Rack and Pinion in 65 A body

[artfuldodger]

Anybody ever done a Rack and Pinion swap into a 65 A body?

 

[67Dart273]

You are going to have to give us more details. There are "two ways." There was / is an outfit making a REAR mount rack swap which sits in the same area as the original center link.

FRONT mount is much much more complicated, and really means re-engineering the entire front end design. I cannot even name you how many front end remakes there are commercially. There are quite a few, some better than others.

"In the end" why do you need / want to do this? A B body doesn't suffer the clearance problems due to steering that the A's do.

To put this another way, a "rack" does not "equals" good handling.

 

[64cudaV8]

and you know because? Chrysler engineer?

 

[65PlumCrzy]

Front steer rack and pinion is a pain in the *** to get right. The math is not for the faint hearted. I tried it and failed miserably. I looked into the rear steer rack, and couldn't find one for the early, pre 66, a-body. I gave up and invested into a RMS Alterkation front suspension. Magnumforce makes a kit and also Hemi Denny.

 

[pishta]

grab a rack off a GEo Metro and bolt it where the center link goes. custom end links and fanagle an almost 90 degree U joint so your steering shaft mounts to the almost upright steering spline. Now you got a rack and pinion plus a Ram's 50 foot turning circle. Id stick with the original. you can get a longer AAR pitman arm if you need a faster box, plus a worm gear.

 

[gregsdart]

Anybody ever done a Rack and Pinion swap into a 65 A body?

I have one done, just not installed yet.
Here is a link to the thread;
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=254464
It takes some work, but can be done. I did mine to get room for exhaust and other items on an eventual 5.7 Hemi stroker install. This is the second one I have done. The first has been on my 65 Dart race car for twenty years now, made many passes at over 150 mph, steady as a rock.

 

[pishta]

GREG, would you recommend it (your build) for a road car? I fully understand the steering gear space issue but what about the rest of the aspects? Now Im getting an itch for a new project!

 

[gregsdart]

As long as the shorter rack (19.5 inner center to center) is used to get the geometry right, I don't see an issue with it for the street. The only thing that needs to be addressed is the upper shock mount strength. Some form of extra support for the extra loads it will see is something I would consider very important. I used some 1/4 inch flat plate welded to the outer frame rail surface, then going up to the shock mount area to add support without compromising the tire clearance much.
If do you add bracing to the outer frame rail going up to the shock mount, be sure and check for tire clearance at full left and right steering. My 8.5 x 18 rims off a 2006 Mustang GT have 6.3 inch back space, and have zero clearance at full turn, with a rather short tire on them of 25 inch. I don't see a problem with the original lower control arm running without the torsion bar. It has a lot of strength as is, plus the radius rod helps.

 

[funnykarman]

When I started my 66 cuda AFX stretched nose project I needed a compact unit and could not use any of the kits that were avaliable at the time . I moved the entire ft. end assembly forward 20 inches . I bought a crossmember off Ebay for a mustang II and measured it . it was doable with some bracing thrown in for good measure . The reason for the mustang ft end was a simple one . The set up has been used on a ton of street rods and here are a lot of parts avaliable to upgrade it . I put the front end assembly together and made 1/2 threaded rods to hold the lower control arms in place of the shocks while fitting up the crossmember . I used 1 in square tubing and tacked it to the bottom of the crossmember with 1/2 threaded rods to set the angle of the crossmember . I used 26 in. tall tires on the front . I set the angle of the crossmember at "0" degees . Rolled the entire assem. under the car , put one of the stretched fenders on the car and trimmed the frame until it looks to be in the correct location , with both sides of the frame rails trimmed and cleaned off of paint I tacked the assem. to them . Later I welded them solid and cut a piece of 1x2x1/8 tubing for a brace . cut the ends at an angle and drilled 4 holes for welds . I cut a section out of the mustang top hat area and welded in the 1x2 piece into it , also welded it the entire length of the frame and also drilled holes in bent over edge of the cuda frame to rosette weld the tubing to . I later cut 1x8 plate and welded it to the side and ends of the stock frame for additional support . Also cut and welded a piece of 1x2 across the crossmember to attach the roll cage bars to for support . I used Wilwood brakes for a mustang II as well as a set of QA1 shocks , with 500 lbs springs . I did have to narrow the upper and lower control arms 1 inch for tire clearance when turning . View attachment cuda-afx2 048.jpg

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[BillGrissom]

Front steer rack and pinion is a pain in the *** to get right. The math is not for the faint hearted. ...

"Bump steer" is one result of not getting it right. Look for a Wheeler Dealers episode where they bought a custom rod that required reworking the steering angles because it was almost undrivable, even on a straight road. Also nice if it turns right as you turn the steering wheel clockwise, unless you want a car that only you can drive.

 

[funnykarman]

may be this will help on how to set up proper rack & pinion . This set up is the only way to keep away from bump steer
View attachment ft end 001.jpg

 

[funnykarman]

All these charts came from a book How To Build Hot Rod Chassis By Tex Smith

View attachment tilt 001.jpg

 

[roccodart440]

Anybody ever done a Rack and Pinion swap into a 65 A body?

69 but I went RMS. I'd never mess with the stock stuff again. Never.

 

[funnykarman]

RMS has a great product line , Just trying to get charts out so folks can see what is involved in ft. end set up for rack & pinion . I used stock stuff on my AFX car because there was nothing out there that could be modified to work with the ft. wheels moved up 20 inches and I did not want to spend big $$$$ just to throw it away .... Thanks