Hi guys,
The weather was good last week end so i dusted off the 69 and put the top down and went for a cruze.
All went well but i was reacquainted with the vague steering these cars are blessed with.
My question is if any one has first hand experience with installing rack and pinion steering to this old cat,?
I am generally reluctant to vary much from stock, but i am intrigued about this ?
I installed a Unisteer R&P kit on my 1969 last winter. I’m very pleased with the steering now. The old steering system was leaky, sloppy, and a bit scary while driving. I had a lot of challenges on my car mainly due to the long tube headers that were previously installed and I had to swap to short style. They also strongly recommend a mini-starter. Installation required some trimming and some 90 degree fitting that were not supplied with the kit. I’m not sure how other kits fit but this one took quite a bit of work on my car.
The steering issues are usually more about who is working on them and the condition of the components. If you elect to go with the power steering version you’ll have to go to a Saginaw pump. Some don’t work with FE cars and there is a loss of ground clearance.
If you’re going R&P and haven’t done a replacement of upper and lower control arms, sway bar links and bushings I would consider that part of the job as well.
if you want to keep more of a stocking looking better system I would do the Boregson system.
I have a Total control manual rack on the race Cougar with the bump-steer kit. Works greats, but you would want the PS version for the street. Some mods to the steering column and no problem clearing the headers.
I have already replaced all tie rod ends, p/s ram and valve body, upper and lower arms, caster rod bushing, gas shocks, 1” sway bar, just about every thing in the front end,
it drives great for a 50 year old car, but still 50 year tech ?
I thought about the steering box conversion, but if i am going that far then go a little further and go the R & P ?
The R&P definitely is much more responsive. However, even the Total Control above would not work with an FE with Hooker Supercomps.
I did the usual modifications. Lowered control arms, 1" bar, Global West 635 springs, 180lb rears, rear sway bar and Konis. my steering box and power steering valve was done by Rode’s Restoration as well. The car handles half-decent. As you mentioned it is over 50 years old.
Because I have a Shelby I really don’t have the liberty of doing what a lot of Cougar and Mustang owners do.
The Bogesen isn’t going to be nearly as beneficial as the R&P and again manual transmission cars it won’t work with.
I previuosly fitted a power steering box to a Falcon, it was an improvement over the ram system, but still vague with old tech.
My 69 is a 351W with auto.
Im not looking to do the hole resto mod thing, just a renovation and a slight upgrade with creature comforts added maybe ?
The various suppliers indicate a simple bolt on deal, but nothing is that easy is it .
My '69 is Cleveland powered and as I mentioned I used the Unisteer R&P system. Header clearance and Z-bar clearance were my main issues on drivers side. No issues on passengers side. The stock exhaust manifolds would have probably cleared but mine were cracked. Auto trans should make the installation easier. I did all the front suspension at the same time-tubular upper and lower arms, Bilstein coilovers, adjustable strut rods, big front anti-sway bar along with Wilwood big brakes. Love the upgrades!
https://mikemaierinc.com/product/mustang/mod-power-steering-kit/
My son just installed this and is very happy with it. Mike provides amazing tech support.
I have the TCP power rack and at $2,500 plus another $750 or so for KRC pump brackets hoses etc I’d say I wouldn’t buy it again in today’s day and age. I bought it back when the other R&P options were mostly homebrewed, and the Maier and Borgenson weren’t out yet. It’s great, but I don’t think it’s $2,000 better than the competition that emerged later on.
Im interested in this subject as well, I rebuilt my stock stuff for the time being for a couple reasons mainly since I have a manual and unsure about powertrain options down the road. I know the stock stuff wont cut it long and Ill be looking to upgrade it. I am planning the borgenson route since the racks seems to be alot more expensive and typically hang pretty low on the car. I think the main issue with the borg kit is using the stock pump, I believe you really need to update that to the Saginaw style to really benefit from it.
I’m not aware of the lower than stock issue. Mine fits up under the oil pan pretty tight. In my case, the long tube headers required a bracket to lower the hydraulic ram so my R&P swap is probably higher than the modified stock bits…and less leaky…and better feel…and more responsive…and quieter (less pump noise). My thread here on the site details my installation. My car still is not perfect but it is getting better with every modification!
You should link your install. Do you have an FE car with long tube headers? I have been debating if I need to add the bump steer kit.
-Keith
Nope. I’ve got a Cleveland not an FE. Manual trans with Zbar and long tube headers at the start of the install. Shorties now.
https://cccforum.discoursehosting.net/t/detroit-area-1969-base-convertible/7304/1
I’ve seen a lot of R&P conversions. I’m not really too fond of them for a few reasons, but the big one is that they don’t last, and you can’t get replacement parts, typically. The center teeth on the rack wear out faster than the rest of them, which makes your steering sloppy relatively fast, compared to the factory equipment. In addition, they all have reduced turning radius, which means parking is more of a chore.
The factory equipment works really good, when it’s not all broken down, and lubricated with 55 year old dead dinosaur juice. Replace the worn-out tie rod stuff, make sure there’s no play in the rest, and if the steering box is still sloppy after you put new grease in it and adjust it, send it off to Chocostang. I think you’ll be impressed. Nobody fussed about this setup when it was new. In fact, a lot of sports cars in that era used similar equipment, and it’s not like nobody had thought of rack-and-pinion yet. The big reason R&P became popular was because it was cheaper to manufacture, not because it’s inherently better.
I have been running the borgeson ps unit with a Saginaw pump for a few years now. It works flawlessly. I had to trim about an inch off the bottom of my tilt away steering column, convert from the z bar to a hydraulic throw out set up for my clutch and slightly modify my headman shortie headers for it to all fit and work together.
The only issue I have had from day one is my steering is sloppy. The steering wheel moves about 2” either direction before it actually turns the front wheels. I installed all new suspension and steering components along with the borgeson set up. I don’t believe the slop is on the steering box, I think it is in either the rag joint or steering column u-joints that is my issue, but I just haven’t taken the time to really track it down yet. It’s on the short list of things to do next so I should have a better idea of the culprit soon.
On the cars with collapsible columns, sometimes there’s even play in the steering column itself. You kind of need a friend to help you determine stuff like this, as it’s hard to be in the car wiggling the wheel and looking at the rest of the steering parts at the same time. Even a tiny bit of play at each part will add up to significant slop. Thankfully, the factory equipment is fun to drive when everything’s working. It feels a little different from what most people are used to, but it’s not sketchy at all. Oddly enough, I find that the extra movement required by the bigger factory wheel, and the different steering ratios helps keep me alert when I’m driving. It isn’t any more fatiguing than driving a new car, just different.
Can confirm! Stock pump doesn’t work very well with the Borgeson setup.
Lots of things contribute to play in the steering, and all of them are amplified by having a larger steering wheel. In order from steering wheel to wheels, to put it all together from everyone above:
-Steering wheel: A large (stock) steering wheel will amplify felt play (larger radius means larger arclength for the same play-angle)
-Steering column: two-piece collapsible ones probably have play between the two collapsible pieces, and certainly have flex under load (thin walls).
-Rag Joint: Get a poly one.
-U-joints: It can be safely assumed that the Ford bean-counters did not let anyone from engineering spring for the best u-joints on the market. As such, longevity/play issues can be assumed.
-Gear box: Lots of moving parts means lots of POTENTIAL for play, and those tolerances stack. A few moving parts that all have 0.5 degrees of play is a lot of play.
-Every ball-joint/end/connection: One bad joint will induce play, and there are a lot of connections.
-Drag-Link: These flex under load. Likely not a factor in highway on-center play, but it can be the cause of some vagueness in aggressive cornering.
-Idler Arm: These have rubber in them. Rubber = flexy nonsense.
-Tires: Big (stock) sidewalls mean a certain (small) amount of delay to steering inputs. Again, rubber = flexy nonsense.
Unfortunately, most of the solutions to these issues involve pulling out the liquid-cooled credit card, and sacrificing some NVH isolation. Some solutions, like a roller idler arm, have other unique side-effects such as reducing return to center. Others, like replacing the collapsible column with a a solid one, could result in impalement. WCCC made a good video about chasing play, and a lot of the Cougars they examined ended up requiring an adjustment on the box itself.
If you end up going with a Borgeson style setup, or an ABS Power Brake one (weird company name, but its the one Mike Maier uses), and have/want to use a stock style clutch setup, getting the Opentracker Reinforced z-bar designed for your setup will allow you to clear the larger box and the lines coming off of it. Be prepared to have an abusive relationship with your headers if you go that route. The good news is that, according to a Hot Rod Engine Masters dyno test, smacking your headers doesn’t hurt power. Which is wild, but the dyno doesn’t lie.