Thread: Vega steering conversion

Tweet

Hi guys,

I have a rear steer (Omni) rack & pinion currently. Yesterday, 50 miles from home I hit a hump in the road (where a crack in pavement tends to rise up against each other, great Chicago roads) on the highway and broke the mount, Yes it hangs low.

Luckily, It didn't break completely until I reached the cruise location when I tried to back into a parking space.

A little embarasssing, driving off in a tow truck. Small price to pay for not destroying the car or killing myself.

I tried a search for this topic without luck.

Any help would be greatly appreciated,

Thanks for your time,
Joe

To mount a vega steering system you will need to have a vega mount attached to the drivers side frame rail. This is a real pig, because it falls almost exactly where the drivers side motormount on a chev small block sets. Additionally, you will require a steering arm attached to the spindle on the passenger side of the car that has 2 holes in it, one for the tie rod, and one for the drag link which runs across to the pitman arm on the vega box.
If you are running block hugger headers or cast manifolds you will die a thousand deaths trying to get enough u-joints and intermediate shafts to get from the end of the steering column to the input shaft on the vega box.
I know whereof I speak---have built 3 rods using this steering method. The upside of this is that its an absolutely marvelous system---no bumpsteer, very stable at all speeds, and very low effort required to steer at any speed.
I have pictures if that would help.----Brian

Brian is right on the money and I've done several of these in the initial building of the car.
Right now I'm watching a friend do a Vega type steering box in a SBC powered A framed car.

Motor mounts are easy to alter if necessary.

As far as the right side steering arm goes, another way out is to use a tie rod end that has a tapered hole in it for the right side of the draglink.

It's a common Jeep part and Jeep mail order (and walk-in) shops carry them.
Speedway Motors carries them as well.

All that's required is a slightly shorter drag link.
Drag links are easy to alter or make from scratch - I do it often - and custom lengths are available.

Note the standard and tapered hole tie rod ends in the pic.

Wrong pic, what you see above is the Jeep tie rod end with tapered hole installed.

This one should be the right pic.

Here's a fairly typical install.

Difficult to see, but the steering box proper mounts on a commercially available plate and the plate is welded to the frame.

You can make your own plate out of 3/16" CR steel and weld on a couple of bushings so the Vega box will stand off away from the flat plate a ways.

There's quite a bit of latitude in placing the Vega box, just don't hang it so low that the pitman arm can catch on something.

Aftermarket pitman arms are available and the one in the pic is an aftermarket arm.
Easily bent up - or down - if required.
Use heat, get the part to a dull orange and bend being careful not to elongate the broached pitman shaft hole or tie rod hole.

Here's an overhead shot of my 31's front end.

Note the steering arm with double holes as Brian mentioned.
Aftermarket steering arms always come this way as far as I know.

Guys who use a fore & aft oriented drag link will cut off the rear hole of the double hole steering arms most times.

Brian & C9,

Thanks for your quick response. The Vega style steering sounds like it might be the way to go.

I'm running a BBC with over the frame rail headers. I might have enough space between the block and frame.

With the mounting plate, how far does the box sit off the frame?
Do you have any specs you could forward?

C9 - I can see from the picture you are running a 4 bar, looks like enough room, just need more info to check clearances.

Have you or do you know anything about the cross steer rack & pinion steup from Speedway?

Uses the Vega mount. Any word of mouth as to how good they are?

Thanks again,
Joe

Originally posted by Joe Cool 34
Brian & C9,

Thanks for your quick response. The Vega style steering sounds like it might be the way to go.

I'm running a BBC with over the frame rail headers. I might have enough space between the block and frame.

With the mounting plate, how far does the box sit off the frame?
Do you have any specs you could forward?

C9 - I can see from the picture you are running a 4 bar, looks like enough room, just need more info to check clearances.

Have you or do you know anything about the cross steer rack & pinion steup from Speedway?

Uses the Vega mount. Any word of mouth as to how good they are?

Thanks again,
Joe

You're welcome.

That's a Big Block (455) Buick in the pic so the Vega box should have no problems fitting your frame and your BBC.

The reason the Vega box has to sit off the frame a touch is that the round part of the body sticks out further than the cast mounts.
Including the 3/16" plate, the tabs on the box sit off the frame perhaps 1".
I can get you an exact measurement later today if necessary.

My 32 runs a 4 bar, but the car in the pic is my 31 A roadster on 32 frame project that's to the roller stage.
What you see on it is a home-made radius rod.
Another view of it is in the pic below.
(A small gusset gets added on the inside of where the top and bottom bars intersect.)

The only thing I've heard about the half a steering rack replacement for the Vega box is that there is less travel available as compared to a Vega pitman.
Which may just be an old wives tale, I haven't seen one in person or talked to any owners.
In any event, the Vega pitman doesn't swing too far and in fact my 32's Vega box pitman is about 5" center to center as compared to the stock - and aftermarket - pitman arm length of 6" center to center of the pitman shaft bore and the tie rod bore.

C9

You mentioned

"Including the 3/16" plate, the tabs on the box sit off the frame perhaps 1".
I can get you an exact measurement later today if necessary".

Can you give me the overall width from the frame to the widest part of the steering box housing.



Thanks,
Joe

I have attached pictures, which show the vega box and mount, in conjunction with the motor mount and one showing the routing of steering shafts and universals. The measurement from the inside of the frame rail to the inside of the steering box is 5" at its widest point.---Brian

and another

And this is the area where you start to run in circles and bite yourself, trying to make everything fit.

Nice motor mounts Brian.

Interesting too that getting the steering and exhaust to work together in an SBC powered car can be such a tough go.

The pic below shows the header/steering shaft setup in my 32.
Home-built eaders make life a lot easier.
My friend runs a car similar to Brians, he's run a couple different sets of 'block-hugger' headers and both of them were a tight fit.

I think there's a commercially available BBC header for the thin fendered cars.
I'd make a point to get a set of these before you build the motor mounts or mount the steering box.
(Unless you're building your own headers or are using stock manifolds.)

Measurements are nice to have, but once you start working in three dimensions, all bets are off.

If there is a severe conflict between steering box, exhaust system and engine, give some thought to a fore and aft (side-steer) draglink.
That will get the steering box out of the way for the most part.

A correctly set up side-steer system will not have bump-steer problems.
Bump-steer in side-steer setups is a much bandied about tale repeated by guys who've never been involved with one and are repeating what they've heard.

A sloppily thought out steering system regardless of whether it's side or cross-steer can have bump-steer problems.

Anyway, you can see that the steering box in my 32 is tucked under the motor mount a little ways.
It sits about the same height as the box in Brians pic.

Here's another view of the 32's headers.

Note the intermediate shaft is parallel to the frame.

Here's pic of the 31 on 32 rails roadster's steering column, steering box etc.

Note that the column comes down further and the angle of the U-joint is lessened.

(I make my own aluminum steering colums utilizing ball bearings both ends and a stock, un-cut GM non-tilt steering shaft.)