Steering box - 115 Spider

["Paul Irvine" <kcabpilot@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

As I've been testing the Project Alfa Spider and getting all the bugs worked
out I was increasingly concerned with the steering. In light of all of the
improvements and refurbishments I've done it just wasn't up to par. I
believe the steering box is the only item on the car that wasn't rebuilt or
replaced during the restoration.

Well, I think Project Alfa is trying to tell me something because when I
took it out the other day to do some troubleshooting on why the speedo
wasn't working I cranked the steering wheel hard left to pull a quick u-turn
and there was a loud bang. I also completely lost all steering control. When
I finally got back to the car with the trailer (after the 1 mile hike back
to the house) I found a chunk of the steering box on the street in a glob of
red triple-A grease. Upon examination I could see that half of the break was
new but the other half was dirty, The box had obviously been cracked for
some time. I had taken a pretty good look at it during the restoration and
didn't notice that it was broken - it looked okay.

Anyway - I've looked for a new box and they just aren't available. I did see
them listed on Spider-point.com catalog but for 1,364 Euros (exchange) - a
bit outside my budget. I should have no problem getting a decent one from
the boneyard but I was wondering if anyone has had any luck with rebuilding
one. As far as I know there are just some bushings and bearings in there. I
could probably find a source for bearings or reuse the old one and have
bushings made up by the machinist at work. They also sell the seals at
Spider-point for a more reasonable 20 Euros.

So if anyone has already gone through this and maybe has some ideas on
sourcing parts I'd appreciate the input.

Also, anyone with tips on how to remove and replace the box? It's not
detailed in my manuals and I've never done it. I'm sure I can figure it out
but any advice in advance would be appreciated.

Paul Irvine - Antioch CA
Project Alfa - So close but not quite there yet
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