Capt. Zorro
Well-Known Member
My .02 on this. It looks like a good inexpensive set up. I was looking at a rack and pinion conversion for my old Dart but didn't want to spend 3K for one.
I did a R&P conv. on my old Anglia about 25 yrs. ago before I knew anything about ackermann angles and bump steer. Narrowed a Corvair front end 12" and used a narrowed Opel GT R&P that was narrowed the same. Swapped the spindles side to side to make it front steer. When you got on it the thing would bump steer about 3 inches. I ended up putting a limit chain on the control arms to limit the travel to only about an inch. When you turned it sharp it would leave black marks from sliding the front wheels. That all being said I've driven it for about 10,000 miles and still have the original tires on it. They don't show any abnormal wear on them. It drives great going down the road, just don't try to make any sharp turns. Would I do it now? Probably not, but I'm to old to start over on rebuilding it.
I've swapped straight axles from rear to front steer on a couple of my old street rods. Swapped the spindles side to side and heated the arms to get the ackermann back and they've worked without any problems so far.
Like the guy's were saying if you can strike an imaginary line between the upper and lower ball joints, that is where the pivot for the rack should be. You can shorten a rack by cutting the rack and housing or lengthen it by adding to the rack. They make adapters for Mustang II for this purpose. Check the rack you are using and see if it has internal or external threads where the pivot arms screw onto the rack. M II is external, the old Opel I used was internal. Had to cut it and then drill and tap it to fit the arms. This will shorten your turning circle in one direction tho.
There's alot to consider on doing a R&P conversion, but for the difference between $100.00 and $3K it would definitely be worth looking into.
Thanks for the info, looks like my old cheap arse will be making a trip to pull a part soon..
I did a R&P conv. on my old Anglia about 25 yrs. ago before I knew anything about ackermann angles and bump steer. Narrowed a Corvair front end 12" and used a narrowed Opel GT R&P that was narrowed the same. Swapped the spindles side to side to make it front steer. When you got on it the thing would bump steer about 3 inches. I ended up putting a limit chain on the control arms to limit the travel to only about an inch. When you turned it sharp it would leave black marks from sliding the front wheels. That all being said I've driven it for about 10,000 miles and still have the original tires on it. They don't show any abnormal wear on them. It drives great going down the road, just don't try to make any sharp turns. Would I do it now? Probably not, but I'm to old to start over on rebuilding it.
I've swapped straight axles from rear to front steer on a couple of my old street rods. Swapped the spindles side to side and heated the arms to get the ackermann back and they've worked without any problems so far.
Like the guy's were saying if you can strike an imaginary line between the upper and lower ball joints, that is where the pivot for the rack should be. You can shorten a rack by cutting the rack and housing or lengthen it by adding to the rack. They make adapters for Mustang II for this purpose. Check the rack you are using and see if it has internal or external threads where the pivot arms screw onto the rack. M II is external, the old Opel I used was internal. Had to cut it and then drill and tap it to fit the arms. This will shorten your turning circle in one direction tho.
There's alot to consider on doing a R&P conversion, but for the difference between $100.00 and $3K it would definitely be worth looking into.
Thanks for the info, looks like my old cheap arse will be making a trip to pull a part soon..
