Has anyone had any issue with the Vette brakes "rack attack" power steering coversion? I was thinking about replacing the old system with this rack and pinion coversion on my C3. Any input would be helpful.
Also the kit is on sale for 899.00 at the Vette brakes website.

 

I have installed a few of these systems. No problems at all.

 

Hi lhvette I just installed their kit on my 74. The only issues I had were header clearance,expected and a small notch in my motor mount extension from the frame.all minor. The high pressure hose from rack to pump is a little bit to long,not giving enough clearance from hose to tie rod.if I hit a bump the left front suspension only has about a 1/2 inch clearance before the hose would be pushed up possibly brreaking a fitting.Spoke to their Tech guy about it and he wasn't aware of this problem .I am having a new shorter hose made locally to solve this issue.The car is now aligned and the driveabilty is incrediable,I love it.I would advise doing the job on a lift and a helper. John

 

Gordonm Did you have the hose issue? John

 

 

No I have not had that issue. I have installed some along with a hydroboost also. Every car is a little different and most require some "massaging" to get everything to fit perfect. I have had to dimple a header pipe or two but nothing major. I do have the advantage of a lift which makes it a breeze.

 

I've heard there are weak bracket issues in some conversions , is the rack attack free from this ?

 

Roger The brackets seem to be very sturdy. Not sure of the thickness,but maybe 3/8 inch.Welds are great looking as also the design of the bracket. John p/s I'll try to post a pic of before and after of my hose.

 

I am just curious about how "bad" your steering was with the OEM steering box and accessories that you felt inclined to make the conversion?

 

Some of the early systems had some bracket problems. I think they have added another brace since then. All the ones I have installed have had the better brackets.

 

I might have the pleasure of installing one. Thanks guys.

 

3.7 turns Lock to lock....or 2.7?? it's supposed to be a sports car....

you can go manual or rebuild to your like....but you still stuck with 16-1 steering.....

either the rack or the Borgeson recirc ball box is the way to do....

I did my rack install some 9 years ago....200 bux....'92 grand am rebuilt junkyard rack...I run with stock '72 vette pump valving....car feels GREAT, to ME.....subjective.....

later C4 17x9.5 rims.....275/50/17 rear....255/50 front....

 

Thanx for the feedback. I just hand my OEM Saginaw box with 65,000 miles on it blue printed and rebuilt by GTR1999 (the price of the rebuild is a fraction of the conversion kits or a borgenson box) even though it was in very good shape and the difference in steering wheel free play before and after the rebuild is unbelieveable-better than it ever came from the factory. There is zero play in the steering now and it was not bad before! GTR1999 hand adjusts, replaced the necessary bushings, new bearing *****, and a custom shaft bushing that reduces free play from the factory spec of .005 down to .002. The box was not built with these tolerances or adjustment from GM. It really is a terrific option for those that want to keep the OEM system-it is very good when functioning properly with this type of recirculating ball steering box-16:1 though which is not an issue for me with my car on the street.

The 16:1 ratio is not an issue to me since I have eliminated just about all the other slop in the OEM suspension.

Front-Poly bushings everywhere on the OEM 1 1/8 sway bar and the Bilstein HD shock towers. Poly upper and lower control arm bushings which eliminated MUCH slop in the front suspension. 255/45/17 ZR tires on SLP rims in front

Rear-360 monospring with poly cushions, 3/4 rear OEM type sway bar with poly mounting bushings, Competition Heavy duty adjustable strut rods with Heim joints (no bushings), Bilstein Sports, 255/50/17 ZR ultra high performance tires.

The car steers and handles like a modern sports car with the standard steering ratio. Just my 2 cents!

 

jb78l-82 My old steering was old,but steering box ,rag joint, ram ,tie rods ,valve etc were all tight not sloppy.the only really old part was steering box.All other parts were replaced 6 years ago during a body off restoration.Aligment by a local vett only repair shop speciallizing in older vetts.It still steered crappy.Now it steers great.Should have done it years ago. John

 

Thanx for the feedback-sounds like the steering box needed a rebuild. My experience with my OEM steering box which did not have a lot of miles on it really (65K) and after talking with GTR1999 in person (he lives not too far from me and I brought my box to him and he disassembled it in front of me) is that any and all OEM Saginaw steering boxes can benefit from a blue printed rebuild since he not only replaces all the necessary internal components but uses a couple of custom components (steering shaft bushing, for example) that makes the boxes MUCH more responsive and eliminates all the free play that came with them from the factory when NEW (each box is hand adjusted eliminating any free play)! I think many C3 owners would be shocked at how good a saginaw recirculating ball OEM steering box can be when setup up correctly. I should have had the blue printed rebuild done years ago as well! I am extremely happy with the OEM steering system now plus I am not a big fan of reengineering the OEM steering system, using components from more recent cars. That's just me!

 

must me a steeeroids day

I just made a post about mine....

here are my thoughts....., once put in and aligned correctly, it is a fare superior unit in feel and handling, as well as being lighter and easier to set alignment. I would never go back, and yes my old unit, rag joint and everything was tight.

if you do not get it aligned perfectly and have all the bearings in the steering column tight you will feel slop. but if you do have it right.... sweet

but i just posted my first problem, my tie rod's are rubbing on the lower control arm when i go lock to lock.... dont think this should happen... but maybe i installed something wrong????

 

Was your old steering box ever rebuilt/blue printed and how many miles were on it-My rebuilt-blue printed/steering box was never as tight as it is now even when brand new. Is it as tight as my 2010 Z06-no, of course. Is it as tight as the rack and pinion on my 2001 grand prix and my 94 mustang GT-yes. Rack and pinion is clearly a better setup but my point is that I have got the feel awful close with my OEM steering system-it can be done!

 

my box was original, but it was tight and not leaking. ALL the other stuff had been replaced in the last 2 years... all of it. I have been on a quest I guess of sorts to just do everything I can, within reason, to improve the cars performance in every way, it weighs a lot less, and it just feels like modern steering, hard to explain.... just better in every way... like you stated, Rack and pinion is clearly a better setup but my point is that I have got the feel awful close ..... close, but still not as good...... i want as good or better...... guess i want a ZO6 in a C3 skin


on a side note, if this was available to GM back in the day, this (R&P) is what they would have run, just like they run this today on modern vetts... if the old setup was better, they would still run the old setup.... just saying....

 

Bingo baby!!! hotrods rule!!!

not to down Gary's work one bit though, without a doubt his steering box setups are far better than anything stockish....

 

[QUOTE=jb78L-82;1575987992]Thanx for the feedback. I just hand my OEM Saginaw box with 65,000 miles on it blue printed and rebuilt by GTR1999 (the price of the rebuild is a fraction of the conversion kits or a borgenson box)


How much did it cost?