Hot Rod Cowl Steering Conversion Kit For Mopar Steering Box

• Complete conversion kit (minus steering box) makes adding cowl steering easy
• Uses easy to find 1967-1977 Dodge Dart aluminum steering gear box
• Designed to provide cowl steering with minimum of fabrication skills
• Rids engine bay of frame rail mounted steering box for more engine room
• Provides a classic and nostalgic period look for hot rods like the Model A
• Kit includes steering gear mount, splined extension tube, pitman arm, and hardware

Add A Cowl Steering Setup to Your Hot Rod for The Perfect Period Look

Period looks are important in the hot rod world. Buick finned drums, quick change rears, and other visuals are high on the “wants” list for many a hot rodder. One such period look that is actually quite helpful when executed is a cowl side steering setup. Often referred to as Schroeder steering for the use of a Schroeder steering box found in sprint cars that was used in the original conversions back in the day, cowl steering relocates the frame mounted steering box to under the dash, creating a cowl steering setup where the steering box output shaft passes through the cowl side panel and an external pitman arm is used on the side of the vehicle. Performing a hot rod cowl steering conversion such as this provides for additional clearance between the frame rails for engine swaps and smooths the firewall since the steering column no longer passes through it to connect to the frame mounted steering box.

The issue with the conversion for many is that it relied on the Schroeder steering box (for the most part) and took a lot of fabrication work to mount the steering box and get the output shaft to pass through the cowl for cowl side steering. The Schroeder steering box also took up a lot of under dash real estate. While the Schroeder steering box is once again available, during the period when it wasn’t available a popular alternative rose up in its place alongside the also often used reversed Vega and Corvair steering boxes, the Mopar steering box. Unlike the Vega and Corvair that required being reversed to work properly, the Mopar box could easily be bolted into the dash structure using some fabricated brackets and extending the sector shaft through the cowl side. Today, the allure of a Model A cowl steering setup demanded an easier solution. Enter our Hot Rod Cowl Steering Conversion Kit that is designed to work with the popular Mopar aluminum steering gear box.

Our Cowl Steering Kit Minimizes Fabrication Time on Your Hot Rod Build

We know the time to work on your project is hard to come by. Work, family, home maintenance, and other time sucks all whittle away at your available time to get out in the garage or home shop and make some forward progress on your hot rod. What could take several weeks to fabricate, and install can now be done in just a few days with typical shop tools thanks to our cowl side steering kit. While there is still fabrication work to be done, ensuring you're building a strong mounting point for your cowl steering system under your dash with heavy gauge steel tubing and steel plate, we've handled the process of extending the sector shaft through your cowl side panel for you and providing you with a ready to use extended pitman arm. Whether you’re looking to build a rat rod cowl steering setup or the more typical Model A cowl steering, our universal hot rod cowl steering kit will make it easier. And you can check out our hot rod cowl steering installation guide for more on the process. 

Uses Easy to Find Mopar Aluminum Manual Steering Box for More Room Under Dash

Designed around the popular almuninum Mopar manual steering box that was in use in over a dozen Dodge and Plymouth models from the 1960s to the early 1980s (like the ’66-’77 Dodge Dart for example), our kit includes a precision cut and bent steering box mounting plate made from 7 gauge cold steel, making installation of your steering box a breeze. The sector shaft extension tube is made from 1026 DOM 2-inch steel tubing with .125-inch wall thickness that is 9 inches long, providing ample length to pass through your hot rod’s cowl side sheetmetal. The tube is splined to mate with the Mopar steering box (we include a new sector shaft retaining nut and washer) and has a 1/2-inch thick welded flange machined from A36 plate steel to provide a bolt-on mounting surface for the included pitman arm. 

To support the sector shaft extension tube, we provide two bushed support collars. One installs on your cowl side panel, while the second installs on the interior side of the cowl panel via a user fabricated support bracket to provide the support and strength necessary for the cowl steering conversion. A safety collar is also included that is installed up against the inner support collar to act as a secondary retention device in case the sector shaft retaining nut should ever back off. This ensures that your cowl side steering system will still provide steering ability even if the sector shaft nut should back off. This secondary collar is a mechanical retention for the sector shaft extension tube, providing peace of mind. Fully assembled the dimension from the steering box input shaft (your column/wheel center) to the outer face of the pitman arm is 15 inches, while overall length when installed will be 18.38 inches.

Bolt-On Reversible Pitman Arm Uses Six Mounting Bolts for Strength

The pitman arm included is machined with a standard 7-degree ball joint taper in the lower most hole (other holes are drilled for weight reduction and appearance) to mount your steering link to. The pitman arm itself is 11 inches long from the center of the sector shaft mounting hole to the center of the ball joint mounting hole and can be reversed when being mounted to the sector shaft extension tube’s mounting flange. This allows you to mount your steering link and ball joint either between the cowl panel and pitman arm (if there’s enough room) or on the outside of the pitman arm if your pitman arm is close to your cowl panel. The six-bolt mounting pattern provides superior strength when attaching the 1/2-inch thick A36 plate steel pitman arm with the included button head fasteners.

While there is some fabrication involved, our hot rod cowl steering kit will no doubt make the process of converting your hot rod, rat rod, or Model A to cowl steering much easier with our complete conversion kit. Besides the cowl steering kit and Mopar steering box Speedway Motors offers all manner of drag links and steering arms to help complete your cowl side steering project.