Smallest manual steering box

jw97neon said

. I am well aware of what will be required if I change it. Lca mounts just like the factory and now has a added support mount at the pivot. Not really sure on how that makes a ton of difference. I know you know way more about this stuff then me that is for sure. So I can’t and will not argue you about it. What is the reason you dislike the design of the lower lca? I do know that what I give for this kit was pennies for what it costs for a full k member setup. I have seen just one early a body with a modern hemi using a steering box. I felt if he/they could do it, so could I. Worst come to worst. I ending up buying a full front end kit.

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Is there a support that gets welded or bolted to the frame to support the rear of that extended LCA pin? There wasn't one on the other kits I've seen. That's the biggest issue I have with it.

Having the torsion bar back there actually does add support to the back of the LCA in the factory design. It's not fully supported on that side, but it keeps the LCA from just being completely cantilevered off the factory LCA pin tubes. That's the issue with the other design I've seen, the torsion bar is removed but nothing replaces it. So the factory pin tubes support everything on a full cantilever. We already know the factory pin mounts were prone to failure inside the K member even with just the stock parts. This LCA design lengthens the pin with some kind of extension, so you add more leverage to generate force on the pin tubes. There's no way I'd run them without gusseting the K member, even if there is an added bracket somewhere behind the new LCA to support the other end of the pins.

Look, I know I'm a fan of the torsion bar suspension, and I'll admit as much. But I do see some of the advantages gained with the full coil-over conversions- mostly the rack and pinion honestly, but I imagine with an early A and a late Gen hemi you have clearance issues to worry about too so a conversion makes sense. The problem is, this isn't a full conversion. You're still using the factory spindles and suspension points designed for the torsion bar suspension, but with coil-overs instead. Short ones at that, because they're several inches shorter than the original shocks were because of the way they mount. It just seems like a bunch of random suspension parts tossed together. At least with the RMS or HDK you get a complete suspension system that was designed for coil-overs, you know the geometry works because it was all designed to work together. With this you get a random mix of factory parts and mounts intended for torsion bars with aftermarket stuff added in. I honestly just don't think the same level of design and engineering is reached as with the factory parts or any of the full coil over conversions out there.

That's just my opinion. I haven't seen that kit in person so maybe it's not as bad as it seems.