Saginaw vs Thompson Steering, Early 60's

[John]

Anyone here ever converted from one system to the other? Car in question is a 63 Electra.

John

[dan at larescorp]

As far as I can remember GM didn't use Thompson. That was more or less a MOPAR system. I know that the saginaw system works great as long as it is adjusted correctly.

The other thing you want to watch out for when changing gears is the saginaw box that comes in that car has a larger case to allow for more travel. Even switching to a newer saginaw gear can cause issues with turning radius.

[John]

Thanks for the response,

According to my parts book, pitman arm/center link/idler arm were sourced from Thompson as well as Saginaw. It appears same steering gear and tie rods were used either way.

I have the Thompson center link and want to know if I get the matching idler arm and pitman arm, can these be used to replace a worn out Saginaw center link. Seems like it should work, but looking for input from anyone who has done this.

[NTX5467]

Check a similar thread in the Oldsmobile forum. It seems to be much more than the parts being individually interchangeable . . . as in the WHOLE steering linkage and such. PLUS some service literature detailing the differences.

Regards,

NTX5467

[John]

Is this the thread: http://forums.aaca.org/f138/1963-olds-starfire-211503.html

Good info. Was the steering modified to accomodate change in oil pan, or oil pan modified to accomodate change in steering? As for Buick, I'm not aware of different oil pans.

Thanks!

John