]

Originally Posted by 34pickup

Interesting discussion about larger steering wheels on non power cars. I would also like to know the truth. I find it hard to believe that the factory would go to all the trouble to design and manufacture a different size wheel for non power and power steering cars. Not saying they didn't, just find it to be not too efficient or cost effective in production. I would like to see the proof so I am no longer ignorant about it.

I cannot remember where I pack ratted away the owners manual for my 64 Mercury Marauder. But it shows power steering wheels and manuals with the horn control. M/S had horn ring and was larger, rim was all plastic. The P/S wheel had horn buttons built into the left and right spokes and I believe a dummy button on the bottom spoke. The P/S wheel was also clear acrylic on top and bottom. I know your not disagreeing, just cannot find the manual.

[54vicky]

Originally Posted by 5851a

I cannot remember where I pack ratted away the owners manual for my 64 Mercury Marauder. But it shows power steering wheels and manuals with the horn control. M/S had horn ring and was larger, rim was all plastic. The P/S wheel had horn buttons built into the left and right spokes and I believe a dummy button on the bottom spoke. The P/S wheel was also clear acrylic on top and bottom. I know your not disagreeing, just cannot find the manual.

her are some pictures of 63-64-65 galaxie steering wheels(note the horn rings) I believe the buttons on spoke came later.now mercury might have had but pictures would show pictures will not load without playing with resizing etc.

[54vicky]

Originally Posted by 5851a

I cannot remember where I pack ratted away the owners manual for my 64 Mercury Marauder. But it shows power steering wheels and manuals with the horn control. M/S had horn ring and was larger, rim was all plastic. The P/S wheel had horn buttons built into the left and right spokes and I believe a dummy button on the bottom spoke. The P/S wheel was also clear acrylic on top and bottom. I know your not disagreeing, just cannot find the manual.

63-64-65 galaxie steering wheels that I have seen use a horn ring I believe the buttons on spoke came later.now mercury might have had but pictures would show I will look for mercury info or picture.time plays with our memories

[34pickup]

Does anyone know if Chevrolet did the same thing with their steering wheels?

[bobss396]

My last '64 was manual and I had Pirelli 14" radials on it. That steered nicely. But I think bias ply would steer easier over radials in general.


On my '59, I aligned it with as much caster as possible, probably around +2 degrees, spec is around +1/2 to +1. That has 215/75 radials up front, the car is tough to steer going slow. I grab the steering wheel underhanded, not from the top. More leverage.


I believe the bigger radials contribute to it, I keep them at 32 psi. I might go as high as 34 as a test.


When finishing a turn navigating a parking lot, does the wheel come back by itself? If it does, the toe adjustment is probably good.


But toss a little more positive caster into it and see how it goes. You can change it yourself and not change the camber. Just jockey the shims back and forth on the a-arm equally. What you take out of the front, place it in the back and vice versa. This is what I used to do for alignments where I didn't want to put it back on the rack.

[callbald]

I'm wondering if the Lower Control Arm offset Bolt could contribute to my problem? I should have upgraded it to a Born Again Classics conversion when everything was replaced. The mechanic said the OEM bolts were in good shape but now knowing it was a bad design in the first place. Should have done my homework.

[callbald]

I wonder if the concentric off set shaft has an impact on the steering effort issue

[alt63bird]

So, what are the part numbers/descriptions from the MPC for the steering wheels on a '63 or '64 Galaxie with and without power steering? We're waiting...

[fordor41]

I have a '60 ford fairlane with BIG wide tires all the way around, manual steering, stock steering wheel and I can turn the wheels at a stand still with 2 fingers on the steering wheel, no lie!

[KULTULZ]

Originally Posted by alt63bird

So, what are the part numbers/descriptions from the MPC for the steering wheels on a '63 or '64 Galaxie with and without power steering? We're waiting...

Excerpts from 1960/1964 MPC FINAL ISSUE-

63/64 A (w/o PS) Black 17' EDIT 17" Dia - C3AZ 3600-BA

64/ (w/ PS) Black - 16" Dia - C3AZ 3600-CA

[alt63bird]

Originally Posted by KULTULZ

Excerpts from 1960/1964 MPC FINAL ISSUE-

63/64 A (w/o PS) Black 17' Dia - C3AZ 3600-BA

64/ (w/ PS) Black - 16" Dia - C3AZ 3600-CA

QED, Kultulz - mucho gracias, sir! If I wasn't mired down with a project deadline looming over my head and could be home instead of in the office, I would have looked it up and posted what I could find from my MPCs, so I'll try to return the favor sometime.

Considering the fact that all my driver '63 Galaxies were manual steering (even a '63 XL 4-door HT with 352/COM, no power brakes either), I had nothing for reference, though I did part out a '63-1/2 XL but never compared wheels. A 17-foot diameter wheel, though, would REALLY give someone "leverage" .

[KULTULZ]

Originally Posted by alt63bird

A 17-foot diameter wheel, though, would REALLY give someone "leverage" .

[Ford56]

Not to undermine all the discussion about width or composition of tires, which certainly needs considered, have you ensured that the tires are properly inflated? I've found that when one of my "old" cars has the situation you've described, that the tires need inflated to recommended, or very slightly, higher, PSI. Even though you can eyeball the tires, and they look fine, put a gauge on them, and see if they can / should be inflated a bit more. It makes a difference and might help your situation.

[paul2748]

As was mentioned above, I think a lot of the problem is the tire/wheel combination on the car. Without power steering, the wide tire must be a bear to turn. Must have zero flex in the tire which probably does not help.