71roadster

I was at Goodguys yesterday and saw that there are manufactures now building extensions for regular powers steering boxes (with the assist built into the box rather than the ram the vette uses). I only saw them for tri 5 chevy's and it was a 'package' (you had to buy the box and everything) , but the idea applies. The extension housing is welded to a very beefy bracket which bolts to the steering box and then bolts to the frame. The extension puts the pitman arm down where it needs to be and the you use a manual steering linkage and and the bracket puts the box up over the frame rail right about where a vette's box sits. I am not sure if the extension rod that the pitman arm bolts too (proper name anyone???) replaces the original or if it slips over the original and then extends down thru the housing supported by linear bearings. With a nice new variable rate AGR power steering box I think it could be pretty nice without all of the hassles and expense of the rack and pinion setup. Now to get one of those companies to part with just the extended rod....

Any machinist know what it might cost to machine an extension rod and housing like I am refering to?

put this on the 'long term project' list, which is growing just too fast...

Monty

I have often thought of using a power assisted AGR box. the have a wide variety of valvings and ratios. It would certainly simplify and lighten things. That is my second choice if the rack/pinion doesn't pan out.

Flaming river makes alot of unique steering linkage components for the hot rod crowd. You might find something through them that would work.

Jim Shea

You should tell them to take a look at a 1998 -2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee recirculating ball steering gear. It already is a long pitman shaft gear like the C3 Vette manual gear. The bad news is that the four bolt attachment on the Jeep gear does not match the three bolts on the Vette. (Actually the two on the forward side of the pitman shaft barrel are close, but the two on the driver side of the pitman barrel straddle the one hole on the Vette gear.) The input shafts are different between the two gears and the pitman shaft serrations are not the same.

mrvette

Hi there Jim, well I changed email addy's...
it's mrvette72@interstateweb.net

I have completed what I think is a final install on the rack/pinion setup, and am using the Grand Am rack, my scanner is not working, indeed my printer is messed up too, so someday I might be able to photo the thing....
but the engine is not in the car yet, so I only know from the tape measure that it 'should' fit fine....;-(((...... I had a steel block machined to mate the stock tie rod ends to the center feed output, and cut the stock alignment couplings in half, and lengthened them about 4" on driver's side, and 6" on passenger side....roughly...and so the finals were 19.5 inches and 21.5 inches center to center.....with the suspension fully relaxed, engine out, the car on stands, the center ends are about 2" higher than the knuckles, which is nearly ideal situation, I think....
the column was moved off the firewall about 3/4 inch, for my personal positioning reasons......

GENE