cowl steering woulkd this work ??

i seen this and in my opinion it is to weak what do you guys think about ?
http://www.streetrodderweb.com/tech..._rods_cowl_steering_conversion_kit/index.html

 

Its NOT strong enough....

 

The pitman ( sp?) arm looks a little peaked but I'm seeing much problem with the rest of the setup. Maybe it could use a stronger support where it p***es through the cowl but I see a lot of them with no support through the cowl at all.

OK my bad I thought the question was about the conversion to the box not how the magazine mounted it. I agree with everyone else that it is poorly mounted.

 

The issue I see is, the fact that the steering box is attached to the sheet metal only, no solid connection to the frame.
I've done cowl steering before, but I build like a hoop almost like a rollcage that is bolted to the frame rails, the steering box is then mounted to that, not the body at all.

One big bump and that box is ripped off of that sheet metal. Doesnt look right to me.
Safety first.
Here is what I did

 

.......yes, steering box, cowl or not, needs to be attached to the frame.

****in' publishers should use a mechanic to write technical articles................................... Whoever did the (mechanical?) work ain't no mechanic. If a mechanic was available for mocking up this process and told them, that's possible, but if it happened then it's obvious the advice was ignored. Maybe he did, refused to finish the job and walked away, leaving the project to be completed by a nimrod.

 

I agree. Additionally the bearing that is mounted on the cowl side should be rigidly frame mounted also. There will be huge lateral forces on it and will rip out of the sheet metal. Should consider a thicker Pitman arm also.

 

I just looked at the complete install and that is dangerous....

 

Street Rodder put this install on it's website? That install is going to get someone killed. The box and extention kit look good but this step by step is just irresponsible, like everyone else said, MUST be mounted to the frame!

 

I emailed Street Rodder about this and asked them to remove the article from their site before someone dies taking their advice.

 

It's a promo for Gas Alley Streetrods. It was probably done in their shop. If not, they should be calling BS. I find it hard to believe someone would charge money for that install. The kit is pretty marginal as it is.

 

I talked to the guy at gas alley before, in his truck on the freeway on his cell. Tried to buy some carb parts from him. Prices changed when I got the paypal request. He said I was wrong on the price. I emailed him the link to his website with the price clearly stated. Never heard from him again.

 

Pretty shakey installation. I sure would not want to ride in this car and the pittman arm really looks small. The guy that did this, Jim Rizzo, has done a number of very questionable builds and modifications that have been published in both Street Rodder and Rod and Custom and he is a bit of a cobbler. Regretfully many new guys to the hobby don't recognize some of the questionable things he does and probably repeat his mistakes. I would certainly think that any magazine that published this type of information would really be a bit concerned about the liability of what they publish.

Rex

 

its exactly what i thought ,we also do the "rollcage type" instalation i just wondered if we go totaly overkill. But yes it cant work like the show , even if it not breaks it get poor handling

 

Im no expert on cowl steering but I agree with everyones posts. Pitman arm looks pretty weak especially.

 

You wouldn't get out of the driveway with that setup! Not to mention what the occasional "Death Wobble" would do to it. You'd end up with that mess in your lap.

 

wow, that's scary... someone's going to get dead following that article

 

Its all spooky looking but the pitman arm is one scary SOB

 

wow Thats scary now even popular magazines are getting into the half-***sed trend.

 

some of the cobbiest **** I've ever seen, I can't believe any decent rag would print an article on such a death trap...

 

Here's the email that I sent them.

Your online article on how to build a cowl mount steering setup is horrifying in it's lack of, even one, sound engineering principle. Attaching the box and support bearing to 80 year old SHEET METAL?!?!? One pothole or bumping hard into a curb is going to rip that entire jerry rigged menage from it's dubiously designed mounts. Come on guys, someone's going to die and YOU will be held, partially, responsible for disseminating this nonsense. I thought you held yourselves to a higher standard than this sort of "craftsmanship"

 

Riz is on the HAMB, why don't you ask him?

Interesting, old username is gone, new one shows no posts.

 

Maybe they stole it from Rebel Rodz tech article

 

this is as far as i've gotten with the one in my '27.

 

Next thing you know, youll be able to mout the steering box to your hood! Frightening article to say the least. They should be bombarded with emails and calls until they remove this ****...

 

Allright, but this begs the question - is there a competent and informative articel about a CORRECT way to do this here on the HAMB? I've searched but haven't found anything. I'd like to do this for my Es*** but don't know the first place to begin safely.

 

Learn to use the search function!

Chris Casny's thread on doing his is great.

Norton

 

I read that article begining to end in the Magazine.
And I thought to myself this aint how they do it on the HAMB.
I'm not a big fan of cowl steering any way but I'm not the only one
trying to be cool and build my own hot rod either.

Reader be Ware, Do your reseach and use your common engineering senses.

Jeff

 

Must have missed it... got a link? Better yet, since I know who wrote the article now, I will find it myself. Thanks.

 

I've done a tech thread on cowl steering 3 years ago, but it doesnt show the hoop correctly.
But I've kinda showed how I did it again on my Model A, last year in my build thread, but nothing is too detailed.

 

Jim Rizzo:
"...and I wasn't smart enough to sit down and draw up a design ahead of time, just wingin' it like usual."