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I am a new user, this is my first post. ( please see my introduction.) I am in the early stages of restoring my 1958 445, at this point I am taking the body off of the frame. I have been collecting parts for about a year. Some times I feel confused about the breaking point between the early style and the later models. My car was 6volt and has oval tail lights, split front window and a mouth organ type grill.
What I am confused about is the steering gear idler arm mount. I had an accident about 15 years ago and had the old original front end swapped with one from a 544.I know the early ones had it mounted on the front cross member, the later ones were mounted on the frame. My 58 has it mounted on the frame and I am wondering if it is a conversion. It has 2 bolts going through the frame and another welded to the top.
Could some one with a 544 tell me if their idler arm mount looks like this?
I did'nt do the work, I am unclear on the details about the idler arm but I remember when we tried to swap the steering box, the steering shaft was too short and was lengthened. The car does not handle well, I'm afraid something is amiss. It tends to oversteer.
One other thing, on the early front ends, the tie rod is mounted to the rear of the steering arms. On the late models, the tie rod is in front. I want to make sure I am using the correct idler arm. The part# on the arm is 663128 and the fabr# on the steering box is 631822, type# 7316100281.
Does anyone have an opinion about this?
I think the setup I have may be correct, but I am not sure. What would be most helpful is finding an experienced specialist in the San Francisco bay area to help me correct any problems and align the car. I bought a really nice restored front end for it with a disc brake conversion and I am open to redoing the steering gear, I want it to be right. Thanks, Donovan
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