Roadworn

Just got this 71 conv. Steering play from 10 to 2 oclock.Yikes
4 hour drive home was scary. Car is now on front blocks and I will be installing the Flaming river power Rack and pinion system.Car is a manual steering car now.
Ok here we go.

kdf1986

thats a good looking 71. BB hood, side pipes and a great color.

I'll be looking for your updates on your rack and pinion install. I am interested in doing this upgrade on my 75.

kdf

Roadworn

Here is the rack unit.Very heavy duty mounting, would have been nice if it was powder coated,but its OK black paint.
[IMG][/IMG]
Started off by removing all steering parts,Box,and all that hangs on under
Before
[IMG][/IMG]
After

Roadworn

Pictures always make em look better,(beater) but thank you! Needs interior, needs well.. a lot.Price was right and I wanted to do my own thing with a non #'s car. SO here we go.
Iam going to repost some information from ( Looking for a Pan ) post ,as there is much information there about this project

Roadworn

My car is not factory original. SO some of the things that I will encounter are not going to happen to you.
I have stroked 350 (383) Deeper pan for the crank clearance , First thing is to put the cradle mount in place. See how it fits.
This took some pushing and rubber hammer pounding. Very tight. Both the ears fit really tight to the frame.
Driver side before install

Passenger side before install

Got the R&P mount in, try'd to mount the rack on the cradle support as per the instuctions, would not fit past the headers and A arms . Pulled out the cradle mount again ..Arggg...and bolted up the rack .slid it into place again , no go, rack hit the oil pan. need about another 1/2 to 3/4 inch! Yikes...Ordered Milodon MIL-31070 ,after talking with super guy at Milodon. Its the lowest profile pan they have for a stroked 350.
Please note that if you get the milodon pan you will need the longer pickup tube as well.(MIL-18312 OIL PUMP PICK-UP) and it requires the thick front seal gasket.I was told by the Milodon guy that MIL-31070 is about 3 7/8 deep from the front of the pan to sump drop, no incline front to back. The flaming river rack sits just below the second bolt back from the front of the pan. So this should give me at least a full inch of clearance pan to rack
Here is the old pan. you can see where the cradle rack support was rubbing.The rack itself sits a bit higher than the cradle support, so it was a no go with this pan.

HERE is the pan I received


Here is the new pickup tube and studs installed. Old pickup tube almost fell out when I grabbed it.Yikes.
I put the new one in the freezer overnight and then heated the oil pump with a heat gun for about 3 min. slid in about 85% of the way . Then with 5/8 wrench over the tube I taped it the rest of the way.Tap tap tap for about 10 min. NOTE: you really should take the pump off to do this. I was lucky and without HAMMERING on the pump it went in just fine . You might not be so lucky. If it wont move after a few taps, Pull the pump and do it in a vice

Roadworn

OK, got the pan in. TEST fitted the rack .It fits with only about 1/4 inch gap. I really thought there would be like an inch.Hmm
Curious to know how much space a factory pan would have, as that is what the system is designed for. Remember mine is a bit deep with the 400 crank.
This is a power rack . You do not have to drill a hole in the motor mount. If this was a manual rack, you would have to drill a hole in the motor mount

Roadworn

Now for the customazation. There is another post by " Twin Turbo " (http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-t...on-report.html )
with his install of the manual version of the Flaming river R&P. check it out. Some good tip there.
Twin Turbo's first tip. On each side you will use one of the frame jig holes to put a bolt through for the cradle mount. I slid some box steel through the hole then welded them in and ground off the exess.
I wanted to make sure I did not smash the frame as well as give the carrage bolts something to bite on.
This is not in the FR install booklet, Its just a good Idea I stole from "Twin turbo"
Make sure before you weld them in that you put the rack in and align the angle of the box steel.


welded and ground off
[IMG]http://[/IMG]

Roadworn

With the rack test fitted we knew that it was not compatible with some headers. I have Hooker side pipes. Not compatible.
I will have to do some surgery to them. Next post will cover that mess.
Again "twin Turbo " had the same problem. My R&P is in a slightly different position so we will start cutting.

Redwing01

Pretty cool post ' looking forward to following along.

Bee Jay

Do you think you could weigh all of the old steering parts that you removed, and then weigh the r&p kit and parts going in. I would like to know how much weight savings is to be gained with this mod.
Thanks
Bee Jay
Looking for a Rack and Pinion kit.

Roadworn

Its not really a fair comparison as my car was non power steering.
So there is no pump. hoses, and steering system
old manual steering 34 lbs
[IMG][/IMG]

New Power steering 39 lbs

Roadworn

As a side note ,I have never used the Felpro one piece pan gasket. So I Have not installed the rack untill I ran the car a couple of times to see if the pan leaked.
I have to cut my headers for this install , so this is the last time the car will run untill I can get the cut headers sorted out as Iam not that good a welder.
I used a dab of RTV on the corners and a light bead of Hylomar on both sides of the gasket. Ran the car .No leaks after two heat up and cool down sessions.

7t2vette

I am considering the Flaming River rack, so I will be following this thread with interest.

Bee Jay

Thanks, that's good data anyway. The rack and pinion setup weighs 39lbs. I'm betting that the stock power steering system with hydraulic ram and hoses will be close to that. So weight savings is not a reason for the conversion, is what I'm thinking. Maybe a jeep gear is the way to go.

sly vette

When you get this mod complete you may want to replace the front control arm bushings to fully appreciate the tight feeling you should experience with your new steering system. The rear bushings may be worth looking at also.The reason I mention this is due to the fact that your front bushings look to be cracking and worn.

SuperBuickGuy

I've used the one-piece gaskets for several years and I love them - I didn't notice if you got the one with the spacers; but if you did, it probably won't leak (nothing in life is sure). This is different than the cork gaskets where they're likely to leak

Sxrxrnr

Curious:

I have a 71 that for Xmas I got a Borgeson steering box. Car already has PS. Have not installed it yet.

Did you consider a Borgeson and is so, what drove you to choose the more expensive Flaming River R&P?

I do have power R&P in my 59 and am quite happy with it.

Friend of mine who is an extremely fine tech with suspensions (owns a couple of orignal 68 L-88 race cars) recommended that I go with Borgeson and not R&P for the 71.

Us girls want to know.

Roadworn

Yes, the rest of the front end needs to be addresed and it will. Going to do a full Van steel a arm coil over. I have already ordered the coil over rear conversion and will be doing that first.
Why the FR power rack over the Borgeson. Less complex, cleaner looking and Rack systems are what most sports cars have. There must be a reason.
I just cant leave anything alone.its a sickness.
The FR power steering pump is gated, so it pumps more at lower RPMs for the parking lots, and at highr RPM's it pumps less for a more " manual " feel. This seemed like a really good solution.

Roadworn

Hi people; A quick reminder. My car has a stroked 383 (deeper Pan) and Hooker side pipe headers. WARNING! If you have Hooker side pipe headers,be prepared to cut them up big time. OK here are some picts of the reservoir and pump.
I have the long water pump. So I had to double the spacers to get it to line up with the pully's.Again I guess they expect all Vettes to have short water pumps.Maybe they do.


I had to cut the first two primary tubes of the headers.THe first one to clear the shaft the second one to clear the allen bolts that stick out of the u-joints.

Roadworn

Here is the reservoir installed next to the brake master. Had to weld a longer bracket because it was too close to the brake master. Apparently its designed for a car with pwr brakes.