Thinkin about a Rack....For the car

[nsr500]

:lol: Considering putting a Rack in it ( 1200) and putting up forward of the wheels.

Is there a commonly used Rack-n-Pinion for these?

[Icehouse]

the biggest problem is finding a rack that isn't to wide. The narrowest one I could find is still to wide for a dime, I used it anyways though :) the next setup I build I'm going to order a custom rack.

 

Remember if you are putting the rack in front of the center line of the wheels you can't use a rack out of a car that has the rack behind the centerline or the wheels will turn the oposite way there suposed to.

[Burabuda]

the biggest initial problem is finding a rack that isn't too wide

 

kp61 is used in corolla 1200's, so you might want to give that a try

 

however, be sure to consider the tradeoff:

clearance for you downpipe, but binding in steering due to extreme u-joint angles

[nsr500]

The more I think about it, the more work it's going to be.

I was just thinking I could put in a Rack and get that drag link out of the way of the oil pan.

Guess I could always go old school and let it pass through the pan.?

It's also the EZest to do. Hole , hole, tube and weld.

Just one more step when pulling the motor.

[ggzilla]

It's just three steps:

1. Cut rack ends, shorten, reweld

2. Weld tabs to crossmember, bolt rack to tabs

3. connect steering column. Use B210 or B310 column with flexible adapter.

 

This is what drag racers do. Not recommended for street, as a certified engineer didn't create the calculations

[DRIVEN]

Have you checked into a sandrail rack? Many input from center but not all. They are cheap (start at @$60), compact and as universal as it gets. Check sources like Latest Rage or other offroad suppliers. If you find a good fit, OEM or otherwise, let us know. I wanna do mine. Good luck.:thumbup:

[nsr500]

Yea I did see the buggy rack. It's really short ( good) but the splined part ya hook your st shaft to, it comes out right in the senter and straight, no angle on it.

If it just had some angle pionting to the drivers side, it would work.

If I did it, it would have to be mounted just forward of the stock cross member, may be 6-8".

It was just a thought, putting a rack in.

It's very ez to put one in and make it go straight down the track, completly different trying to make it turn nice and work well on the street.

I use to have one out of a Wintson West car, all Alum and 1.5 turns to lock, and you could change the gear in it. Gone now.

There is some scince invaled in getting the right set up so one wheel turns more than the other, can't remember what they call that right now.

[ggzilla]

Just use a '83-'86 Nissan Sentra rack ?

[thisismatt]

VW rabbit rack in an RX7...looks pretty narrow:

 

http://www.rx7club.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=293602&d=1209343199

[thisismatt]

The rabbit rack is 52.5CM wide before tie rod ends or anything else are mounted to it. How wide is an MR2 rack?

[BJW's FiveTen's]

Im seeing if a fiat x19 rack will work, or what about an mg midget, morris minor , both narrow, I have both will let you know what works best.

[Jesse C.]

Ford Pinto steering racks are by far the most popular to use in most conversions and there are a ton of aftermarket ones based on this unit so finding custome parts should not be hard. Flaming River, Speedway, Jegs, Summit and some local parts stores carry them in stock at decent prices.

[datzenmike]

The width of the r&p tube to where the side rods attach must be the same as the distance between the two lower control arm mounting points. If unequal lengths the steering will be affected when going over bumps.

[ichorid]

when you have R&P and you're on a road with not so great of a surface. Dont you get bouncy steering problems?

[BJW's FiveTen's]

You can build spacers that thread in where the inner tie rod would go. to correct for any difference in where the pivot/inner tie rod mount, I have been using the stock steering p/u(end of drag link) points as reference for now, I think the bump steer issue is a easy one to overcome.

[Z-train]

I was looking at doing a rack conversion on my 620.What i found out is that NO off-the-shelf rack will work.The 620 is just too narrow.Also,there is a critical area with regards to rack width and it is called"Bump steer".If this is not addressed in the design,it can get you killed...easily.

 

After all that is said,a custom rack can be fabbed but it will be $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.:eek:

[Jester]

Im seeing if a fiat x19 rack will work, or what about an mg midget, morris minor , both narrow, I have both will let you know what works best.

 

Any answers on this yet?

[Jester]

OK guys. I was measuring a rack and pinion on a Fiat X19 today. The overall dimension was 42". The distance between the knuckles (if you want to call em that) is 19 1/2". PERFECT for a dime!!!!

You would have to either flip your X member or build a custom mount for it though. Would be awesome for a KA setup.

[DISLEXICDIME]

I think brain used a Opel rck

[datzenmike]

On each side of the rack where the tie rods hinge, should be the same distance apart as the mounting points for the 510's lower control arms. Or the distance between the 510's pitman arm to idler arm. (the LCA would be best for geometry purposes) The larger the difference between the rack and the stock the bigger the effects of bump steer.