I have a 1979 c-3 350, 700R4 tranny. I have the p/s pump hoses and the valve underneath with the hyd ram. talked to a guy he has` a c-2 he put manual steering on the car and he says it works GREAT. has anyone put the manual power steer box on and how does the car steer meaning ease ect ect he said he noticed very little difference.... any input would help, ALSO has any one put electric headlight up/down kits some say go to the junk yard get the electric kit from I think they said a firebird any body have one of the kits, just trying to get the winter projects lined up so when the car parked we can play, thanks for your help

 

If the P/S parts you havearein working order, use them.

My '68 project has the original MANUAL STEERING BOX......it feels better than power steering.....

UNTIL YOU DECIDE TO PARALLEL PARK....THEN YOU GET A GOOD WORKOUT!

Other than that, I like it (but I'm getting rid of the 13" diameter steering wheel the previous owner installed....and going to a 15" steering wheel for better parking leverage!)

 

I'd recommend fixing the original steering and headlight systems to work correctly.

 

here is what you need a nicely rebuilt HD manual relay rod and the correct pitman arm, both available...send a PM if you or anyone else is interested.

 

Just made the conversion this summer. For me its a temporary fix until I have enough money for the borgston power steering conversion. Sure its hard to turn the wheel when the car isn't moving but I kinda like it. Makes me feel like im really driving american muscle. You can really feel the road better, especially on turns. It was not a fun job, but go for it. I got the pitman arm and relay rod off $50 off ebay.

 

 

A C3 is harder to drive with manual steering than a C2. I suggest you try it first on a manual steering car. I added a Borgeson box to my 72 manual steering car because it was almost impossible to steer at low speed or parking. It was almost dangerous. I'm very happy now when I back out of my garage and make the turn to pull out. I can turn and look out the back and turn the wheel at the same time. It took two hands before with a lot of effort.

 

Do what this man says, you won't look back.....

Regards from Down Under.

aussiejohn

 

I had a 68 with manual steering and converted to power steering . Would never go back to manual steering. When you see the difference it's a no-brainer.

 

you guys are going to think I am nuts well just don't ask my wife she will agree. the power steering is already done it works perfect, I know leave it alone, but... here are my plans I bought a LS motor its a 6.0 I am removing the injection and running the box and a carb, rebuilding the 700R4 it shifts so hard every time it shifts it chirps the tires, put a stall in the tranny and remove the vac head light actuators put electric on them and remove the power steering put a manual box on I have a maverick with a ls motor in it and it has manual steering it seems ok to drive. just a side note none of the numbers matched when I bought the car if they did I would not do this. so when done it will have a good motor a stall in the tranny and a hard shift just one that will not chirp the tires and electric head light operators and manual steering, yes I am nuts but everything will be out and that is the time to do it.

 

Hey........make it yours! Post some pics ( pics are required!)

 

Changing my manual steering 68 coupe, that I bought in 1974, to power steering, was the first thing that I did to the car. Lane changes on the freeway are also very hard, and a little scary to do. Lou.

 

Power steering may be a great creature comfort, but it also masks feedback somewhat by filtering out (read, "overpowering") a good bit of information otherwise transmitted unedited thru manual steering. Still, it's an acquired taste which isn't suited to everyone. Before doing the full conversion, I suggest removing the PS belt and doing a few parking exercises to make sure the trade off is worth it to you.

In case you weren't already aware, the '79 steering arms only have the "quick" ratio holes drilled for power steering, which will require ~15% more effort than would having the outer tie rod ends in the manual steering location. I've driven manual steer C3s in both settings, and IMHO there is a noticeable difference, but I kinda like quick-manual for spirited driving. If you should decide you want the manual setting, better to just install earlier steering arms, as the correct tapering bit costs nearly as much and requires precision work x2 to get them right.

FYI, power steering setups aside, with manual steering you won't likely need/desire more than 2-3* pos caster. Less caster won't be as stable, which could be disconcerting initially, while more than necessary can make steering unnecessarily heavy. Once you get fairly used to it you can fine tune it to adjust feel to your liking. My $.02, HTH.



TSW

 

If I'm reading your posts correctly, you appear to be saying that you want to remove the power steering, and switch to a "manual" steering box. The same steering box is used with both manual and power steering, on Corvettes. The power steering system is limited to the pump, slave cylinder, control valve, pitman arm, and center link.

If you want to make the swap, all you need is the pitman arm and center link, pictured in redvetracr's post above. Also, I agree with TheSkunkWorks about the 79 steering arms only having one setting, and because of this, the resulting increased effort that will be needed to steer the car without power assist.

Another thing to consider is how wide the tires you plan to run are, and do you have air? A 50 or 60 series tire, will take added effort to steer, and the extra weight of an AC system, will also increase the effort needed.

I've had cars with and without steering. It's not a big enough issue to me, that I'd add it to a car that didn't have power steering, but I don't think I'd ever remove it from a car that came with it.

 

I have a pair of 73 steering arms, dual drilled, that are sitting on a shelf. Pm me if you want more info.

 

The early C-3's power steering control valve had a stiffer spring in them for more road feel. GM used a softer spring in the later models and in the replacement valves. They were easier to turn but their handling was more vague. This is from our CF Corvette steering guru, Jim Shea. Lou.

 

My 68 came with manual steering. For all driving situations, it was just fine. Parking is where the problems began. The 68 has a 16 inch steering wheel, the 69's and later have 15 inch wheels. For manual steering, the 68 does have a mechanical advantage...more leverage. For parking, even with the unusual 16 inch wheel, manual steering would result in you slightly lifting out of the driver's seat as you tried to torque the steering wheel in a parking situation. This I initially tolerated. What was the deal breaker was that when the car struck a bumper curb, the manual steering wheel would instantaniously rotate backwards...striking you thumbs by the spokes. This was PAINFUL. This happened too many times. I converted to factory power steering to avoid the thumb smack pain.

The factory power steering is not acceptable by today's standards. I have absolutely no road back feel with my factory PS steering. Parking the car in a parking lot, or driving around a high speed corner, I have no feedback at all...it feels like I'm operating the steering wheel with the front wheels up on jacks.

On a high speed corner, I can feel my 08 steering wheel forcing me to maintain a steering turn. On a high G turn, the 08 gives a strong pressure to maintain the turn....not the 68.

 

I gave up the habit of looping my thumbs around the steering wheel after having broken them both in separate road racing incidents. Don't know why it took more than one such painful lesson, but you can bet it sunk in real good that second time (still hurts now and then). Been resting my thumbs on rather than looping them around the wheel ever since, whatever I may be driving. And, FWIW, I've found I get better leverage by pushing the steering wheel towards the turn rather than pulling on it.

 

Really?!
I thought the c2 and c3 were basically the same frame and suspension so how is this?

I considered going non power steering but it has too mnay cons,
"parking isnt that bad"
I am running a bb and wide front tires and will have my wife driving a lot, for me to remove the PS would really be a down grade...

 

Bigger, wider wheels and tires. I'm not speaking from theory. I could hardly steer my 72 when parking or backing, so I added the Borgeson p/s. Wonderful improvement. The C2 is also "stiff" with manual steering, but not as much so as the 72.