Yet another PS box question!

[Oldsarge]

Hey all!

New to the board, and was wondering about the Prototech box that was available once upon a time.... Was this box built specifically for the conversion, or was it a conversion kit/plate/adapter which mated an existing box to the frame?

I've been looking at the Ford swap, and reading all the posts I can find about the subject.... I have what I'd call intermediate to somewhat advanced fabricating skills (in some areas) and plan to come up with something which is functional and clean looking as well. Any info would be greatly appreciated, as I plan to do this conversion sometime in the next few weeks....

Thanks!

Oldsarge

[MountainMoparRobin]

Protech was a Ford box that bolted to the same spot as the current Saginaw, there is a Toyota box that goes in just as easy also

[Oldsarge]

Protech was a Ford box that bolted to the same spot as the current Saginaw, there is a Toyota box that goes in just as easy also

OK a Ford box.... So it was basically a bracket then, is that right? Did they provide the box and all ready to install or did they ship the bracket & you provided your own box?

Oldsarge

[Butch Romig]

it was a modified housing and a adapter bracket and a pittman arm
mine works great!
butch

[Codger]

Butch,

Was the protech bracket made of steel? Someone posted a picture a while back and it looks like a thick
chunk of, maybe aluminum, milled out to receive the box. Does any of that sound close?

I wish someone had some good pictures of that kit.

Oldsarge,
the ford box is from about 85-91 f-150, 250 or 350. The Toyota box is mid 80s 4X4.

(EDIT) the ford box may be from about 81-95 f-150, 250 or 350.

[Butch Romig]

the adapter block is solid steel,nothing light duty about the whole kit
butch

[Oldsarge]

Butch,

Was the protech bracket made of steel? Someone posted a picture a while back and it looks like a thick
chunk of, maybe aluminum, milled out to receive the box. Does any of that sound close?

I wish someone had some good pictures of that kit.

Oldsarge,
the ford box is from about 85-91 f-150, 250 or 350. The Toyota box is mid 80s 4X4.

Great! I'm going to try to make it to the boneyard tomorrow or Tuesday morning to pull a complete setup. The industrial supply place down the road has a CNC plasma cutter & their prices are pretty reasonable so I plan to come up with my own mounting block to do the conversion... I'll let you guys know how it goes....

Oldsarge

[Oldsarge]

it was a modified housing and a adapter bracket and a pittman arm
mine works great!
butch

Hey Butch... Any way I could get you to snap a pic of your setup, and is there any possibility that you have the old documentation laying around? Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks!

Oldsarge

[Butch Romig]

you cant see the adapter when its installed!,nor the machine work on the box/housing,it was made so the pittman shaft fits thru the original hole in the frame,and the adapter uses the original three holes in the frame,the pittman arm is the main stumbleing block! the ford arm is shorter,and the dodge arm dont have a big enought opening to fit the ford pittman shaft, atually fitting the box to the frame is the easy part,just be sure and use grade 8 bolts on everything!!!
butch

[Oldsarge]

Butch,

That's the exact description I was looking for..... spot on. I think I have come up with a solution that may work..... I'll keep you posted....

Oldsarge

[Butch Romig]

try to post some pictures!
im sure several people are interested!!
butch

[nfury8]

I am going to have to tackle this pretty quickly!
The Toyota box appears to be easier to mount
It doesn't have to be mounted upside down,
and is closer in size to the stock box. The pitman
is still a problem though.

I am hoping to find one of each at the U-Pick It and
then compare and go from there.

[Russ]

Here is a pic of the Prototech box mounted in my truck. I wish I'd taken pics of it before installing it but at the time I didn't know the kit would be going away so didn't see the need. You can see a part of the bracket that bolts to the frame.

The engine was removed in this pic but I installed the kit before removing the engine. There was some machineing done to the box but I don't know how much was required. There are mounting ears on the box that look like it originally may have mounted at ninety degrees from the way it's mounted now. It bolts to the mounting bracket with recessed allen head bolts.

[moparbob71]

I'll will be watching to see what you guys come up with.Question- what will this swap do for you? From the pic it looks like the power steering hoses go into the steering box- would that eliminate the shock looking thing under the I- beam? Is there anyway to eliminate the junk sticking out in the drives wheelwell? Ready to learn. Hit me.

[Oldsarge]

Thanks for the pics! Have them saved & will use them for general angle & placement reference.... I was able to get over to the PAP today & pulled that exact model box. Seems real tight, and I also pulled a spare pitman arm from a '68 so I can graft the two arms together.

When I got the box out one of the first things I thought was that the two mounting ears would have to be ground off, so I think you're right on that one. Without seeing a kit before assembly it's hard to tell how they machined the plate and drilled/tapped the housing to receive it.... Seems they may have cracked the box open & did some work that way to find the strongest parts of the housing to mount to, and to make sure they didn't interfere with any of the internal workings.

Question; Do you remember when you received the kit if the plate was already mounted to the box or did you have to assemble it?

I will make this work, just a matter of getting to it..... Received the Scarebird adapter plates last night, and the rest of the front end & brake stuff should be here by the end of the week.... Planning to have it up on jacks in the shop by the weekend.... Will be taking lots of pics & documenting what I do as I do it, so I'll keep you guys updated on my progress......

Last questions Do you remember what they were charging for the kit & if I come up with the adapter plate & a how-to, or full box kit do you think there'd be any interest in them? Well, I know there'd be interest, but I mean real commitment to buying one if I take the time to put them together?

Thanks for all the help & feedback.... Can't wait to get this baby on the road!

Oldsarge

[Oldsarge]

I'll will be watching to see what you guys come up with.Question- what will this swap do for you? From the pic it looks like the power steering hoses go into the steering box- would that eliminate the shock looking thing under the I- beam? Is there anyway to eliminate the junk sticking out in the drives wheelwell? Ready to learn. Hit me.

I plan to keep the steering stabilizer... Unless there's a way to fabricate a cross steering setup the pitman arm has to go through the frame & connect to the drag link. This is the easiest way to get power steering with the least amount of fabrication & parts involved. I wanted to look at the Toyo box as well, but there weren't any in the yard. Also read somewhere on here that there are possible issues with the range of motion being greater in one direction than the other which was a putoff for me. (may have been the initial setup & positioning of pitman arm on the shaft too... who knows) Also, I can get Ford boxes locally in good shape for $25.00 from the PAP and it's a no-brainer.

Hope to have something templated by the middle of next week.... I'll keep you guys up to speed on what I come up with.

Oldsarge

[Butch Romig]

i can give you a idea on the pittman arm when you get the box mounted
butch

[nfury8]

Bob, this swap gives you true power steering. These trucks never had a real power steering system available.
The shock tube on the I beam is a hydraulic ram and it is controlled by all those lines in the wheel well you mention.
This is a hydraulic assisted system and uses a manual box, it works quite differently. The box swaps eliminates the
manual box, control valve in the drag link, hydralic ram the lines in the wheel well and the lines running to the ram.
All it uses is a pump, box and 2 lines. It is typical of most vehicles pre rack and pinion.

[Russ]

I paid $645.00 for my setup, which was the full kit. There was different levels of price depending on how much parts chasing you wanted to do on your own. It might have been a little pricey for the average Sweptline owner but if you had big tires on your truck the kit was worth it, especially if you have a "W". It's the best upgrade I did to mine.

[moparbob71]

Hey Fury, ok, so by doing this I could eliminate everything in the wheelwell except for the arm that goes from the box to the link? What I'm getting at is with all that crap under there I'm having issues finding a good wheel with normal backspacing. The doohickey hits the back of the tire when turning to the left, which had eaten into the tire and made a whitewall
I've still got the motor out, just got back from painting the compartment, and if I can upgrade fairly easily and without a pile of money I'd go for it.
So with this setup you'd have the PS pump, a high and low pressure hose from the new ps box to the pump, and the pump shaft would go directly to the arm on the other side of the frame? Then I wouldn't need the shock thingy below the I beam?or all the extra hoses?
Let's talk about electrical again- I'm getting out of my comfort zone..........................
Sarge! keep us informed with pics!