55 fairlane, rack & pinion/tie rods??

I'm putting an 87 T-Bird/Mustang rack and pinion in my '55 Fairlane. I've got everything mounted up and figured out, except for the outer tie rod ends. The stock ones are way too long. The inners will be ok cause they have a lot of threads, but I'm looking for outers that are a lot shorter.

Anyone done this before? Anyone know what other cars ,might have somethin that'll work & have the same threads? I've searched a couple junk yards and came up with nothin. Thanks

 

t-bird and lincoln have the longer rods.check mustang 2 they are the short ones.

 

That rack you are using, front steer, or rear steer????

And, um, where are you mounting it?

 

can you post some pics of this setup, I would like to see how this is done.

Brad

 

I'd like to see it too, especially how you worked out the bump steer with that rack>

 

Anymore info on this yet? Need to see some pics

Brad

 

Thanks hotrod-linkin, I'll try to get some measurements on some Mustang II ends.

It's a front steer 87 T-Bird rack. Made my own crossmember and brackets, and mounted it behind the engine crossmember.
Mating it to a 72 Chevy truck column, I still have to build column mounts and figure out a steering shaft, shouldn't be too hard.....the hard part's done. As far as bump steer, I've measured tie rod end movement/wheel endplay going up and down with the suspension (air bagged), and i got less than 1/8" all the way up and all the way down....so I'm not expecting too much bump steer. If there is, I set up my brackets with multiple holes so I can move the whole rack/crossmember ***y up or down.

I'm not too good at posting pictures and stuff, so i hope these work....
These are before I finished it, I can get some more this weekend if someone really needs it

 

What am I missing here? Won't the front steer rack move the tie rods in the opposite direction you need for the rear steer spindles?

If you put an "inverter" (like a one to one spur gear set-up) on the steering rack input shaft - it would turn the steering box left when you turned your steering wheel right. And the spur offset (takes a parallel shaft) would help realign the steering shaft axis a bit. A way different approach ........

 

I don't think I want to go on the test ride. Can't believe no one stopped him before this. What part of FRONT steer doesn't he understand ??

 

Post # 3........

It no worky behind the crossmember, if it is front steer.....

 

Man, that car is way too nice to be hacked up like that. Even if that rack was a rear steer, you've got some really extreme angles to work out on that steering shaft!
Sorry to say this but I think you should just tear all that stuff out and buy a setup designed for it, or just put the old stuff back.
No offense FNG, we're just trying to steer you in the right direction.

 

LOL

"A" for effort but "F" for comprehension and research.

Like all the others have said, front steer rack on a rear steer application will make the wheels turn opposite of your desired direction.

Even with a steering reverser, yes they are out there in the race car world of parts, you can expect a considerable amount of bump steer. The inner tie rod pivots need to be in line with the lower control arms.

Techincally the inner tie rod pivots need to fall in the plane between the upper and lower control arm pivots. Installing a rack is far more involved than just making brackets if you expect it to work better than the steering box you are replacing.

 

Yes, the maximum working angle on practiacally any steering universal is 30 degrees. Any more angle than that expect bind and a very short lifespan of the components.

 

Well i guess i F**ked up. Had no idea that a front steer wouldn't work. I've talked to several people at local rod shops, and steering/suspension
techs at my dealer, none of em said anything about reverse direction.

And 30 degrees isn't your maximum if you put 2 mounting points on your shaft or go with a double borgueson joint.

Also, the car is solid, but a 35 year olf faded paint job, bare interior, and mismatched body panels don't make it a "nice car".
As far as Hacking it up goes, i had no idea unbolting the stock steering and BOLTING in a crossmember was called hacking. Everything I've done to it is totally reversable, haven't cut anything up other than removing the stock trans crossmember for my motor swap.

THANKS a lot for all the help.
It;s not like i was trying to show it off, I came on here to get some advice and tips, and people started asking me for pictures.....ended up trying to GIVE more help than I got

Either way, i guess I'm starting over, possibly with a Cavalier rack.....any objections to that??

 

what was wrong with the original steering? steering gear boxes are rarely that much in the way to pull of an engine swap.

I say go back to normal...

And a solid car with faded paint and a few odd panels is leaps and bounds nicer than what most of us start with.

 

Knoxville, I'm running an '87 Buick rack on my '55 T-bird. This rack is originally on a front wheel drive car and mounts to the firewall, it is rear steer and mounts to steering arms that come off the top of the McPhearson struts.
I moved the rack down behind the front crossmember and built mounting brackets there. The outer part of the rack is mounted stationary and the center part of the rack is what moves and where your tiee rods attach.
Here's a link of what was involved in the conversion
http://www.y-blocksforever.com/tech/html/rpinbird.html
Richard

 

Knoxville, here is another article about installing the Fat Man kit in a 56 Ford
http://www.y-blocksforever.com/tech/html/r_p.html

 

i went to the junk yard (home away from home) a found a rack that ws rear steer. sorry i dont remember what it was. youll just have to root around. made 2 simple mounts to and welded them to the back of the cross member. i bought 2 hiems 2 sleves and a tirod to hiem adapter from speedway.(you want this it corrects bump steer by flating out your tie rods.) works like a charm the whole thing only cost 120 and only took a afternoon. i also have 78 granada spindels and brakes.. you get a 2 in drop with them

 

Your prerogative to not believe any of us, so rock on. But if you do care, a single Borgeson, Flaming River, Sweet, Speedway et-al universal joint is only 30 degrees. And like I said before, if you push them beyond that angle they will bind and fail.

Any more than two in a system you will need to support the steering shaft as you remarked. Easy enough. They do make double joints for cases of extreme angle or offset that can't be remedied any other way but they are expensive. These also need support structures to work properly in a multi-joint environment. Heck, you could have enough joints in line to make a complete 360 if you want, but at $85.00 each, just how far are you willing to go?

Or if you are really wanting to go out on a limb there are cable shaft systems available like was used in the early Pintos! Now that's thinking outside of the box.

Again, we are not stopping you from doing anything. If you want to blaze on with what you started, go for it. We all could use a laugh.

But the addition of a rack and pinion does not cure anything if it is not properly installed. And even then other issues like loss of turning radius, sensitivity of input and durability haven't even been addressed. But IF you were to ask an opinion on how to make this car easier to steer there are several choices. One of which I have done and that is to replace the stock steering gear with one from an early Edsel.

We did this on my fathers 1956 Ford and it worked out really well and was a bolt in. I believe there may have been a bit of modification with the turn signal switch housing and steering wheel, but it was actually pretty straight forward.

 

center take off racks like the buick and cav work pretty well in these things. only real big hurdle is making the plate to bolt to the center of the donor rack, and bent correctly, then drilled/reamed out in the EXACT locations that the inner tie rod ends bolted to on the cars drag link. if done right, there should be zero change in the stock steering geometry.

 

Sorry if we hit a nerve, nothing I said was meant to piss you off, you seem sensitive about my "hacked up" comment, but I stand by that. This suspension was CLEARLY not well thought out or you'd have realized it was going to steer in reverse. It's not a big leap then for me to think that you're unfamiliar with many other principles that come into play here. This is steering, pretty serious stuff.

As far as the steering angle, I know you can fix it with multiple joints, but you don't have a lot of distance there by the way it looks in the pictures, and by the time you're done with joints and supports etc, it's gonna be quite a cluttered mess I think.

I still stand by my "nice car" statement as well. I don't know what you mean by mismatched body panels, but I, like probably most guys here would love to be able to start with something that solid. Where I'm from, there are NO local 55 fords, having all turned to oxide dust in their first ten years of life. It's very rare to see a ford of that vintage here that isn't 50% putty.

We all **** up sometimes, sorry we embarr***ed you, but aren't you glad you found out now?

Now, I swear, this is a true story, a friend of mine had a brother who shall we say "marched to a different drummer" (hot rod crazy above knows who I'm talking about). My friend told me that his brother built a car once, and did something like you did, and finished it only to find that it was steering in reverse, but, HE DROVE IT THAT WAY! I wouldn't have believed this story either, if I hadn't met the guy, that's when I knew he'd be the only guy on earth who would do that.

 

Sure it struck a nerve, i think it would have for anybody. It ****s finding that out and at the same time, gettin ripped apart for it.
That aside, I think some of you failed to realize that I admitted I messed up and am going to CORRECT the problem.
I can see how a stupid mistake like this can make someone look like they are an Amatuer that has no idea what they're doin. I've built cars before, I've been around em all my life, and i work on em for a living.
Putting a rack and pinion in somethin that never had one is something i've never done, and I made an honest mistake. At least I'm not trying to make excuses and make myself look like even more of a jack***.

Thanks 54studebaker for the info, I'll look into it.
Thanks Elpolacko for the Edsel gearbox info, I'm definetly considering going back to stock steering. Finding a good gear box, or finding someone to rebuild mine may be an issue though, and I'm not lookin to spend too much if i go stock again.

 

macs has all the parts you'd need to rebuild your old one. so long as the case isnt cracked, its not rocket science to rebuild one

 

Knoxville, you are not the first to screw up...........I've done it a hundred times!!!!!!

That was why I was asking earlier, of front or rear steer rack, cuz' I had remembered

a scenario like this,.........................Move on, Brother, ya' just got some fabricating practice!

 

You know, I read this with great interest since my 56 steers way hard. I know the big block, the lowering, and the smaller than stock steering wheel arent helping but at parking lot speeds, it will make a man out of you. I agree with the others that steering is not something you half-***. But it would be to damn easy just to bolt power steering in and roll. As far as the bump steer goes, it ****s. With my front end being lowered, the tie rods are not parallel with the center link. On a good smooth road, drives like a dream, but get on a rutted up blacktop, hang on, two lanes are barely enough. Thanks to the guys who posted the info on their steering conversions, its something to ponder about when I stopping wondering why my FE pees random fluids at random times.

Brad

 

This may come as too little too late but about a year ago I had a bearing go out on my '56 steering box and it tore up the worm gear. I replaced it with the kit from Fatman Fabrications and couldn't be happier. I lost a little on the turn radius but having power steering and no play in the steering wheel was well worth the cost. I took lots of pics of what I did and would be more than willing to send you some info on it. I think that one might be able to fabricate this on their own if cost is an issue.

 

im going to do a steering swap on my 55 , because im getting old and lazy, lol . but im looking at going front steer . i got spindles off a 92 crown vic and it was front steer . i could swap sides and make it rear steer . either way i guess my next concern will be clearence with the oil pan if i go front steer . yes before someone let's me know about front caliper and rear caliper . i am a auto tech by trade . there are plenty of car's out there that are front or rear caliper car's . just make sure the bleeders are on the top , should work fine . as far as the guy that started this thread , alot of people dont know there is such a thing as front or rear steer . and the guys at the parts houses , well around here there lucky to know where they last **** at much less anything about front or rear steer . and there not old enough to even know what a 55 car looked like much less that it didnt have power steering or a rack from the factory . because the computer dont show cars that old . i confuse the hell out of people when i talk about over slung or under slung rear axles . most dont have a clue there is a diference . the only way to learn is to ask questions .

 

I did a swap on my O/T '67 Mustang using an '86 Taurus rack. It may bolt onto that X member you made. It is REAR steering. You use MII outer rods and Early Fox inners. PM me with your email and I'll send you the info I got from some Mustang site. You'll need a column with a rag joint so you can connect it via a U joint etc.

The Cavalier seems to be the way most "kits" are based

 

how about just posting it here? that way, someone might be able to find that information, and use it.

PS. you dont "need" a new or different column. just cut the stock column off at the gear, add a bearing and retainer, weld on ujoint and some DD shaft and you're in like flynn

 

That is a very good point.

As for posting it.. I'll post the tech info. The article is unreadable if I shrink it down to posting size and it contains graphic images of ...Mustangs. which some people may find offensive. The site I found it at is a dead link that's why I always copy stuff now!