Thread: Manual to power rack question

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I need a little advice on what will fit and what won't for a power rack on my 36 ford project. I presently have a manual rack and wont to go to a power rack. I know the mustang II rack will work, but is there anything else available that might be a little easier to locate and is easier to come across.? I am sure someone out there has probably asked this same question and hopefully they can provide an answer. Thanks everyone.

Describe your front suspension.

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What rack do you have now? Is it off a production car?? If so, was that car available with power steering?? Probably was--so there is your answer-


If not a production vehicle rack--------what company??????


New Camaro has electric steering-----


Flaming River??????


Front or rear spindle ?????

I have a MII ifs and I assume the rack is the same, at least it measures out to be, over all = roughly 45", body = 19.5..

https://www.google.com/search?q=must...ml%3B419%3B166

Originally Posted by jerry clayton

https://www.google.com/search?q=must...ml%3B419%3B166

If a picture's worth a thousand words that's an epic novel!

Easier to locate??? There are dozens of suppliers, here's one.....
Mustang II 2 Suspension Power Steering Rack Street Rod | eBay

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Personally, I don't care for cheap, rebuilt power racks, since they came from cars that are now really old. I got one with my '37 Oze and I could tell that little was done to "rebuild" it. The steel lines had seen some abuse and black paint was applied right over dirt.

I still have that rebuilt T-bird rack, but replaced it with a new one from Flaming River.

FWIW, it's often suggested to use more caster with a power rack - something in the 3-4 degree range, rather than 1 degree.

Originally Posted by daveS53

FWIW, it's often suggested to use more caster with a power rack - something in the 3-4 degree range, rather than 1 degree.

Where does your 1 degree value come from? My understanding is that the "normal" range for caster is three to five degrees back, with up to seven being OK to deal with issues of pulling, etc. Heavier vehicles with manual steering generally bias to lower angles, and lighter vehicles, or those with power steering bias to higher angles, up to seven degrees being "acceptable" for the street. I've never seen a value of 1 degree caster that I recall, but I've been wrong before, and I'll be wrong again....

Heidt's sets their Super Ride II suspension (based on MII geometry) to have a minimum of one degree of caster, for use with a manual rack, since it makes the car easier to steer (less self-centering). With a power rack, up to 5 degrees is sometimes used, but only if the suspension permits that much adjustment.

There really is no right or wrong when it come to minor changes to caster. The only way to know if you'd like more caster is to try it. The link below references caster under instruction 7.

http://www.heidts.com/inst/in-027.pdf

What you're really doing by increasing caster is increasing steering trail. Changing the tire diameter also changes the trail, for a given caster angle. The larger the tire, the greater the trail. Smaller than normal front tires need more caster to produce the same trail as larger tires. The subject of steering trail is a big topic for bicycles and motorcycles that use a lot more steering trail than a car. More trail enhances stability (self centering). Over the 25 years that I rode bicycles (an average of 3,000 miles a year), I've spent many hours discussing and analyzing the effect of steering trail.

For a car, the formula for trail would be R (tire radius) x tanC (caster angle). It's more complicated for bicycles and motorcycles.

Try a google search for steering trail.