Now Why Didn't I Think of That?
By Jim Rizzo
A couple of weeks ago I was trying to figure out how I was gonna set up the steering in my '29 A pickup. I originally planned on using an F-1 box I had on hand. But, when my pal Rob (Rob Fortier, editor of our sister publication Classic Trucks) and I crawled around hoisting the assembly into what would have been its approximate position we realized that it just wasn't gonna work. Well, I guess we could have made it work, but it would have involved modifications I'd rather not make to the left side rail and exhaust system.
After stepping back and partaking in a couple of ice-cold adult beverages we both concluded that what the pickup really needed was a cowl-exit side-steer setup. Case closed, problem solved. Unfortunately the answer, a Schroeder box, was -- actually is, way outa reach dollar-wise for me anyway. So I guess we didn't solve the problem after all.
That evening I sat down at my computer and logged on to the Web hoping to possibly find a solution -- or at least gather an idea or two. I typed “side steer” into my search engine, hit enter and waited to see what possible solutions magically appeared. After plowing through countless references to side-steering I finally found the perfect solution to my dilemma – a side-steer conversion kit offered by Gas Alley Streetrods back in Shawnee, Kansas. Rick Shelton, Gas Alley’s head cheese, came up with a really neat idea that he’s developed into an affordable setup which mates a few simple components to a reversed T-bucket style Corvair steering box – just what I was looking for!
Needless to say I ordered the Gas Alley Cowl Steering Adapter and will be installing it this weekend – tomorrow in fact. I’ll be chronicling the install and you’ll be able to see in detail what it is and how I went about the install in an upcoming issue of SR. In the meantime check out the kit at Rick’s Website, www.gasalleystreetrods.com its one of those “now why didn’t I think of that” products that just may be as great an answer to your problem as it was to mine!