I have an early 58 Fairlane with a (I think) late 57 steering box in it.  I bought what was supposed to be a later 58 box and shaft.  With my engine out now, we thought we'd change the steering too.  The later 58 box and shaft fit really well, bolt holes line up and the angle is correct, and the pitman arm seems to fit right....except that the part of the steering box that the shaft fits into...is 2 inches too long so that all my manual transmission linkages are pushed up against the firewall....there is not enough space now between the steering box and the firewall  for my shift linkages.

Did Ford make a different box for manual vs. auto trany?

Should I just get my 57 box rebuilt....I have read that they are not as good as a 58 box?

What steering column have I bought that fits so well but is a bit big going up the shaft?

Thanks again for all your help.

Gt

 You are very smart grasshopper...My 57 box does indeed have 4 bolts holding the plate around the shaft .  My 58? box has one big nut holding everything in place.  I will try to post picture of my old box..

This is a picture of my existing box that I have sent away to see if we can rebuild it. 

Gt

Many early Canadian produced '58s built at the Oakville plant had the '57 steering box. There are different ratio boxes between those cars equipped with power and non-power steering, but I remember swapping several '58/'59 boxes into the '56/'57 Fords.  The '58/'59 box has a recirculating ball as opposed to the early worm & sector boxes and steers much easier.

From the description of your problem I suspect the box you purchased is from a '55 Ford.  The '55 had a flat steering wheel with a shaft 2-inches longer than the '56 and later models that came with the 2-inch dished steering wheel.  I'd return the box and replace it with one that you know is is a recirculating ball unit from a '58.

Also, all Canadian-built '58 Fords/Meteors equipped with Y-Block power used the 272. 

One of the greatest challenges we face in the love of these cars is that they made several changes over the '54 to '62 era.  Another that compounds the problems is that different parts and assemblies went into the Canadian built and export models.  In the Fab 50's Ford Club we have lots of these cars both U.S. and Canadian built and often finding two alike is a challenge.  Part of it is the age of the cars and what may have been installed in them by prior owners.

What we've found works is to lay out what you've got and compare it to the other parts or parts you want to install.  You can't always do that so that's what makes this community so important when you're seeking answers.

In Canada we used the '53 chassis under our '54 Fords with the Flathead for power so I can't tell you that a '54 box is ok for a '55.

For the '56 Ford, most we're 3-tooth sector shaft to fit the dish wheel.  Early '56 got the 2-tooth sector but with the correct length shaft for the dished wheel.

'57 & early '58 worm & sector 3-tooth same as late '56.

'58 was recirculating ball as was '59, but '59 box was noticeably thinner or flatter to allow increased manifold clearance for FE 332-352 and you should always use the '59 pitman arm on the '59 box.

'55 through early '58 route the horn wire through the hollow steering shaft. '58 & '59 use a solid shaft and route it along side the column in an encased tube.

I have put the '59 box into a '56 along with the 352 V8, but it was with an afermarket wheel with the horn button under the dash and a Fenton 300 floor shift controlling the transmission.

To do it today, I'd swap the column cover and the box over as an asembly. The wiring for the horn and signals will be a bit different but nothing that difficult to figure out.

Additional info. steering box shaft on a '56 Merc is longer than a Ford it may be longer on the later Merc and Edsels as well.

   Great description with all the varied differences and you,re right, gather what you,ve got, lay it all out, mixnmatch what will get the job done, and feel sure he will come up with satisfactory result. regards bill.