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so i know a bunch of threads on the borguson conversions and talks about how light the steering is and some have sent there boxes out to get modified.
after doing some research and learning that c2 with manual steering came with a damper i thought let’s give it a shot. most 4x4 trucks have em’
so after measuring the old steering piston and searching i found that a steering damper for a chevy p30 camper will fit in place of the factory steering assist piston. i ordered a bilstein one and installed it this this past week.
now lets start off by informing everyone that when i got my 80 vette i only drove it two miles and had to tare everything out because it was leaking from everywhere. so i don’t know what a stock steering system feels like because i went with borguson. i’ve had the conversion in for about 4k mi. and felt it was very light until now.
i’ve put 300mi on the steering damper and it made it a lot heavier. i get less bump steer and feels a lot less floating when going down a bad road also doesn’t want to over steer like before but doesn’t want to fully correct itself coming out of a turn. other than that i’ve checked the damper for proper articulation and have rechecked to make sure no binding. so far i’m happy with it. can’t imagine there would be any negative effects of the gear box considering there made for a 4x4.
You could probably increase your car's caster a bit and gain back more 'centering' feel. It doesn't center b/c there's more resistance from the damper than the caster centering pressure creates. Look up on youtube on doing alignments...you could experiment with it on your own till you find the sweet spot ...it sounds like you have decent mechanical abilities.
They put steering dampers on late 70's and early 80's Toyota 4x4 pickups those RN's which had solid axles. I owned several of those pickups back in the day. IDK if those would be lighter or not? I would think so... a 30-series truck is like a one ton. There might be other dampers out there that are even lighter weight. That might be something you could look into. If the ends weren't what you need, you could cut them off and weld on whatever fabricated ends you need. Just don't put too much heat at at once, (or burn through).
Obviously the best thing would NOT have to add a part to cure a problem that shouldn't be there in the first place. Kind of like take a med to counteract the side-effects of another medication. There's probably a way to dampen down the 'light' feel of the box, by making some changes, perhaps dialing back the pressure (different pump pressure regulator or smaller orifice??). That might be worth looking into also. Anyway, ya do what ya have to do. Hopefully someone here will offer something they did... Best of luck
You could probably increase your car's caster a bit and get more 'centering' feel. It doesn't center b/c there's more resistance than the centering pressure the caster creates.
They put steering dampers on late 70's and early 80's Toyota 4x4 pickups that had solid axles. Those I suspect are lighter duty than a camper. There might be other dampers out there that are even lighter weight. That might be something you could look into. If the ends weren't what you need, you could cut them off and weld on whatever ends you need. Just don't put too much heat at at once, and don't burn through.
Obviously the best thing would NOT have to add a part to cure a problem that shouldn't be there in the first place. Kind of like take a med to counteract the side-effects of another medication. But ya do what ya have to do.
i got the car aligned at corvette center in ct and one would think they would put it to best specs?
i didn’t get a print out because there machine is old.
as far as the damper goes it was the length and the ends that dictated what i used. again i’m happy with it so far.
exactly. would rather not alter a part that is tied to the steering. and i’m constantly checking for binding. will keep everyone updated if anything changes
You're not alone. I know a couple guys personally who've done Borgeson steering upgrades on non-C3 cars and wondered afterwards why they didn't just rebuild what they had for a fraction of the cost and energy. Plus they had to spend time ironing out unexpected binding or other unanticipated issues. But I can see the attraction for a no-leak steering. Ultimately my buddies got the Borgesons working good. I think you just have to figure out how to reduce the 'assist' where you don't need the steering damper. Do a google or youtube search, maybe you'll come up with some good ideas other guys have tried.
GM went with the system they did, not because they wanted to go back to 1962 technology or add a lot of weight or leak points. It was because the standard saginaw-style common power steering boxes at the time weren't well suited: not 'tight' or responsive enough for race-style steering that would compete against other sports cars at the time. And they didn't have, or couldn't get the money for R&P steering which would have required a frame re-design...for a low-volume car that was often close to the chopping block as it was. The older tech of 'power assist over manual' from the GM parts bin, allowed for manual steering instant responsiveness and good road feel, while the assist was helpful at low speed situations. But yeah, it's a lot more complicated, heavier, and lot of wear & leak points that you eliminated with the borgeson. I'm sure there were big arguments back in 61-62 where I imagine Zora argued heavily for R&P and couldn't get it. He was lucky to get a low buck independent rear suspension. Before the 63's came out, Corvettes sales were a lot lower and were a rounding point in the overall number of GM sales. The Corvette has always been a series of compromises in many ways.
That's how it is in most businesses that *make* things. You start with a wish-list on a new or redesign product, and by the time ya factor in various production costs and returns, people's egos, everyone argues out the pro's and con's of each ...things get pulled out for this reason and that. You argue for the most critical things you want/need to compete in the market and accept what you end up with. It's like making sausage. The meetings often become heated and bitter and ultimately "the boss" ends up making a decision. Sometimes it comes down to who was the better arguer or outlasted arguing their pet feature. That's how it often goes. Those guys who've ever sat in on meetings like that know what I mean. Kind of like building a house. You'd like to have a mansion but by the time you get done you (hopefully) end up with an acceptable compromise of what you can afford and made sense at the time.
To answer your earlier question, no, the Corvette shop probably didn't do the "best", alignment, but rather the stock alignment.
These cars like a lot of caster, especially with the Borgeson. Folks have posted sets of recommended specs. I'll try to add a link if I remember. I have 6 degrees of positive caster in my 80. It's tough to get that much with stock parts, which is why I used SPC adjustable UCAs.
The early C3 manual steering also had a damper. I never installed it when I converted my 80 to manual steering. Perhaps I'll try it in my Borgeson-swapped 79.
Again, thanks for finding a unique solution, and posting about it! That's the best use of this Forum.
borguson conversion
