Hey guys, I have switched from manual to power steering and the manual pitman arm will not fit on the new P/S gear box. I understand that the 69 p/s is a one off year and difficult to find, so I am turning to all of you with hopes I can find the correct one. Please reach out should any of you guys have one laying around your garage or know where I might be able to find one. Thank you all in advance for your help!
Does anyone here have an idea what place I should call or visit online? Or if anyone has alternative way to set up this up, please let me know, thanks!
"...if anyone has alternative way to set up this up, please let me know..."
I suppose that if your budget is big enuff you could switch over to a rack & pinion steering set-up. Have never done this & don't know the best brands.
Or, I assume the '69 Camaro has the same front subframe. Therefore, I suppose you could swap out the necessary parts to convert to the Chevy set-up. That worked for BB '69 Camaros. So, I assume it would work for a '69 Bird. May have to do some sort of exhaust system mod, to make it work, on the driver side. Don't know.
Don't know if you could switch over to all '68 Bird steering or not. That's what I'd do, if it'll work. I think the '68 PS pitman arms are still reasonable.
Might be able to use a straight pitman off an OHC six '69 Bird, by modding the DS exhaust. Lots of guys have swapped out the OHC six for a V8, so there should be some OHC arms for sale. I came across a straight arm on a 1st gen with headers. The PO had just bent in a header tube, so the steering would turn far enuff. Should be some '69 Bird guys here who know. If nobody chimes in, I'll check some other sources.
OK, I asked some questions on other Pontiac sites.
As I assumed, you can switch everything over to the '68 style steering linkage & use the still available '68 curved arm. But you'll need ALL the '68 linkage parts.
I suppose that if all you need right now is the '69 arm, then finding a good used one would be your cheapest initial investment. BUT, if it were mine, I'd switch everything over. That way, all the parts will be easier to find, should you need any in the future.
As the guy on PY said, if you can find the PS box from s '74 Ventura, that still has the arm on it, it should be the same. But, I'm guessing that there are not a whole lot of '74 Vent or '69 Bird parts cars out there.
I'll try a WTB ad for just an arm & see what turns up. Since most now know how rare these arms are, I doubt anybody would sell one for less than $100 + shipping. But, you never know 'til you ask.
(5) Two tie rod sleeves. The Moog ES350S sleeves are about $10 each at Rock Auto. Slightly higher at most other places. Dorman S350PR sleeves are slightly cheaper.