Thread: Rack and Pinion for S 10

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Anybody out there had any experiance putting a rack and pinion steering in a S 10 or 80s Monte Carlo Le Mans etc.

Can I ask you why? What do you think you will gain?
This question gets beat to death on a lot of boards like this and there is really nothing to gain from this swap... It MIGHT save a few pounds but that is it. How much does a couple lbs really matter on a street car?
I want you to know right up front that swapping from a recirc ball box to a R&P is not an easy job. To do it correctly the inner tie rod points, as well as the height of the rack, MUST be in the correct relationship to the upper and lower control arm inner pivots to prevent drastic bumpsteer during suspension travel. Using an off the shelf rack, which was designed for another suspension, is not going to get you there. Bumpsteer, ackerman, turning radius, etc. will all be affected.
When I design a suspension I START with the rack and inner pivot points and build out from there. This allows me to put the control arm inner pivots where they need to be to work with the rack. Adding a rack to a current suspension is putting the cart before the horse. Unless you have the ability to redesign AND rebuild your entire suspension to work with the rack of your choice you will never have the handling and cornering abilities of the stock steering box and you will not like driving your "improved" car or truck...
Mark

Astroracer I don't want to do this and i agree with all that your saying so i'll tell where i'm at.I put a 39 Ford on a S10 frame add now that i'm mocking up the front clip i have a problem with steering box clearance due to the fact that the 39 still has the front axle quite far ahead and the bottom of the front fenders are hitting the box.I need two inches of clearance it don;t sound like much but it's being a problem.I have 3 options 1 rework my front fenders but that would ruin the look that the 37 to 39 had.2 look for a standard steering box off a gm that would bolt up the same and see if they are a little shorter?3 Explore the possibility of rack & pinion but this car is for a driver so i sure want it to handle well.Thats one of the main reasons i did the S10 deal because of the way they handle so thats where i'm at Thanks for the reply and advice Can use lots of help Murray