Power Struggle

By Tommy Lee Byrd Photography by The Author

orsepower and comfort don’t exactly go hand-in-hand. In order to make more horsepower, you sometimes have to sacrifice comfort, and to be more comfortable, you may have to sacrifice a little horsepower. In our younger days, those comfort sacrifices included stripping all of the seemingly unnecessary accessories off the front of the engine—it just seemed like the right thing to do. The air conditioning and power steering system often went to the scrap pile in an effort to save weight and take some drag off the engine. But there’s a time in every car guy’s life that he needs a little more comfort.

That’s the point we’ve reached with this 1964 Chevelle. It’s a cool cruiser with a mostly original 283ci small-block, but we’ve been fighting the original manual steering system for years. When simple tasks like backing out of the garage and navigating a tight parking spot at the local burger joint become a chore, you know it’s time to make a change. We’re finally doing something about it with a Power Steering Conversion Kit from Classic Performance Products (CPP).

The kit (PN CPP6467PSK) is a direct bolt-on system that includes a new 500 Series steering box, steering coupler, power steering pump, and hoses. In order to adapt the kit to our original 283ci engine, we ordered the 6468PSBK-SB bracket kit, as our engine does not have accessory holes in the heads. The guys at CPP helped us determine which pulleys we’d need to make it work. A CP38809 power steering pump pulley and a CP38812 add-on crankshaft pulley did the trick. We were also advised to pick up a power steering filter, so we grabbed a PSFF-K to make sure the new box would have a long service life.

The install took the better part of the weekend and did require the use of a couple specialty tools, most notably a 1 5/16-inch socket. Overall, the kit worked well and we’re extremely happy with the new quick-ratio box and the power-assist. It’s a night-and-day difference in comfort, and we’re ready to get back on the road.

2. With the alternator out of the way, we can easily access the steering coupler (also known as rag joint) nuts. There are two nuts and bolts, so you may need to turn the steering wheel a little to access the opposite side. Be sure to return the steering wheel to the straight position.

4. Before we move to the bottom side of the car, we remove the cotter pin and loosen the 3/4-inch castle nut that attaches the pitman arm to the centerlink. We did not completely remove the nut just yet.

6. Two of the three steering box mounting bolts are easy to access. The third bolt, which is in the upper position, can only be accessed by loosening and lowering the bumper bracket. These bolts pass all the way through the framerail.

8. We’re replacing our original manual steering box with a 500 Series power steering box from Classic Performance Products (CPP). This is part of the CPP6467PSK conversion kit, which is a direct bolt-on system for 1964-1967 Chevelles. The kit comes with additional parts, such as a factory-style pump and hoses.

10. The brushed aluminum cover simply bolts over the top of the original plate, using new button-head fasteners. It’s a simple way to give our CPP 500 Series steering box a little extra style.

12. A quick note about the new CPP coupler. It uses larger bolts than the original. You have two options—you can either reuse your original bolts or drill out the original steering shaft flange to accept the larger bolts. The original bolts were crusty and had some thread damage, so we opted to enlarge the holes in the flange for the new hardware.

14. After getting the coupler and pitman arm seated, we can bolt the steering box into place, using the original bolts. If you feel your original bolts are not up to the task, new ones are available through vendors like Original Parts Group or National Parts Depot.

16. On the top side, we tighten the new hardware on the supplied steering coupler. Again, you may need to turn the steering wheel for easy access to the two nuts.

18. CPP suggests using a power steering fluid filter as it collects debris before it gets to the steering box. The PSFF-K filter kit includes the necessary fittings. Since this is on the low-pressure side, it features a push-lock–style fitting and standard rubber hose.

20. In order to send power to the pump, we had to add an extra pulley to our engine. CPP offers a CP38812 pulley, which bolts onto our existing double-row crankshaft pulley, giving us a third row without throwing off any of our other belt routing.

22. With the lower bracket in place, we can mock up the power steering pump and see how the upper mount aligns with our existing alternator bracket. The pump fits properly, but we noticed some interference with the alternator.

24. Mock-up round two involves the correct alternator bracket, which positions the alternator slightly higher than the original bracket. This bracket is available through several vendors but we went with the C-2317-2D unit from National Parts Depot.

26. For our application, the proper power steering belt measures 41.5 inches (PN 15415 from the local parts store), but yours may vary depending on the bracket configuration. A quick tip, the last three digits of the part number for most V-belts indicate the diameter. For example, the 15415 measures 41.5 inches, whereas a 15420 measures 42 inches. Most parts stores offer V-belts in 1/2-inch increments.

28. After installing the alternator belt and checking for clearance (it’s a tight fit), we add fluid to the new power steering pump. After adding a few ounces we let it sit for a few minutes and checked for leaks. Then, we jacked up the front of the car and slowly turn the steering wheel lock-to-lock without the engine running.