Good Afternoon, I would like to hear from fellow members about installing an aftermarket power steering box. I have completely rebuilt all of the existing system, with new parts, on my 1982. My understanding is that with a power box that you have a lot better handling system, than what came on the car. I am looking for the handling, that a later model Corvette has, if possible. I don't want to spend a lot of money on changing what I have, if it is not possible. What have you done & what kind of improvement you have accomplished. Thank you for your Opinions. Have a great day. Gene

 

I put in the Steeroids rack and pinion system. Recommend it highly.

 

http://www.borgeson.com/xcart/home.php?cat=63

 

You mentioned that you have rebuilt everything in the OEM steering system and do not want to spend a lot of money to upgrade the steering on your 82. My 65,000 mile 78 has all the original components except I replaced the rag joint with an OEM one, rebuilt the power steeing pump very recently due to a shaft bushing leak, and in October 2010 had my OEM steering box custom rebuilt/blueprinted (custom olite bushing/hand adjusted etc added during the rebuild). The result was stunning! Zero play in the steering now, great feel etc but you still have the OEM steering ratio of 16:1 versus 12.7:1 with borgeson and very direct steering feel from R&P (I seriously wonder whether someone would even consider these alternate systems if the OEM box was able to be changed to 12.7:1) BUT those systems are much more expensive than what I paid for my rebuild ($300) versus Borgeson (Appx $800)/ R&P (varies but around $1500-$1,800). I am very pleased with my steering now and it works great with my suspension (everything replaced or upgraded). Every other car I own has R&P and my 78 with the rebuilt box is pretty competitive now on the street with the exception of my 2010 Z06!

PS-Just spoke with a fellow C3 owner at a car show yesterday who had his OEM box rebuilt by a local machine shop and he was very pleased with the result but who knows (paid $250 for the service).

PM me if you want to contact my rebuilder!

 

Read this link, your top speed of 125 has nothing to do with your front end.

http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com/...top-speed.html

 

Gene,

If you've had other C3's and liked their handling, there is no reason that your current one can't provide the same handling. All of your front end bushings are 30 years old. The are missing in action because the rubber is cracked and gone. C3 frames are also prone to sag up front, making it difficult to achieve the camber and especially the caster recommended for a good street performance alignment.

Suggest you replace all of the A-arm pivot bushings (rubber or poly), and while you're there (!) the ball joints and tie rod ends. I would also consider tubular upper A-arms with offset ball joints. With these improvements and a performance alignment (with 3 to 4 degrees caster) you will enjoy high speed cruising in your C3. Also check for play in your rag joint

I also have a borgeson ("jeep") box in mine that fits in the stock location and gives a quicker, variable ratio than stock. If you've rebuilt your box, you probably don't need this unless you get tired of leaks on your driveway.

 

Yes Sir; Mr. Rotonda, I have already had all the front end & rear end completely rebuilt, including both trailing arms. I have had the frame checked, & rechecked at two different Frame shops, it is in excellent condition. There is not one Pc. of suspension that has not been gone over. I'm running Blistein shocks on all four corners, A Shark Bite spreader bar, Factory front & rear Sway bars. Composite rear spring, with Heim joint adjustable strut rods, heavy duty steering rods. The only part not replaced was the two front springs, that's next. Thanks for asking though, I'm still hoping that something will come up. Gene

 

Gene after reading your comments, I have a number of thoughts. First of all, the 82 C3 was about as softly a suspended C3 that you could buy-it was a real marshmellow because the springs front and rear were VERY soft. I have owned my 78 L-82 4 Speed for almost 30 years and have progressively upgraded the suspension incrementally over those years to the point today that the car is rock solid at speeds up to 100 MPH (I do not go over that speed ever on the highway-I reserve the racetrack for high speed-not with my C3). Assuming everything you have done is working correctly, here it goes:

1. You mention the steering box was rebuilt-by who? or did you buy a rebuilt? I have heard of many rebuilds that are worse than the OEM box if it was not done correctly or adjusted correctly. If it was not custom blueprinted, the box will have similar play to a new OEM box, another words some play.

2. you said you have a composite rear spring-OEM or aftermarket-what lb inches-I would recommend nothing less than 360 lbs/inch based on the speeds you are looking to run

3. Bilsteins-Which ones? Heavy duty or sports-Sports are 30% stiffer than the HD's

4. The OEM front springs are VERY soft-550 springs for your application.

5. Have you checked the front wheel bearings for play?

6. For the speeds you are looking to run-everything should have poly bushings to eliminate ANY play anywhere. I was shocked at how much tighter the front end on my 78 got after I installed poly upper and lower control arm bushings.

7. You haven't mentioned tires? What are you running especially at those speeds. againh, I was shocked at how much more responsive my C3 is once I ditched the crap 255/60/15 S/T rated balloon tires. I run 255/45/17 ZR summer only tires now. Much lower profile with minimal side wall flex.

8. The C3's have notorious front end lift at high speeds including the 80-82's. Anything over 115MPH and the front is going to begin to wander due to lift-tough to compete with a C5/6 in that arena.

9. High speed handling is going to require much more negative front camber than the stock setting-Check out race cars and the amount of negative front end camber.

If you are interested I can run through everything I have done to my 78.

Hope that helps!

 

Yes Sir; Mr. Jeff, I bought a rebuilt box from Wilcox. Where did you buy the blueprinted box from?? Yes, the rear spring is OEM.. I am going to go back to the forum before ordering new rear spring, There are several different brands, I want the one that doesn't set so high. 360 # your saying. How about going to 340 # Composite, & 460 #'s grand touring, front springs I have the Heavy duty shocks of Blisteins, because Blisteins told me that if I wasn't racing, on curves, the Sport shocks would be way to stiff for street driving. Front wheel bearings are new & torqued to 25 ft. #'s, Tires are new, B F Goodrich Radial T A P235/70 R15 102S M & S Traction A- Temp B. Thanks for your input, I Appreciate, Gene

 

Gene, again for the speeds you are looking to run a 360 rear spring would be miminal in my opinion, maybe even a 420-I run a VBP since 1986 on my 78. Your 82 spring is, I believe, 198 lbs/inch-way too soft! 550 front springs, poly upper and lower control arm bushings, sport Bilsteins-I run HD's in the front with my 550 springs and Sports in the rear with my 360 spring. I had BFG radial T/A's 255/60/15 and they are NOT a performance tire. They are basically a standard passenger car tire with a 112 MPH speed rating-I would not even think of going 140 MPH with those tires. Read my comment above about Z rated low profile 17 tires on my car-The tires completed changed the character of the car. Get rid of those rims and tires. Between the rebuilt box, the 198 rear spring/OEM front springs and those balloon tires, I am not surprised that your car wanders at high speeds.

I had my OEM box rebuilt/custom blue printed by Gary Ramadei (GTR1999) who no longer frequents this forum. I can give you his info if you want.

 

Thanks to all for the information. Have a great day. Gene

 

Installed a Borgeson box,looks factory,bolts up ,and steers great! No more leaky PS components! 2 years running no probs...http://www.borgeson.com/xcart/home.php?cat=49