Finished the steering shaft set-up.
I had previously cut a hole through the front cross member for routing the steering shaft joint, but left it undersized and unfinished until the column was mounted so I could fine tune the fit. With the column mounted, it was time to open up the pass thru to final size and alignment and weld in an insert. The close quarters alongside the frame rail and cross member made opening up the hole and welding in the insert a bit challenging. Glad I didn't mess it up- phew!
Here's some pics and details:
I used a Borgeson u-joint / vibration damper at the steering box, and it's long enough to pass through the cross member with access to its set screws on either side. The pass thru tube is 2.875" OD/ 2.625" ID, which is big enough to provide plenty of clearance for the joint body including tipping it upward towards the column as it goes through the pass thru from the box, and small enough that the insert stays within the cross-member height. The tube insert is angled up and to the side slightly to be well spaced along the path of the joint. To get a good fit, after the u-joints and shaft were mounted, I marked the final cross member opening size evenly spaced around the joint. Then the holes were opened up to the outlines with a saw and half round file until the tube section fit through. The tube was then marked while positioned in the cross member- to get the angle cuts on its ends so they would be flush when positioned in the angled opening. Here's the fitted, chamfered insert:
Here's the welded in insert:
Once the pass thru tube was welded in, the drivers side radiator mount could also be welded on just above the steering pass thru, on the back of the cross member. (The passenger side mount was welded on a long time ago, but I held off on the driver's side mount to have access to weld the steering cross member insert.)
Here's the set screw access on the front of the u-joint/ vibration damper, just ahead of the cross member. Close, but enough room to access the set screw and lock nut.
Here's a view of the back of the u-joint/vibration damper, under the radiator mount. The joint set screws are easy to reach from underneath (turn the steering wheel to point the screws inward or down) and there's plenty of clearance under the radiator mount. It looks close in the pic due to the angle of the camera, but the joint sits about an inch below the mount.
The shaft is a Borgeson collapsible double D. Here are some views of the routing. It worked out nicely to be a single shaft with no need for an intermediate u-joint and pillow block. One concern is whether the column u-joint will get too hot near the header and cook it's lubricant. It's about 1.5" below the tube. Stainless headers don't conduct and radiate as much heat as regular steel, but it's a concern. It might make sense to shield or wrap that spot.
I couldn't resist a glamour shot with the radiator sitting on the mounts. The mounts will have rubber pads, and the top mount will tie into a cage hoop behind the grill, outboard of the headlight buckets.
Put the grill, anti-rocks, and winch on for fun, and to reclaim some floor space in the garage. I'd like to remove the radiator logo paint at some point- might see if dissolves in acetone without mechanically messing up the fins.
Not sure what's next. Weighing whether to tackle the engine compartment cage/upper radiator mount, upper shock mounts and grill fan shroud in this area, or shift back to the floor area around the battery, transmission tunnel, and seat mounting as next step, or juggling between both areas for some variety...