There are a number of possibilities, including the steering box.
Check for looseness at all joints:

   in the tie rod ends

   in the center steering bellcrank

   ensure that the steering box attaching bolts are tight

   ensure the wheel bearings are properly adjusted.

   check the steering rag joint for weakness

You might consider getting your head under the front of the car and
watching the various joints for sloppiness (to see if steering wheel
motion is being lost, ie, on the change of steering direction one part
moves a ways before the movement is transmitted to the next attached part)
while someone else turns the wheel slowly side to side past the
looseness... with the car idling in neutral and the rear wheels firmly
chocked.

There are some adjustments for looseness in the steering box that involve
measuring the pounds of effort it takes to move the steering wheel (get a
shop manual, it's well worth the price).

BTW, it's normal to have more free play in the steering wheel on older
cars than you'd find in the rack & pinion systems of today... if the car
wanders a lot, then you have a problem.


=====================


You can do some simple checks on your own to determine the problem or 
problems.  Get a helper in the car to move the steering wheel from side to 
side to the point that it doesn't move the wheels.  Ted's suggestion is the 
most likely place to start.  What you would see is an upward motion of the 
bellcrank, that's where the tie rod ends and the steering rod  connect, 
that upward motion is "play" in the steering.  Other sources are the 
steering and tie rods themselves.  Look for movement at the ends where they 
bolt up.  Make sure the steering box is tight to the frame.  You would look 
for looseness in the box by watching the movement of the input end where 
the steering column bolts up in relation to the output end where the pitman 
arm bolts up.  There is supposed to be some play at the box but it 
shouldn't translate to more than 1/2 to 3/4 inch of movement at the 
steering wheel before the pitman arm moves.  Adjusting the box is possible 
but that may be best left to your front end guy.

To check the king pins,  put a floor jack under the lower control arm and 
jack the car up enough so you can grab the top and bottom of the wheel and 
"rock" it back and forth.  There should be no movement.  Loose front wheel 
bearing will cause the same movement as loose king pins so if you feel 
something get your helper to rock the wheel while you look from behind.  If 
it's wheel bearings just the wheel will move, if it's king pins the whole 
assembly will move caliper, backing plate etc.  The upper and lower control 
arm bushing can be checked visually.  Look at the rubber, a few little 
cracks in the visible rubber is normal if your bushings are old but chunks 
of rubber sticking out or missing to where metal is contacting metal mean 
they need replacement.  Please note that looseness in the front end means 
different things to different people.  If your wheels don't react to 
steering input quickly than your problems lie mostly in what I described in 
the first paragraph.  If there are shimmys and shakes and groans when you 
hit bumps you may have two paragraphs worth of problems.

There are fewer and fewer people in the automotive trade that are familiar 
with cars like ours so I don't think it would hurt for you to diagnose your 
symptoms before turning it over to a front end shop.
erizzolo@gateway.net>
==========
jack 'er up and check the steering box bolts.  Lo and 
behold (I read that in a book somewhere) the lower bolt was so loose 
the nut was about to fall off on the back side!  A few minutes with 
my ratchets and it's back down tight.  The other two bolts were 
fine.  Noticed immediate improvement before I even get to the freeway 
to run at speed.  And to think I replaced the coil springs becasue of 
this.  Thanks to whomever suggested this as a possible culprit.
KM
<kimm@financialprtnr.com
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