50bigbuick Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 I'm converting the old girl to power steering and need some help. I have a box and colum out of a 53 and have that all sorted now I need to figure out a pump. The problem I have is that I need another pulley to run the pump. I know buick had this as an option but I'm not sure how the took the power off of the engine. Any help would be apreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Stoneberg Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 None of the Straight 8's had power steering as it was not available until 1953. So you will be in for some engineering work. You may be able to find a double pully that will work off of a newer car or by looking in the hot rod magazines. I have double pully on my 47 to drive the A/C so its do able. Mounting may be anothe chore, I use a head bolt to help hold the bracket.Have fun.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
palbuick Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 The only year Buick straight eights had power steering was 1952, and i believe only the roadmasters were equipped, this was an option. As well as the 4 bbl carb.Jim Schilfpalbuick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest imported_JPIndusi Posted November 25, 2004 Share Posted November 25, 2004 Power steering was available on the 53 Buick Specials with the last of the straight eights. They used a double pulley behind the fan. Power steering pump was mounted near the front of the engine on the driver side. I think power steering was available on all series in 1952 as well. Pumps were either Eaton or Vickers.Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 53and61 Posted November 25, 2004 Share Posted November 25, 2004 I've done this, although to my '53 Straight-8, not to a '50. It looks as if you've already established that your '53 PS gear will bolt onto the '50 frame. I used PS parts from a '53 V-8 and made a double pulley by bolting a second pulley to the front of the crank dampener (no bolts into the dampener, though!!). Adding the pulley led to the following domino effect. The PS belt that runs in the second pulley will interfere with the fan, so the fan had to be blocked forward from the flange on the water pump shaft about 1/2". I turned a spacer from 1/2" aluminum alloy on a lathe. That mod will make the fan interfere with the radiator core, which I had to move forward by 1/2". (My core had been changed previously from stock to a thicker core to improve engine cooling. It could be that the fan wouldn't interfere with the thinner stock core.) It could be that the dampener/pulleys used on the '53 Straight-8 with PS have both pulleys behind the dampener; I'm not sure about this, but if they are, you probably wouldn't have the interference problems that I ran into if you use this stock part. However, I tried for many months to find the correct dampener/pulley (and other parts) from a Straight-8 with PS but never found them. Mounting the second pulley behind the stock pulley was not possible. If you use V-8 parts you'll have to weld up mounting brackets for the pump. The neutral safety switch on the V-8 column is different from the Straight-8, and that will have to be wired up. Both the throttle linkage and transmission shift linkage will have to be altered, but these mods can be done fairly easily, especially if you have parts from both setups. You'll have to do some cutting, bending, and welding. I had to make a new bracket to replace the one that bolts to the intake manifold and holds the vertical shaft of the throttle linkage. The pitman arms are different, and as I recall it's the arm from the old setup that you'll want to use. Some of this advice may not apply if you elect to use the '50 column on the PS gear, but in my case the conversion was made much easier by keeping the replacement gear and column together. Was it all worth it? Yes -- I've been delighted with the result and enjoy the greatly improved steering, but note that unfortunately the steering ratio isn't changed significantly. One last thought: You're taking a fairly big gamble in time, labor, and sanity that the junker gear is good. You might want to have it rebuilt or to rebuild it yourself. Best of luck with your project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
palbuick Posted November 26, 2004 Share Posted November 26, 2004 If not in a hurry, I may be able to help. Withn the next two weeks I am goin to visit a friend who has a barn filled with Buick straight motors. One is a 52 320 ci motor with power steering set up. Last year he wanted $300.00 for all including the steering column with steering box, all hardware on the motor. Brackets, pulleys, lines.I will try to take some pictures of front of motor.Jim Schilf palbuick@aol.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
50bigbuick Posted November 26, 2004 Author Share Posted November 26, 2004 Thank to every body for the great replys and info. It helps to have an Idea what road blocks lay ahead. I must be a compleat idiot for taking a running driving car and starting at the bottom again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 53and61 Posted November 26, 2004 Share Posted November 26, 2004 Yeah, I felt like an idiot too for the same reason, but that feeling evaporated the first time I had to parallel-park the Buick after installing the PS. If you can get those parts, especially the dampener/pulley (assuming it's correct for your engine), from Palbuick, your project should be fairly straight-forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shart Posted November 27, 2004 Share Posted November 27, 2004 None of the Straight 8's had power steering as it was not available until 1953. So you will be in for some engineering work. This is incorrect. I have a good friend here in the KC area and longtime BCA member who owned an original, 9800-mile '52 Super sedan for many years that was equipped with a factory or deal-installed power steering unit. He knew the car from new, the original owner (who he bought it from) and the delivering dealer (where his father was a mechanic. It was an option on the super and presumably (from other entries in this thread) on the Roadmaster as well. He also had documentation of the availability of P/S because he was challenged on it by judges a number of times. Unfortunately he sold the car so photos can no longer be taken of the set-up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 53and61 Posted November 27, 2004 Share Posted November 27, 2004 Both the '53 shop manual and the Hollander manual confirm shart's and others' comments. Hollander lists two Buick PS gear part numbers for '53 (one for series 40, one for series 50-70) and two others for '52 (one for series 50, one for 70). As I recall, the mounting hole pattern is the same for all of these, so swapping with finagling is possible. I am certain that the hole pattern is the same between the two '53 gears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest imported_UncleBiggy Posted November 28, 2004 Share Posted November 28, 2004 In 1980 I wrote Buick inquiring about two things,,,how many 1948 Roadmasters had Dynaflow and how many 1952 Buicks had power steering.About 2 weeks later I got an answer. According to them, 45,700 of the 79,000 or so Roadmasters (about half) came with Dynaflow.According to them, 22,703 of the 1952 Roadmasters had power steering. Late in the model year, 9689 of the Series 50 Supers were equipped with PS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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