Ford steering box’s flathead Ted

[john greco]

Hi everyone , just wondering if there is anyone out there that has a flathead teds steering box ? Or has ordered one and been led on and never received one ?

[swoopNZ]

Flathead Ted has a pretty good reputation down here in these parts.

[john greco]

Well it’s been 4 years waiting on a box and have emails going back and forth saying all I have to do is Assemble, then waiting on sector, then all I need to do is paint, then shut down for Covid, then on vacation, then retired , then ok I’ll get it for you , you have waited to long , then ghost me and Then at almost at the 4th year said John surly you know what’s going on ,THEY DONT WANT MY BOXES UP THERE , that’s all I can say ! ( I have no idea on what he’s talking about do any of you guys )

[alchemy]

Did he get your money 4 years ago?

[1948F-1Pickup]

Yeah. That’s a good question……

[deuce lover]

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4 Years !! I contacted him 2.5 yrs ago for a price and could not get an ETA confirmation.I did get a brake floater kit from him and that worked out well .

[john greco]

No never sent money , gave address and all shipping info , he said hold off on payment till shipped . I just read that he had a box that felt like p/s and he was the one to go to , that’s the only reason I waited so long , I just don’t get it , I must have pages of going back and forth , he just keep me hanging on . Was hoping he would chime in an just tell all of us the truth , and yes his floaters work no doubt . Please chime in Ted I know your reading this and let us all know if there available or not .

[glennpm]

Wow, four years!

I had a similar bad experience in first trying to get a box for my 32, about six months or so, and then after working on getting it installed, the free movement was in inches and dangerous to drive! I couldn't get Ted'a help on adjusting and returned it to him. He promptly refunded my money but $150 shipping on me.

[john greco]

Glenn how long did it take to get the box once ordered ? When was this ? Did you have many emails going back and forth ? Was it the stock box casting or his own ?

[glennpm]

John,

It took from Nov 26, 2019 until August 14, 2020 to get him to manufacture and finish a box for shipping. The shipment from Ted in New Zealand was pretty quick, just a week or two. When I returned it to Ted it took a lot longer, about 6 or 7 weeks.

I had about 70 or 80 emails back and forth with Ted. When I was trying to get it figured, is where the bulk of them were. He was slow or non responsive when I started having issues with the box.

The box casting is newly cast and not the original. The box came with the steering shaft and was packed very well.

My experience:

- new box is slightly larger than stock and was extremely close to my headers even after denting to get enough clearance to install.
- The boss on the upper bearing retainer is longer than stock and gave me fits in getting a bolt to work and tightened. I attached a picture to show this
- The ID of the steering shaft is too small a diameter. I was unable to insert the bottom plate with brass tube. Took me about 3 hours to fix it.
- Biggest issue was with the amount of free movement, approximately 110mm/~4 1/2", at the wheel with zero pitman arm movement!

I sent many emails to Ted showing how the pitman arm plate and boss were pushed to the limit. Ted was adamant about not opening the box which I didn't. The only part I had to remove was the top bearing retainer. There was just no way to get it in attached and awful trying to get a modified header rear manifold bolt in and tightened. I'm talking many hours here. I don't believe it would be any easier with a stock manifold. He never responded to the free movement of the box.

After the box was received by him, he said it had been opened up, which I didn't. He then claimed that he had taken about 25 pictures of the box before he sent it to. Never once did he tell me this or offer to either compare them himself or send them to me so that I could. Many weeks later he was accusing me of reverse engineering the box. We made our peace on that but it still leaves me a bit incredulous about the whole deal.

Hopefully I either got a box that wasn't setup correctly or he has or had issues internally with the worm and sector engagement and has since resolved them.

Glenn

[john greco]

Wow , seems like he has such a good reputation on the barn and chimes in to most questions , and seems like super knowledgeable flathead ford guy , he’s a asset for sure , just don’t get it , fix it and move on right ? Can’t understand why he led me on forever and ghosted me till I would find one of his reply’s to another person and I’d say hey Ted can you answer me and sure enough he would , with another setback , come on Ted let get this ironed out and move on , I still could use a 2 ea 1934 boxes

[Bored&Stroked]

Well, one thing is for sure . . . after these stories, I'd not be ordering one of these steering boxes, can't afford the drama and time involved, only to end up with a steering box with more free-play than I've ever seen on a stock one . . .

[topfuel724]

Try Neil Jennings. You won't be disappointed.

[petehoovie]

Originally Posted by topfuel724

Try Neil Jennings. You won't be disappointed.

NealinCA (Neal Jennings)
Neal's Hot Rod Parts
[email protected]

[glennpm]

Yes, I’m on Neal’s List for a few months now :-). The wait will be worth it.

Glenn

[JM 35 Sedan]

Another recommendation for NealinCA. I know he does an excellent job of rebuilding the '37-'48 Ford passenger car/light commercial steering boxes and also builds Hudson boxes, in addition to building steering boxes using his own casting.

[FlatheadTed]

There's a whole back ground to this story ,I was told over two years ago by a Kiwi living in the states that (his words ) they intend to copy your stuff , Obviously the box for Glen did not leave here with having 4"of play. I went to a great deal of trouble and expense to develop this 32 box ,it was assembled with great care .The drop arm is attached and a steering wheel is used as part of the test process ,so did we miss 4 " 0f play no chance .After many E mails out of frustration asked him to return it ,it arrived with adjustments bolts loose, seals disturbed .after some consideration concluded that the box most likely had been intercepted in transit ,


Attached a comment from satisfied customer
https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showt...highlight=Kpar

[john greco]

Hi Ted , thanks for chiming in , so do you believe someone is going to copy your box ? Are you not shipping to the US ? Can I still get a box ? ??????? Why the mis leading me for years ?.

[alchemy]

What is in these wonderful Ted's boxes? Are they an F-1 style box with the worm over the sector to better fit a 30's Ford? Or are they a circulating ball type like a 60's car?

[deuce lover]

F1 style. They even look like the original 32-34 boxes.He used to have a pic on his website but took it down.