1966 300 power to manual steering

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A badass machine but you're going to frighten a lot of seniors on this board with images like that!:rofl:

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I made that grille out of two factory pieces....put a lot of work in on that...but could't see with the lights in the grille and bumper..so I went back to stock.
 
I said the 69 steering box was a direct fit in 66 polara. I lied. I needed the steering column extension. I used one from a 65 polara.
 
rd92west said:
I said the 69 steering box was a direct fit in 66 polara. I lied. I needed the steering column extension. I used one from a 65 polara.
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Please tell me about this. Is the extension an aftermarket part? (photo?) I think this is the answer to my quest. I had considered making an extension if needed rather than seeking another column. I'm not going to just scrap my power unit while it's still working fine unless I'm SURE the swap to manual will be straightforward. I'm also having trouble sourcing a pitman arm for manual at a reasonable price. I'd love to find someone
 
rd92west said:
last winter I swapped my brand new firm feel power steering box for a manual steering gear. my car my choice. I put a 69 polara 500 manual box in my 66 polara. it was a direct fit. I knew going in that there is repercussions.
a lady ordered the 69 polara they way she wanted it. Manual steering, manual brakes, 3 on the tree, radio delete and super lite. my kind of gal.
I have driven more than my share of manual steering cars and trucks.
my questions is- are you the only one driving the car? you might not mind the 2 handed steering in parking lots and drive thru's but your buddy or girl friend might crash your car if not paying full attention and being prepared for the 2 handed workout at a seconds notice.
- is it your daily driver? manual steering could become a pain in the ***.
on the open road I totally love the manual box. at 100 mph its 1 finger steering.
I have at least 1 other car licenced and can go with power steering if I want.
do I recommend that anyone converts to manual steering, not without thinkin it thru seriously.
would I do it again, hell yes. but I don't let anyone drive my car.
up in my neck of the woods there was lots of manual steering c body cars in the mid to late 60s
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Not only does nobody else drive my car....I try to make it to where nobody COULD drive my car...My Nova has a 4 on the tree... I don't worry about a security system. I just replied to your other post here. You're my expert on this. Maybe I come off as a noob here...not the case....I've had like a hundred cars. I've decided that stone simplicity is the way to go for reliability. I also stay earlier than '68 'cause I don't want to wear a seatbelt. Maybe this is the source of my angsty responses.. I know what I want to do, I have no problem with the philosophy or mechanics...I just need to identify and acquire the parts. I don't want to do anything that's not a bolt-on and reversible if future owner wants to go back. I keep all my take-offs clean and well preserved.
 
This is weird: I just bought this car a week ago. Immediately removed damaged/leaky gas tank and ordered new one. When I drove it home it ran poorly...dead miss and I didn't even get into diagnosis before ordering HEI distributor, coil, wires and plugs (I do this upgrade on all my cars). Anyway, I got the plugs in yesterday and went ahead and gapped them and swapped them out....I found 3 plug wires (they're in fair shape and old plugs looked pretty good and recent) loose--unclicked. One was just dangling. I think someone else who looked at the car might have pulled them off to make it run poorly hoping to get a better deal or to discourage other buyers. I just can't see three wires being off as an accident. Don't have new tank yet so I haven't started it since just doing plugs and actually connecting the fire to them.....did I just hijack my own thread? Is that bad form?
 
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This is a factory piece. The manual box shorter than power.
Last winter I had the polara in the shop. The engine leaked at every gasket so I was cleaning it up. Also I did a 4 speed swap.
So when I ran across the 69 polara with a tight steering box it got me thinking. Also while pulling the engine I had power steering pump removed and I liked the look of engine bay with power steering pump delete.
So the only time I'm caught off guard is when I'm in the city with a hot cup of coffee, needing to shift the trans and needing to steer a tight corner. My next upgrade is a floor cup holder.
I have no current plans to start converting the steering on my other cars. The 66 polara is a bit of a hot rod. One I will never sell. I'm very happy with driving it with Armstrong steering.
I have a deal pending on a 67 belvedere 2 383 4 speed car with manual steering and brakes. I will be leaving the car as original

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That colum extension is on 65 and 66 cars for sure. Possibly others. But definitely not on 69. Wouldn't be that hard to make one if you have the specs. I got the steering column out of the 69 and it's different.
Pitman arm shouldn't be that tough to find. I used the one that was on the 69 box.
 
My 2 cents...as much as I like manual steering I would never change from PS on a C for a few reasons. One, the parts are hard to source and potentially expensive because only a few percent were equipped, mostly in bare bones strippers like Fury I's. Manual steering was fairly common in A & B body cars. Two, the power steering they used is quite reliable. Likewise if a C had manual steering I wouldn't change that either unless some physical reason prevented me from using it.
 
I have an original 67 manual steering chrysler Newport, and it drives remarkably easy.
granted the car came with 15x6 rims and bias ply tires, so a lot of the drivability issues today comes from radial tires with squatty sidewalls. I stay as close to stock as possible, no over sized tires on the front here.I have owned it 24 years,
and sitting still on gravel I can easily turn the steering wheel.

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polara66hardtop said:
I have an original 67 manual steering chrysler Newport, and it drives remarkably easy.
granted the car came with 15x6 rims and bias ply tires, so a lot of the drivability issues today comes from radial tires with squatty sidewalls. I stay as close to stock as possible, no over sized tires on the front here.I have owned it 24 years,
and sitting still on gravel I can easily turn the steering wheel.

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did 15's come stock? Mine's on 14's and it looks like a roller skate. Are there such things as 300 wheel covers? I want to keep a stock look but man I hate those little wheels!
 
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