norval , what are your findings concerning your new jeep system ? what about precision , feel ? did you get rid of that ( car decide the direction for you ) feeling of the stock system ? thanks phil

 

I have not really given it a fair test. I have about 20 miles on the car but so far it feels great. Instant response. Just rock the wheel a tiny bit back and forth and the car really responds.
Only time will tell if the car tries to follow ruts in the road or acts darty at times.
To be honest my stock rebuilt system was not that bad. Once the rear sway bar went on I never noticed it darty in the least. The one thing I did notice about the stock system was high speed seeper corners, the car seemed to oversteer at times and you constantly made corrections. Again my jeep box doesn't have the miles or this situation so I can't tell how it will respond.
To me the biggest thing at the time was cleaning up the old system, get rid of the slave cylinder and the leak prone control valve.
I had done alot of work on my old box so it was tight.
The jeep box hasn't proven itself yet, it has proven to be tight and responsive but time will tell if the car still has quirks.
I removed the rear bar this weekend and will test the car without it and I know a bad spot of highway where the car always seemed to wander. I will test this area without the bar and see if the jeep box fixes the wandering problem.

 

keep these goods infos coming . you know, right now i'm hesitating , should i steeroids it or jeep it ? as a matter of fact , after seeing your installation wich look almost stock, i think i will go same way as you did since it seems to be a best quality-price ratio than the steeroids..

 

I went with the Jeep from Tom at www.corvettesteering.com.
Haven't driven it much but the little I did was very good. No installation problems on my 70 Coupe.

Fred

 

fred . i can't see a pitman arm on the(corvette steering) site . so did you have to modify one like norval and sponge bob ? thanks

 

I would not go steroids. It is far to pricy, hangs down too low and clutters up the undercarriage.
To me there is only the Jeep box as an option.

 

Tom resplines the box so your stock pitman arm just slips right on. At $675 or half the price of steroids it is not only a good deal but to me a better solution.
Keep in mind that I could have gone either route at the time for little money and my decision for the Jeep box over the steroids had nothing to do with price but recommendations from the most knowledgable guys on the forum in steering boxes.

 

Bob,
I had it done by a good mechanic, who said he had no problems. Can't say for sure if he modifyed the pitman. Will ask him and get back.

Fred

 

i like the steeroids and i think the drag link/idler arm setup is archaic theres just too many pivot points to get the job done....

 

Sorry to be late.
No mods were necessary to the Pitman Arm on my 70. Had to rotate it a couple notches, but, that's all.
Fred

 

I agree 100%. The old hip bone connects to the thigh bone technology has to go. Steeroids or bust!

 

fred. norval already explain that tom resplined the jeep box to fit our original pitman . thank you anyway for your feedback

 

do you already got a steeroids system and can you explain what's the real world difference beetween the rack and pinion and the recirculating ball on a vette ?

 

I am not an engineer but I will tell you this much; with the steeroids in, the car feels much better with no play in the steering. It drives like a modern car and never felt this way, even with all new parts with the old system. I have heard good things about the jeep conversion but like bob77, the amount of linkages concerns me on the archaic original setup. The steeroids setup is also about 14 pounds lighter than the original setup. It feels far more secure and predictable when cornering, as well.

 

Canadian73,

Here is a link to a paper on recirculating ball steering gear and linkage steering (C2/C3 type) versus rack and pinion steering (C4, C5, C6 type).

http://jimshea.corvettefaq.com/wp-co...DesignInfo.doc

I should really add some pictures to make the explanations a bit easier to understand.

Jim

 

jim . your paper is clear and up to the point . thanks phil

 

Just for kicks, has anyone mentioned the net weight improvement with the Jeep box versus the stock complicated system?

 

The Jeep box is NOT light. I don't feel I really saved any weight but it sure is a clean installation. The under carriage stays clean, nothing hanging down. Look at some of the steroid installations and it is almost the lowest point on the car. To me it really clutters up the undercarriage and the input linkage is too long with too many universals.
The rack was also designed for a Grand am. Is it really tough enough for a 3500 pound car???
I have put about 100 miles on mine and it really feels good, no play and precise steering.

 

i think that norval concern about long term reliability is justified . that jeep box look like a very solid piece and have to be to survive on a jeep truck . i'm not sure that the rack and pinion can rival the strenght of the jeep box on the long term .

 

I have about 25000 miles on the jeep box, auto crossed it several times and could not be happier. I have been working on this car for 35 years and the jeep box is the single best mod I have done. I wouldn't drive a c2-3 anywhere without putting the jeep box in. And now Tom at Corvette steering has made so easy and cheap.