1963 steering box, pitman arm alignment

[David Z.]

I am presently doing a complete restoration on a 63 corvette and have several questions concerning the steering that I could not find in the shop manual or CD.

1: Once the steering box is mounted to the frame, how do I insure that the gears of the box are in the center position?
2: How do I determine proper placement of the pitman arm on the steering box to make sure that it lines up right when I put the relay arm on the opposite end on the pitman arm? I noted 4 equally spaced grooves between the teeth of the pitman arm but all appear to be the same size.
3. Does the pitman arm have to be pressed completely on the steering box or does tightening the bolt to the point where it stops get it in the right position.

Thanks for any help with these questions.

[John H.]

Re: 1963 steering box, pitman arm alignment

Dave -

Gear centering is covered on page 9-4 of the 1963 Corvette Shop Manual under "Steering Wheel Alignment and High Point Centering".

The "blind splines" on the pitman arm make it possible to install the pitman arm in four different positions; it should point forward with the steering gear centered.

The pitman arm is correctly secured to the pitman shaft when the nut is properly torqued (120-160 ft-lbs); it will not seat fully to the upper end of the splines.

[David Z.]

Re: 1963 steering box, pitman arm alignment

John,

Thanks for the information.