I've read that he and his wife were having medical issues. And that there is a looong wait on orders. Just wondering if the company is still around? no answer from his contact info...
I've been waiting over two years for a reply to multiple requests for info. I also heard the same story about health problems, so there must be something to it.
Are you talking about the rack conversion kits? I waited too. Try: ACARinc. Arcata, Ca. 95521 707.822.7900 shop 707.499.6887 cell andrescustoms@sbcglobal.net "CHOP, DROP, and ROLL" tm Tell him Kirk from Goodguys sent you.
Bummer if it is a health issue. I've heard good things about their kits. Hey Kirk, any reviews on the ACARinc rack n pinion kits? Wanting to put one in my 59 Ford.
I have one going in my Starliner. I physically have it in my hands. It's not in yet, but looks like a great kit. I have a friend with one in his '61 and he likes it.
From the 57FordsForever website, this member, "Tom" is making a much lauded (on the 57 Ford site) R&P; here is his email. bulldog57@charter.net
wow... a grand? what does this "kit" all include? im hoping a brand new R&P, lines, pump, u-joints, brackets and hardware for that price...
i'd hope so... the fatman kit is $400 or there bouts... no rack, no hoses, no pump... altho i do believe they come with the u-joints.
I would love R&P for my 63 Merc. I had received an e-mail response from Wurthit that said they would tell me when kits were ready to ship. That was a year ago.
I made a unit for my 57, used a caliver rack , made brackets to weld to my frame to hold the unit, cost about 400.00 for parts an my time but it handles nice with just little less turning radius
heh... funny you mention that whole turning radius thing... i have what might be a solution to the GM J-body racks reduced tie rod throw when used in 50's - 60's fords... more to come on that in its own little "tech" article soon, but if what i'm working on does pan out, you'll need to install steering bump stops on your car to keep the tires from rubbing the frame
I wouldn't wait around for Wurthit. I have heard that his wife left him and took just about everything. I also heard that he moved somewhere else and was trying to start back up again. Don't really know if this is all true but he just seemed to drop off the face of the earth with a lot of people waiting for kits that they already paid for.
Got this from 57fordsforever's site: March 08 My name is Rick Wurth (Wurth-It Designs) I have noticed comments on you site, some are warrented and I believe some are not, so I'd like to set the story straight. Back inn 1996 we discovered my wife had contracted Hepatitis C due a blood transfusion while having a brain tumor operation six years earlier. This was the start of an unbelievable chain of events that ended up with me having a heart attack at the end of Sept.2007. My wife became extremely ill which meant I had to take over her duties as a mom. That meant doing everything from raising the kids, to housework, cooking, shopping, etc. I could handle that! But in the year 2000 that all changed, my wife contracted ARDS,(adult respiratory distress syndrome) she died right in front of me and doctors managed to get her back, she was then on life support for over 14 days. She was in the hospital for two months. When she got home I had to carry her to the bathroom she was so weak, give baths, etc. at the time there really was not much help for us. Meanwhile she was and still is to this day dealing with Hep. C she also was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis due to the hep C and put on and oxygen machine, which she still has to use. This really put her down in a bad way, by this time she could barely do anything without some kind of help. She also had a broken foot due to brittle bones. That's the way it was for two years until I messed up my leg and it became infected. I was a hairs breath away from having it amputated, and it took two years to heal, While this was all happening I managed to invent the power rack and pinion for my '57 Ford, I did not plan for this to be a business. I put a picture of it on my personal website and all of a sudden I started getting calls about it from the '57 ford owners. Well I figured it would be easier to build these systems than work on building hot rods, boy was I wrong. The calls kept coming and my wife was not getting any better. After years of constant doctors visit (uncountable)medicine, co-pays running into the hundreds of thousands...and that, with good insurance... it just did not seem like thigs would ever get better but little by litte they did...but not for long! In November 2005 I got a call from the TV show Wrecks to Riches about installing one of our Rack Systems into a tribute car for Parnelli Jones, At first I declined due to my wifes health issues but Joy said she felt good enough to take the trip. Magazines and TV shows do not really flip my switch much... I was raised around it and I was in many magazines in my early days. But they do help sell what your making. So we went but we never made it to our destination, while walking our dog behind the motel in St. George, Utah which had an elevated parking lot, Joy triped and fell off a wall five feet below on to the concrete sidewalk breaking her femur ( the largest bone in your body )and her hip. We were now stuck in St George with Joy going through surgery. I't would take to long to tell that whole story... the short story is Four more surgeries after that( the first three failed) months and months of taking care of Joy because the rehab centers stunk, tons of money going to crappy doctors and surgeons until the last surgeon in Denver knew what he was doing. More co-pays, medicine, etc. I was the full time caretaker for my wife while still trying to run the business of building the racks. By the way I personally have built every rack made I do not farm my stuff out to some other country to make a crummy version of it! I tried to do it all and I failed!!! It caused me to have a heart attack and the was my mistake! During the Five months I've spent trying to recover, I've lost my wife, house, my '60 Starliner and other cars, my shop,my dog, my pride, but not my life. Now I'm starting over in California, not with much, but it's a start. I don't give up and never have! I could have filed for bankrutpcy and left everyone hanging out to dry. NOT MY STYLE! I will do my very best to see that all my past customers get what they ordered, it may take awhile but I'll make it happen. Thanks for the opportunity to speak up. My phone number is 970-314-6159 I ask that my past customers call me so we can make thing right.> Rick Wurth>
Fiddyfour fatman does not make a rackset up for a 57-63 he quits at 56, for the newer cars he does a front frame clip.
I installed a Wurth-It rack setup in a '57 Ford about 6 years ago, and it worked great. Looked like a mid size GM rack, maybe Pontiac Grand Prix, a little bigger than a Cavalier rack, and he did something to it to increase the travel and give a tight turning circle. There was a delay at the time in getting the kit to me, a couple months I think. If all that story is true, it's terrible and I hope he pulls through it. -KK
He ripped me off for $2,200.00 for a rack and pinion and a stainless factory fit steering column for a 56 T-Bird. Collected the money from Visa and then stalled, quoting heart attack and health problems, but assured me he would get the parts out to me. Well what he did was stall long enough that I could no longer go after my money from the credit card company. Too much time had passed. He's an a$$hole!
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