Hi Guys, Building a Front Engine Dragster with a 292 Chevy 6 and looking for some ideas re steering box ?? The Price of a proper racecar steering box is pretty steep in Australia so looking for alternatives - one guy suggested VW Beetle ?? anyone ever used one of these ? / photos ?? any ideas much appreciated - thanks heaps in advance (or maybe you got a "pre-loved" steering box you want to sell .....?? )
Use a BMW 2002 steering box! Relatively small made from aluminium [ I'll spell it the Aussie way ], but the good thing is that you don't need to reverse it for cowl steering
The mounting on the Bug steering box is not ideal for anything else. The VW Bus boxes were used in streetrods in the early 70's, for side steer.
Was an article in a recent magazine (cant remember which one) that used an early ford ranger for cowel steering. I think it had to be reversed, but looked simple to do. Will forward more info if i can find the article. What trans do you plan to use. Would appreciate it if you would p m me with the info.
hi, any idea what model BMW ? had a quick look on evilbay and it appears most are power steer boxes ?
Early Toyota Hilux 4x4, solid axle style, non p/steer. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=685236 Woodbox used one on his build here ^^^post#5. Scotty
as a driver of a front engine race car, and having been behind the wheel of countless front engine center steer cars, (not that no one on this thread hasn't), i can tell you that if you are building a traditional style FED, space is at a premium in the ****pit. i don't know what your definition of steep is, but were it me, i'd be after an SPE (or ross if you can find one) box. Why? because they're designed for the FED. the ratio is proper. trust me, you do not wanna be outta shape with a box that takes too much rotation to get straight... beyond that, when you get to the top end and you need to turn off, and your knees are right up against the wheel, it nice to just make less than a half turn on the ****erfly to make a u-turn. however... if you're building a car with plenty of body space and a big steering wheel with lots of leverage and unlimited knee space, then a ranger, bmw 2002, vw transporter or plymouth box will get it done. but what ever you do DO NOT put a sprint box in it.
Any BMW 2002 [ the Ti had quick steer ] approx 71-74 They're common as muck over here on the Oz mainland [ NZ! ] Here's a pic of one mounted I borrowed off a Ratrod forum! don't ask me why I was there [ blame google images ] They can be mounted on a simple plate. What you need is a steering box where the pitman arm is the same side as the steering arms so you don't need to reverse it .[eg: trailing pitman arm on behind tie-rods ] If you mount it high on the front hoop, and lengthen the pitman arm to get the drag link parallel you'll have plenty of room and quicker steering also!
I use a Suzuki Sierra 4X4 box in my HA/GR car, it's small, light weight, easy to find at the wreckers, good ratio, has good mount points and no master spline on the shaft.
Haha, I thought that BMW steering box looked familiar, it used to reside in the rpu body I got from my Son. It was setup for cowl steering at one time. Here are a couple more pictures to show the size and how the steering arm looks. Don
thanks Altered Pilot - really appreciate your input. an SPE box in Australia is $1000 - seemed very expensive, checked the Strange eng site and they are discontinued. I have been checking Racing Junk.com for some time with no joy...will keep looking. Appreciate your comment re sprint car boxes because I considered one of those. and yes space is very limited in the ****pit. thanks everyone
I used an aluminum Corvair box. Reversed it and extended the pitman arm myself. Works well. gif hosting
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