Steering: Swapping P/S from Hawk to Lark

[kevin1944]

I want to take P/S from a 63 GT I'm parting out & put it on a 64 Commander,what do I need to do & look out for ? EG the reach rod for Commander appears to be shorter
Anything else to be aware of ?

[SScopelli]

I believe the Pittman arm is also different.

[rockne10]

As well, pretty much the entire steering column; different length, shifter linkages, etc.
You would probably be better off finding a donor Commander and selling the Hawk assemblies.
I've only done it once, and that was from a '54 F body to a '53 C body; but that was my experience.

[Roger L.]

The Pittman arm is permanently attached to the control valve. All the parts should work but it's possible that the oil lines may be different lengths. the ram mount to the frame may be different too. The nice thing about the Bendix linkage power steering is that it will work with the standard steering gear as long as the Pittman spline matches the sector shaft. The link from the control valve to the bell crank is adjustable to some degree, it could be a problem if it can't be adjusted enough. Just measure the old one and adjust the distance from the front tie rod end to the ball end of the pitman arm to be equal. The instructions are in the service manual.

Roger List

[StudeRich]

The BEST Tool you need in your Toolbox is the '59-'64 Chassis Parts Catalog, you compare all the Parts to learn what you will need to buy to make the conversion.

The only good news is, you should be good with the existing Steering Gear and Column in your '64 Commander.

The bad news is, about all you can salvage from the Hawk that will fit is; the Ram, P/S Pump, Brackets, special Bolts and Crank Pulley.

Since the Commander has a Saginaw Steering Gear and the Hawk a Ross, I don't believe the Pitman would fit if it were the right length, but I doubt it. The Catalog will tell you if I have missed anything.

[abkco]

I just took out power steering from a 63 Hawk and put it in my 63 Lark. Like others above have said, you need a Lark Pitman and Reach Rod. Hoses are different for the years you are talking about. If you aren't sure about the quality of your used parts, you might want to rebuild the pump, control valve and ram.