VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1949-1954 1954 horn button

i think this is one for gene . we have a 1954 belair sport coupe power glide with power steering in the rebuilding process i noticed in the 54 parts book a power steering car has power steering on the horn button also the convertable and sport coupe has a standard button . the car we have has the button with the 54 shield in it looks like it has never been changed what is correct pushrod

54's with factory PS had white horn buttons. Those white PS horn button also had the words "power steering." 54's without PS had horn buttons that matched the color of the car.

Also note the factory PS cars had a flexible type of air-vent tube under the hood on the driver's side. 54's without PS had the metal air-vent on driver's side, like the one on the passenger side.

Bill.

The 54 with PS, and AT used a special NSBUL switch.

If you have a strong stomach, I have the white PS horn button.

In 1954 the caps were colored to match the steering wheels on all 210 and BelAir models.Some parts books list this incorrectly....Yes, the Power Steering cars had the white cao with Power Steering written on it.They are "in demand" and I believe that Chevs of the '40's sells a reproduction.

I recently purchased a power steering unit out of a wrecked '54. I thought I pulled every possible part to install, except, after the car had been crushed, I discovered in the parts book that the left motor mount has a different part number in PS equipped cars. Can someone tell me what the difference is and can I simply modify my existing mount tower to clear. I assume clearance is the only problem.

i have just taken on this 54 power steering power glide hard top project and learned that you have to pay close attention to the parts and there is another one power brakes every thing from wind shield to the master cylinder is differant . hope this helps

gpallen2,

All I know (and this may not be good news) if you didn't get the pulley off the front left side of the engine block, you've got a real hassle.

I'll leave it to the more knowledgeable folks to give you more precise info....

Bill.

Its the left motor mount bracket that bolts to the frame that is different.The rubber mount and bracket that attaches to the engine is the same.The larger P/S gear will contact the original bracket.
The gear shift rod that goes from the shift lever inside the car to the mount under the hood on the steering column is different as is the rod that goes down to the transmission.The idler arm is different and one end of the drag link is different.The flexible vent tube can be purchased from a Corvair vendor.It the same 3 foot X 4 inch as used on the Corvair hot air heater.

I did get all the linkages, plus the steering parts, the steering column, the two pulley crankshaft damper, actually there is a third pulley added for a/c, the steering head, and the pump/adjustable bracket/pulley.

Bill, you mentioned a pulley at the lower left front of engine, is there another I missed? There was not another on this car but that doesn't mean there shouldn't have been.

Can I modify the motor mount tower to clear the steering head or do I have to look for the correct tower.

Not sure if you can modify the motor mount bracket.
The only pulley you need is the complete harmonic balancer, as it has a double grove pulley.The belt goes directly from the balancer to the P/S pump.
1954 did not have Air Cond.

gpallen,

I'm apparently mistaken about the pulley I mentioned. Not sure what I was thinking of. Maybe something Ray Holland said years ago.

My advice is listen to Chev Gene. He's very knowledgeable about these matters.

Take care.....

Bill.

The a/c was an "aftermarket" brand with an underdash blower. Pretty complete car that hadn't been stripped. The a/c compressor mount bolted behind the thermostat housing and is cut out so the coolant actually flows through it. I'm afraid it's been crushed but I may have to drive 100 miles to find out and maybe salvage the missing mount.
Thanks for all the help, Gene

Hey gpallen,

Did anything work out for you.....

Bill.

Hi Bill, haven't gone back yet to see if the remains are still available to retreive the mount tower. Most of my effort has been sitting and looking at this project. Looks like a major undertaking the longer I look. Not sure I'm ready to tackle. I have a manual published in '54 that shows this unit in '52-'53-'54 Chev although I didn't think it was introduced until '53. What's your opinion?

It was not available on a Chevrolet in 1952 but was available on the 1952 Buick and Cadillac.

gpallen,

I afraid I'm getting a bit confused on what we're talking about here. A/C or PS or whatever. In ALL cases I would follow Gene's suggestions/answers/advice over mine about anything here in CC.

It is my understanding the PS and PB were first available in 53 for Chevrolet. And the PW (front only) and P Seat were first available in 54 for Chevrolet. And further, the Power Window / Power Seat options came "together" -- so to speak. In other words, you couldn't get just seats and not windows. Or vice versa. If you ordered one, you ordered both.

As for my opinion about the project of converting to 'stock' power steering..... I've always heard it is a big project. A guy I know who knows 53-54's pretty well has always maintained that. Others also. And to make it look really right there's more details. Not just the unit itself. Yup, I'd say "big project." Maybe not "worth" it.....

Bill.

I didn't read back to the older posts and PS came to mind.
The first chevrolet to have AC was 1955 and from what I have heard there were only about 700 so equipped.
The first chevrolet car to have power brakes was the 1954.It was the suspended pedal Treadle Vac type.
In 1954 you couls also get a dealer installed Htdro-vac which retained the same pedal (not suspended)....at that time the same PB unit was listed for installation on a 1953 also...and they also came out with one like it for 1951 and 1952.
To get techicnal the 1951-53 PB would be incorrect because they were not listed for those cars when they were new.
Cadillac had AC in '52 or '53 because they had a 12 Volt system.

Hey! Push, did you find your horn button?

no ray has a few but i dont have a radio to trade . they repo one but no power steering on it . dont tell me you have four in the button bin . i have not even looked for the 15" rims yet to cold 33 this morning

No I don't have one for a power steering, I do have others.
Was the one on your car messed up?

Hey pushrod,

I just sent you an email you might want to check out.....



Bill.