Champ power steering

[DMB-8]

I am restoring a 62 champ pickup and would like to have power steering.I am not sure if they ever put it on them.I am much more familiar with the CK's.
I am putting a 289 engine in it and would like the parts if available for the power steering.Thank You,Don Borger

[Roscomacaw]

It's been done, Don - but not by the factory. Some bigger Stude trucks had PS but they used a larger version of the Bendix style PS setup and tied the slave cylinder to the tie rod.

[Bish]

Ted Jensen in NY has adapted Mercedes P/S to some trucks, including Champs. You can get info at the Studebaker Truck Farmers Site, Studebaker Truck Talk.

[studeclunker]

Well, I did a search on the STF website and here. Didn't come up with anything useful at all.

Don, if you ever do come up with something do please share the information. There are a lot of other people out there, including myself, who would like to know how to do this.

[StudeRich]

Very nice Speedster Don, but what's with the PURPLE? Driveway?

[LarkTruck]

I hope to add P/S to my 62 Champ as well someday. Adding it to a 63-64 Champ is fairly easy, using Studebaker parts from passenger cars. 62 and earlier Champs with the different steering set up are not so easy. We need the advice of guys like Ted Jensen, Malcolm Berry and others who have added P/S to other model Stude Trucks. Let's work together to pull this off.
Jim S.

[DMB-8]

The driveway is just paved asphalt I don't know why it looks purple.I guess it was just the way the sun hit it at the time the picture was taken.

[studeclunker]

This got me searching the Technical forum yesterday. I actually came up with several threads on this subject. Some of them were a few years old. The gist that I saw was that this is pretty complicated and requires a level of expertise far beyond myself. Steering is not something I want to cobble together. Still, if one has the skill (I don't), or knows someone who does and will help out, then it appears to be do-able in a variety of ways.

[Jeff T.]

I started to do some work on power steering on my Champ project going off some work done with Transtar models shown on the tech pages... I forgot the obvious differences on the two cabs... oops. What may save me is my cab is an custom extended cab based on the 63-66 lark body. I have some work to to on the cab to adjust how it sits on the frame so I'll see how it goes. Perhaps there is a better gearbox to use than a GM 800 that works in a Transtar.

[Bish]

Well, I did a search on the STF website and here. Didn't come up with anything

Don, if you ever do come up with something do please share the information. There are a lot of other people out there, including myself, who would like to know how to do this.

What I meant to infer was that one can probably contact Ted there. Sorry if I misled you.

[Warren Webb]

Here is one I found:

http://www.network54.com/Forum/23885/message/1199671388/Power+steering+long