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I currently have a '55 Oldsmobile 88 with manual steering. It got a little better after we changed out the front tie rods but those are the only parts I can find to upgrade. It still has some "loose" steering that I'd like to keep tight if it's possible.
I was wondering if anyone had a power steering kit they would consider selling or know an aftermarket setup that has worked.
Also has anyone put a rack and pinion in successfully? Thank you.
The 55 Olds has a very antiquated suspension. It doesn't even have ball joints but rather king pons and bushings. There are no aftermarket power steering kits like you can get for a tri five Chevy. I added power steering to me 54 but it came from a parts car. The power steering sector is huge and the shaft comes out of the sector and goes all the way to the steering wheel. You would need this sector, a power steering pump and bracket, hoses and a double water pump pulley and a harmonic balancer with a double pulley which is part of the balancer. There is just not a lot you can do to one of these old cars to make them handle better. No way you could ever adapt rack and pinion. I have no idea if it would work or not but they do make a ball bearing conversion for the idler arm on tri five Chevys which does make them easier to steer. It is often referred to as poor mans power steering.
Fat Man Mustang II front end kit will do the job, if you are willing to go the extra mile with fabrication,
These usually include rack and pinion steering, tubular upper and lower control arms as well as coil over shocks and disk brakes.
From what I've heard from those that have installed on similar GM platforms is that its a fairly easy for a competent mechanic.
Definitely worth the upgrade, and much better benefits than trying to go with an older style power steering swap.
Probably less expensive honestly.
No question it would handle better but you better have lots of $$$. It will require lots of fabrication and modification. To do this Fatman frontend would be multiples of what it would cost to put an original power steering in. If you are building a street rod then Fatman would be the way to go.
No idea what it would cost to rebuild. But I've got the steering column, box and power steering pump off a 1955. I don't know how the factory setup compares to an aftermarket one.
Assuming your suspension and steering linkage are in good shape, the factory power steering assembly makes these cars much easier to drive in traffic, almost effortless even with fat radial tires at 30psi. Factory power steering adds desirability and some value to your car. GM did a great job with their 'Hydraulic Steering'.
No idea what it would cost to rebuild. But I've got the steering column, box and power steering pump off a 1955. I don't know how the factory setup compares to an aftermarket one.
John
When I had mine done by Power Steering Service (when Chip still owned the company) I had to build a crate out of plywood to ship it in. That was about 2004 and the shipping was about $75 each way. I think the rebuild was about $400 $500. Rebuilding the pump is pretty easy. You will need the two groove water pump pulley and harmonic balancer. John is a great guy to buy from.
When I had mine done by Power Steering Service (when Chip still owned the company) I had to build a crate out of plywood to ship it in. That was about 2004 and the shipping was about $75 each way. I think the rebuild was about $400 $500. Rebuilding the pump is pretty easy. You will need the two groove water pump pulley and harmonic balancer. John is a great guy to buy from.
Glenn, I hadn't thought about the pulleys but I should have those too.
Here's some photos. The balancer wasn't with the other parts so I may have sold it already, not sure. But if I did sell it, it was to someone on here. I'm asking $350 plus shipping for these items. To the members here that have been around for a while. Is that in the ball park as a price you'd sell to a friend? I've seen these parts on ebay but I know those prices are not always fair market!
John, you are offering a bargain on those parts. When I put AC in my 54 and went to 4 groove pulleys I sold the 2 grove water pump pulley and balancer for $250. The OP should be all over this.
If I understand the OP correctly, he has a newer 350 engine in the car. I'm thinking he only needs the 1955 column/steering box and use 350 parts for pulleys, balancer and power steering pump. That he will need to have power steering hoses made with one end correct for the steering box, the other for the 350 power steering pump. Does that sound right to you guys? With the engine swap, do you guys think he'd still be better off using the 1955 power steering box? Sharing as I think this may be important to know for those advising the OP on what his best options are. John
The 55 steering box will fit without modification I believe but check with someone else to make sure. John where did you read that there was a 350 in this car I must have missed it. If so a 350 power steering pump could be used along with the balancer pully but not the steering box....Tedd
I missed the 350 also Tedd. If that is the case you are correct in that he will only need the column and sector. He will have to have some custom hoses made up. If John has the old hoses it would be good to include those so the OP has the correct fittings.
Just a after thought have you tightened the nut on the top of the steering box? This will take some of the slop out of the gears but don't go over board on the tight bit or it will get stiff and I suppose could lock up.... Good luck...Tedd
The 55 steering box will fit without modification I believe but check with someone else to make sure. John where did you read that there was a 350 in this car I must have missed it. If so a 350 power steering pump could be used along with the balancer pully but not the steering box....Tedd
Sorry guys, I was talking with the OP in private messages to see what parts he needed. I was thinking all the bolt on engine parts should stay 350 and only swap out the column/ PS box from the 1955. But I wanted to verify that with the people who really know these cars! If you think there's an aftermarket or other application that would be easier to do for power steering. Since the car isn't original using the 1955 parts may not be important if there's other good options.
Sorry guys, I was talking with the OP in private messages to see what parts he needed. I was thinking all the bolt on engine parts should stay 350 and only swap out the column/ PS box from the 1955. But I wanted to verify that with the people who really know these cars! If you think there's an aftermarket or other application that would be easier to do for power steering. Since the car isn't original using the 1955 parts may not be important if there's other good options.
The 1955 column will work fine with the 350 pump .
All these systems used 1000 PSI max pressure .
The '55 column would be the easiest to use . Anything else would require a lot of fabrication and engineering .
The parts book says the P/S and manual steering arms and center links are different . I hope you have those too .
Me too!. What does the tank in the grill do? or is it just for eutectics gasser look?...Tedd
Just for the hot rod/gasser look. From what I can tell it looks like he took one of these grille bars for a tri five and cut it to fit the Oldsmobile with the tank. I have to tighten everything down because there aren't any brackets to hold everything in.
I'll be building a box for this today and get exact shipping costs for you. I removed a few items that might have been damaged in transit and will put them in a smaller box inside the larger package. I suspect you may not need all the bolt on items but please don't throw anything away! Whatever you don't need and decide you don't want to store please offer up here, including parts from your non-power steering column. Even the little items can be difficult for someone to find when restoring one of these cars. John
P.S. I haven't figured out how to post pictures with Private Messages, that's why I'm creating this post here.
I will share some info with you on my attempts at adding power steering. First and very important, I had already replaced all the parts/joints in the steering links. I bought a power steering column, pump & sector from a guy in Canton Ohio. I had already made accommodations to the harmonic balancer for adding a/c, or whatever, by machining an insert and adding a 3rd pulley groove to the original 2 grooves. I found the used power steering column had both the upper and lower bearing worn out. These are loose bearing ***** that ride in a stamped open metal race. I swapped the upper bearings and race from my manual column. But with no replacements that I could find for the lower one, I decided to machine a cap that fit over the outside of the lower column with a pocket for a standard roller bearing that fit the steering column shaft. That worked out very well. Assembling and disassembling the column takes some care and patience. I found that the pitman arm, that connects the steering sector to the linkage to be the same for the power steering and the manual box. How ever when I went to install the power steering sector, I had interference with the Fenton cast iron headers I had installed. At that time, I decided I wanted the headers more than the p/s. So put the manual column back in. With the headers you now have maybe you wouldn’t have any interference problems? After sitting under the back deck for several years I scrapped the p/s sector, column and pump; guess I should have tried to sell it. What I did do was replace the king pins with a roller bearing kit, that greatly reduced the steering effort. At rest, the wheel is still a little hard to turn but with any movement of the car at all, it is great. I found that by adding a steering **** at the 2 o’clock position, I can turn the wheel at rest with one hand, no need for power steering. Hope this info might help Chuck PS, forgot to mention that you might consider adding an electric power steering pump, as I recall the ones for some Fords and Volvo's look like they would work. You can find this info online.
Last edited by rket56; August 19th, 2021 at 02:56 PM.
Reason: additional info
I'm envious of your Fenton headers. For those who do not know Fenton headers are the Holey Grail of long lost speed equipment for fifties Oldsmobile's. In the fifties if your hot rod didn't have a set of Fenton headers you just weren't cool...... Tedd
I'm envious of your Fenton headers. For those who do not know Fenton headers are the Holey Grail of long lost speed equipment for fifties Oldsmobile's. In the fifties if your hot rod didn't have a set of Fenton headers you just weren't cool...... Tedd
That's a Chevy engine with Hooker Headers, what am I missing?
You are missing the fact that Tedd was responding to the post by rket56 who said he had Fenton headers. It was not a response to the OP who does have Hooker headers.
You are missing the fact that Tedd was responding to the post by rket56 who said he had Fenton headers. It was not a response to the OP who does have Hooker headers.
August 8th, 2021, 10:54 AM
