Alright, checked Mac's, checked Dearborn Classics, checked Autokrafters...nobody has the top bearing or bottom plastic bushing for a '63/64 Galaxie. Any other ideas? I can measure the bearing and see if there's a local industrial bearing place, but just checking to see if another parts source is known. The plastic bushing will be a bit more difficult to figure out.

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Pain or damage don't end the world. Or despair or f*****g beatings. The world ends when you're dead. Until then, you got more punishment in store. Stand it like a man... and give some back.--Al Swearengen

This may be a long shot. But they have early bronco column parts, may be the same bushings?

http://broncograveyard.com/bronco/a-18

http://broncograveyard.com/bronco/c-142_column__stock.htm

Concours parts, or if all else fails Pergoie's? They may not normally stock it, but they seem to be able to get just about anything.

Joe

If its just bushings, why not have a machine shop make some?

If you can reach him give Donald Allen a call. He has forgotten more that Greg Donahue has ever known.

706-754-3348

Came up empty, nada. I did not call Don Allen.

So I was able to resurrect the upper bearing, soaked in acetone for 4days and whatever corrosion that was in there was cleaned up pretty well, it will now spin for a few seconds on it's own. Not perfect, but fine for a steering column.

I made my own bushing for the bottom of the column after brief conference with Cook. I bought a small cheapie cutting board made out of HFME (?) nylon or whatever it is...self lubricating, scratch resistant, pretty tough stuff and much cheaper then buying a big chunk from Grainger. Used a hole saw to knock two 2.5" donuts out, used the drill as a guide and glued them together to have a 1" wide spacer. I threw a bolt in the pilot hole from the hole saw and tightened it down with a nut, chucked it in my drill press and used a wood file to bring it from 2.5" OD to 2.1" to fit the column. Poor man's lathe. Not perfect, but it's a good tight press fit and won't be seen. I went a little overboard on this redneck engineering project and bought a .750x1.00" Oilite bushing from Lowe's and dropped it into the center of the spacer after drilling the 1" hole with a hole saw. JB welded it in place, it works very nicely to center the steering shaft.

_______________________________

Pain or damage don't end the world. Or despair or f*****g beatings. The world ends when you're dead. Until then, you got more punishment in store. Stand it like a man... and give some back.--Al Swearengen