FMQc, about that Ford to Oliver steering conversion

original message:
"When I rebuilt my steering box, I bought a Ford 600 steering shaft assembly from AI. I had to get the upper part of the shaft machined to a smaller diameter to fit the new upper bearing. It was also longer than what I needed but since the Ford splines were different than my Oliver steering, I got it shortened to the right lenght and machined new splines at the same time. The bottom of the shaft assembly was identical to my original oliver shaft. Good luck "

I dont know how a welded steering shaft would last over the years. In my situation, I couldnt use the top end of the old shaft because the original splines/steering got loose and both were damaged. I only had to bring my new Ford shaft with the new steering to the machinist and he made the proper splines and treads to join both. I can confirm the bottom section of the Ford 600 shaft is identical to the original shaft.

Good luck

I had to make a guess and order one to try. You're right, 8n shafts looks similar but I wanted to be sure that it was long enough. Maybe 8n style works also... I should have taken notes of all the dimensions where I got the Ford shaft machined.

If you go that route, I recommend you to have all the parts with you before taking it to a machine shop. That way, you can measure everything. For example, to fit the bearing at the top of the column (right underneath the steering) you will have to get the shaft machined down a little and then get new splines made up. Also, I read in the book that some S55 had short steering colomn, later they went for a longer model before going back to a shorter column for the 550. It looks complicated but its not so bad.

Did you ever get my email about the stay rods?
Sorry for the long post.