On shakedown cruise my '65 fb was too scary steering wise and so I decided to buy a new Flaming River steering box. I called FR and asked, "Are your '65/'66 boxes fully assembled or are they supplied in two pieces?" What I had in mind was to put my ride on jackstands, cut out the old gearbox with a sawsall, thereby dividing it into two pieces, gearbox and shaft, and make the job simple. The answer I got from FR was, "They come in two pieces!" Okay I order the new box, head out to the garage...disassemble the minimum I have to and saw the shaft off the box. This went real quick and hence taking the old box out was a breeze.
Five days later the UPS truck arrives and my wife calls to say, "It's here! Are you going to install it this evening?" "Yes dear, that's the plan!", I answered.
Get home and there's this long box. Yes, on opening it guess what? You guessed it! Box and shaft are assembled as one unit. FR set me aflame! I read the instructions and realized there was no way I could follow them since the car was only jackstand height off the floor and the instructions say to install it from the bottom. I mean who has a hoist or four point lift in their garage? Now what? After fretting around and calling my Mustang buddies to ask for advice, I decided to read the shop manual. Ford says to install it from the top so I considered it. Let's see, if I remove the air cleaner, valve covers, headers, body brace, monte carlo bar, clutch linkage, air conditioning hoses...I've got a chance of getting it in...I guess its worth a try. Yes, it fits in from the top but not without a lot of sweat in a 90 degree garage. It was approaching midnight when I decided to break from it. I'll finish it up tonight. I'm sleepy today...Aah, the joys of being a classic Mustang owner!
Five days later the UPS truck arrives and my wife calls to say, "It's here! Are you going to install it this evening?" "Yes dear, that's the plan!", I answered.
Get home and there's this long box. Yes, on opening it guess what? You guessed it! Box and shaft are assembled as one unit. FR set me aflame! I read the instructions and realized there was no way I could follow them since the car was only jackstand height off the floor and the instructions say to install it from the bottom. I mean who has a hoist or four point lift in their garage? Now what? After fretting around and calling my Mustang buddies to ask for advice, I decided to read the shop manual. Ford says to install it from the top so I considered it. Let's see, if I remove the air cleaner, valve covers, headers, body brace, monte carlo bar, clutch linkage, air conditioning hoses...I've got a chance of getting it in...I guess its worth a try. Yes, it fits in from the top but not without a lot of sweat in a 90 degree garage. It was approaching midnight when I decided to break from it. I'll finish it up tonight. I'm sleepy today...Aah, the joys of being a classic Mustang owner!